About Craig Jamieson

We have all experienced that situation in sales where a prospect just goes dark. They don’t return our calls or emails. Maybe they have already done the dirty deed “get the … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON September 11, 2017, LAST REVISED ON October 21, 2018

Key Account Management is a very complex and comprehensive process that generally addresses what happens after the sale. What we want to explore today is how we can leverage … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON August 7, 2017, LAST REVISED ON October 16, 2018

There's good news and … there's bad news. The good news is that, with social selling, your market just got a lot bigger. The bad news is … your market just got a lot bigger … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON July 11, 2017, LAST REVISED ON July 25, 2017

If you are not familiar with DISC, it is a tool to measure a person’s behavioral patterns. It is a great way to learn more about yourself and an even better way to recognize, … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON June 6, 2017, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

I spent some time last month helping a friend get set up on LinkedIn so that he might start to leverage that platform in order to find a good B2B sales job. He’s a younger guy … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON May 8, 2017, LAST REVISED ON September 19, 2018

Last month we started our discussion of social selling on LinkedIn. If you missed it, you can catch it here. As a reminder, social selling on LinkedIn or on any other platform … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON April 4, 2017, LAST REVISED ON September 25, 2018

Last month we talked about social selling on Twitter and how important it can be particularly as a path to initiating meaningful connections on LinkedIn. Today we switch to … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON March 6, 2017, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

Our next two articles will be discussing social selling with two separate platforms … Twitter and LinkedIn. A few years ago, I recall a conversation on one of the social … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON February 8, 2017, LAST REVISED ON May 25, 2017

Selling is not a “chicken or egg” riddle. There is no question that, if you can’t find new sales opportunities, there will be no new revenues. In today's world of social … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON January 4, 2017, LAST REVISED ON February 28, 2017

This is not the first time that I have touched on this subject but, it's certainly not getting any quieter out there. There’s an old saying that “you are either a part of the … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON December 5, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

You’ve likely read a number of articles regarding new, improved, and advanced selling techniques, and strategies. I’ve written my share of these. Blah, blah, blah, and … blah. … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON November 7, 2016, LAST REVISED ON February 1, 2017

Simply put, a sales process defines the steps in a sale that are proven to work so that this success can be consistently replicated. Think steps in a pipeline or a yes/no … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON October 11, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 8, 2018

I began my B2B selling career back in 1977 when I went to work for a national company and I was assigned a geographic territory in Los Angeles where I was expected to make 30 … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON September 12, 2016, LAST REVISED ON October 9, 2016

Today I am pleased to announce the publication, and availability for free download, of my first eBook …  “Focused Social Selling - less really is more”. But, before I share … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON August 9, 2016, LAST REVISED ON August 2, 2017

You have joined a social network and, most likely, you have joined more than one. Now comes the time for you to lean back and wait for the orders to magically float into your … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON July 5, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 7, 2018

There are three different types of application offerings for selling, social or otherwise: Free - Always free. Freemium - Free for small users and/or with limited … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON June 1, 2016, LAST REVISED ON August 31, 2018

Before there was CRM (Customer Relationship Management) there were Contact Managers (CM) and good contact management practices are neither dead nor are they old-school. The CM … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON May 2, 2016, LAST REVISED ON October 8, 2016

For those of us who have been around for a while (some of us longer than others), the mere thought of upending our proven routines can be … unsettling. Speaking for myself, I … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON April 4, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

Way back in 2013, I wrote an article for this site titled “If Salespeople Should be Blogging, Why Aren't You?” Consider this a follow-up. I've been writing now for about 7 … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON March 1, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

It seems that sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. Or, maybe it is that we neglect the obvious, the people who are already around us while we diligently search for … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON February 4, 2016, LAST REVISED ON October 3, 2018

We used to make cold calls because we had to. Back in the day, it was the only way (besides referrals and leads from advertisements) to find new business. Of course, there was … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON January 7, 2016, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

If, like me, you are in B2B sales and are active at all in social sales, you are well aware that there are literally tons of sales-related applications to choose from for … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON December 7, 2015, LAST REVISED ON October 20, 2018

LinkedIn Groups can be extremely valuable tools for social selling but, I find them to be somewhat of an anomaly based on the relatively small percentage of group members (I’m … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON November 10, 2015, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

The simple answer is, it's all 4. You need contacts to engage and convert and content to assist you in this process. What is often ignored is context which plays a huge role … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON October 2, 2015, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

In our article last month we discussed the importance of doing your homework, your social discovery, for targeted accounts. Now, how are we going to leverage that? Social … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON September 4, 2015, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

In past lives, I have both been a sales manager, and I have also worked for a number of sales managers. Not all of those were created equally ... Some were also … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON June 9, 2015, LAST REVISED ON January 27, 2017

At least by classic definitions, I have never considered myself to be a particularly good salesperson. That doesn't mean that I don't get the job done. For example, while I … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON May 11, 2015, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

It's been a lot of years since I last hired and ran a sales team which was in … 2005. Yikes! That long ago!? Still, over 80% of my career was spent doing just that. Finding … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON April 2, 2015, LAST REVISED ON October 20, 2018

A while back I wrote an article about some of the changes that we are presently seeing in buyer behavior … “Salespeople! Your Customer is Now Driving the Bus!” Another shift … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON January 6, 2015, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

I have been thinking a great deal as of late as to why so many of my B2B contemporaries have been loathe to adopt social selling. Most don't want to talk about, let alone even … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON November 7, 2014, LAST REVISED ON October 19, 2018

When you come right down to it, there are only two simple, but critical, tasks in selling and those are to find and then to convert and your habits must support these … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON October 6, 2014, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

[Tweet "Let's discuss what social sales will and will not do - @craigmjamieson"] I've read a number of articles as of late that have been coming out against social sales. … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON September 8, 2014, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

As salespeople, every day we are looking to make new connections and we are actively fielding connection requests from others. While some of us may have a plan for maximizing … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON July 7, 2014, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

There are only three possible impressions that a customer will walk away with having done business with you and/or your company. You have either ... Not met their … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON December 9, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

Who wants referrals? You do, that’s who. Everybody loves referrals and what’s not to love about them! Somebody knows somebody else who can potentially use your product or … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON November 11, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

There sure are a lot of free applications that are well designed for social selling tools that are available on the marketplace these days. With all this free stuff, why pay … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON September 9, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

In order to begin this discussion, we must first acknowledge that many folks have a negative view of salespeople and of our profession in general. Adjectives such as slick, … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON August 12, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

Properly identifying the decision maker(s) may be the single most important aspect of the sales process. Certainly, this is no different in social sales. Specifically, we are … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON May 13, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 23, 2018

One of the biggest challenges in sales is often just getting past the gatekeeper and some of them are very good at keeping you away from the decision maker. As a sales … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON April 8, 2013, LAST REVISED ON October 17, 2018

True cold calling in B2B selling is probably fairly close to being a lost art. If not, it should be. I’m talking about finding a street and then knocking on every office door … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON March 11, 2013, LAST REVISED ON October 3, 2018

Very early on in my selling career I was taught what people buy (benefits) and when people buy (when an emotional decision is made). What nobody told me was … How do … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON January 14, 2013, LAST REVISED ON September 23, 2018

One of the most wonderful and effective ways that you can engage with your clients via social media is by helping them to build their own businesses. Your efforts in this … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON December 10, 2012, LAST REVISED ON September 22, 2018

Selling has always been about relationships. Particularly in B2B sales, people buy first from individuals and then from their companies. Social Media presents us with an … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON May 8, 2012, LAST REVISED ON September 15, 2018

Last month we discussed the importance of proper planning and of setting goals prior to jumping into social media for B2B sales. Today let’s talk about your critical first … [Read more...]

PUBLISHED ON March 6, 2012, LAST REVISED ON August 26, 2018