5 Keys to Account Management Success; 10 Keys to a Strong Customer Partnership
This article sounds like a beast, but it’s one of the shortest I’ve ever written. My backup title was Adventures in Account Management, but I didn’t want to get too cute. Here we go!
I was at the optometrist’s office, waiting for my broken glasses to be fixed, when SHE walked in.
She approached the receptionist and said, “I’m the new rep for [an eyeglass frame company], and I stopped by to introduce myself.”
She handed over her business card and bolted out the door.
Are. You. Kidding. Me?
AI Is Forcing a New SEO Strategy
The rollout of Google’s AI search function has led to a significant decline in Web traffic, making it even more challenging for businesses to manage their online presence. The rise of large language model AIs is transforming how internet users discover information, forcing organizations to reorient their digital approach towards truly owning their relationships with their customers and visitors.
For decades, organic search has been a somewhat straightforward – albeit constantly evolving – discovery tool: users Google a question, click links and land on a site. Search engine optimization strategies could improve a website’s ranking in search results, and a wide web funnel helped convert customers.
Are AI Agents The Future Of Customer Service?
If you’ve ever tried canceling an internet subscription or disputing an unexpected charge, you know the drill: Hold music, chatbot loops and long wait times. For consumers, it’s often a friction-filled experience. For companies, it’s both a cost center and a branding liability.
In 2024, Qualtrics XM Institute reported that poor customer experience was putting $3.7 trillion in global sales at risk. And while many companies have deployed AI assistants to handle routine tasks, those tools typically stop short of full resolution.
The 10 Biggest Risks That Companies And Organizations Are Facing Today
The 10 biggest risks facing companies today underscore an important reality about preparing for the next crisis—the nature of the risks that can trigger a crisis are always subject to change.
The top threat that is now confronting companies is disinformation that is often driven by polarized political agendas, according to the latest quarterly Reputation Risk Index that was conducted by the Global Risk Advisory Council. Compare that risk to the Council’s Index for the first quarter of the year, in which the misuse of AI was the top-ranked threat.
Smart Leaders Micromanage (Really!)
Micromanagement gets a really bad rap. The word itself makes team members cringe and leaders bristle. But what if I told you not all micromanagement is bad? In fact, when done right, it’s not about control; it’s about clarity.
I have a fresh take on micromanagement for you: it’s all about improving your micromanagement of outcomes, not individuals. This approach isn’t about hovering over someone’s shoulder and scrutinizing every little detail. It’s more about being dialed in to what truly matters—vision, expectations, communication, and feedback. When a leader is clear, present, and informed, teams thrive. When a leader checks out, confusion follows.
Transformational Leadership Coaching: Inspiring Change
Unlock potential, drive innovation, and shape the future. What separates a leader who merely manages from one who truly inspires? Today’s leaders must do more than oversee operations: they need to ignite passion, cultivate innovation and drive meaningful change.
Transformational leadership coaching is a powerful tool that helps leaders develop the mindset, skills and strategies to lead with vision, purpose and authenticity. Whether you are an aspiring leader or an established executive, embracing transformational coaching can redefine your impact and unlock untapped potential in you and your team.
7 Tricks To Read Your Client’s Mind In A Sales Meeting
You walk into the meeting room and everyone's already talking. But the actual conversation hasn't started yet. It's happening in the crossed arms, the tapping feet, the quick glances at phones. Most people miss these signals completely. They focus on words when body language screams the truth.
You’ve sat through thousands of meetings. Pitched to prospects who seemed to give the go ahead while their bodies said no way. Negotiated with collaborators whose words promised partnership while their posture hinted at problems. You don’t need to become a mind reader. You need to become a pattern spotter.
No Sales Experience? No Problem. Here's How to Confidently Turn Conversations Into Revenue.
As a founder, you start your business with a bold vision, a breakthrough product, and tremendous industry expertise — but most founders don't have a background in sales. Yet, selling is the lifeblood of any startup or small business. So, how do you go from avoiding sales conversations to confidently closing deals and driving growth? This article will provide a practical, no-fluff guide for founders who need to sell but don't see themselves as "salespeople." It will introduce strategies founders can use to build stronger client relationships, better sales outcomes and increased productivity.
“The Happier Seller” — Why Human Connection is a Sales Advantage in 2025
In sales, we often focus on performance metrics — pipeline, quota, close rates. But what if the secret to long-term success isn’t just in the numbers?
What if it’s in the quality of your relationships?
For more than 85 years, the Harvard Study of Adult Development— the world’s longest-running study on happiness — has found a consistent truth: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period. Not wealth. Not achievement. Not status. Just deep, authentic human connection.
Does Ambition Breed Dishonesty?
Charles O’Reilly started his career in the military and probably would have stayed there but for one major problem: “I wanted more control over my life.” Although he was ambitious, O’Reilly prioritized the freedom to pursue his interests over any status or impact he might achieve as an officer. He left the Army to pursue an academic career, trading external markers of success for the possibility of meeting his own intrinsic goals. Now a professor of organizational behavior in Stanford Graduate School of Business, O’Reilly argues that those motivations and trade-offs matter.
Steve Jobs Said Perseverance Separates the Doers From the Dreamers, But Science Says This Trait Actually Predicts Success
Steve Jobs often talked about different traits that lead to success, if only because he was so often asked. One was being willing to ask for help. Another was taking an unconventional path, and doing things other people typically don’t—or won’t—consider. Another was collecting a wide variety of experiences so you could solve problems in unique ways. But the Apple co-founder reserved special attention for perseverance
Unmistakable Signs You’re Led By A Great Leader—Not Just A Boss
Let’s be honest: people don’t quit jobs—they leave bad managers. According to Gallup’s State of the American Manager report, only 1 in 10 people have the natural talent to manage others effectively. This means that most people work under managers - not leaders, and it shows. It’s fair to say the good ones are rare, and when you work for one - you can feel it.So the question becomes, ‘How do you know when you’re working for a real leader?’ Here are some signs that you’ve struck gold.
5 Advanced Selling Skills (& the Techniques to Nail Them), According to Coursedog's Director of Sales
Exceptional salespeople don't separate themselves from the pack by doing what everyone else is doing and hoping for the best. They go above and beyond, and you can't do that if you lean exclusively on conventional sales skills.
No, the best reps demonstrate advanced sales skills — ones that can help frame you as an authoritative, helpful, empathetic guide with expertise relevant to your prospect's circumstances. Here, we'll review some of those skills and go over the techniques you need to know to demonstrate them.
How to Build a High-Performance Culture in Sales Teams
You’ve probably tried many different ways to improve the performance of your sales teams, with varying success. But there’s one way that has been proven to work and yet is often ignored by sales leaders—improving your sales team’s culture.
Culture is hard to characterize, hard to measure, and hard to change. So it gets ignored on the list of levers to pull when transforming a sales organization plan. What does a high-performance sales team culture look like?
20 Outdated Sales Practices To Retire And What To Do Instead
In today's fast-moving business landscape, sticking to old sales tactics can hold companies back from meaningful growth. Outdated practices like generic cold outreach and activity-based success metrics often fail to resonate with modern buyers.
To stay competitive, businesses must embrace personalization, data-driven insights and authentic relationship building. Below, 20 members of Forbes Business Development Council share outdated business development practices they still see too often and what leading companies should be doing instead.
How to Intentionally Change Your Personality
When we talk about our personality, many of us treat it as a fixed, unchanging part of us. But the truth is our personality can evolve and often does, even without us deliberately trying. For example, many of us are more open to new experiences and willing to take more risks when we’re younger, and we become more content and less reactive to stress as we age. Our personality can also be changed with deliberate effort—not a shocking notion to anyone who’s been in therapy.
What Makes Leadership a Soft Skill? Why It’s More Than Just a Title
Leadership isn’t about the title on your business card or the corner office you occupy. It’s about the influence you have, the connections you build, and the positive change you inspire in others. This is where the concept of leadership as a soft skill comes into play. Soft skills—like empathy, communication, and adaptability—are the human elements that enable leaders to connect authentically and lead effectively. Embracing leadership as a soft skill means focusing on these interpersonal abilities to foster genuine relationships and drive a meaningful impact within your team.
Neuroscience Says This Is What Happens to Your Brain When You Zone Out
A fun thing for my wife to do sometimes is to catch me zoning out, and then ask what random thing I was thinking about without realizing it. Now, a new study published by HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus says there might be much more going on when you daydream or zone out than you realize.
‘Entirely possible’
Writing in the journal Nature, Janelia Group Leader Marius Pachitariu, who holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience, and coauthors say they performed experiments in which they tracked the brains of mice during different kinds of experiments.
5 Keys to Account Management Success; 10 Keys to a Strong Customer Partnership
This article sounds like a beast, but it’s one of the shortest I’ve ever written. My backup title was Adventures in Account Management, but I didn’t want to get too cute. Here we go! I was at the optometrist’s office, waiting for my broken glasses to be fixed, when SHE walked in. She approached the receptionist and said, “I’m the new rep for [an eyeglass frame company], and I stopped by to introduce myself.” She handed over her business card and bolted out the door.
No Sales Experience? No Problem. Here's How to Confidently Turn Conversations Into Revenue.
As a founder, you start your business with a bold vision, a breakthrough product, and tremendous industry expertise — but most founders don't have a background in sales. Yet, selling is the lifeblood of any startup or small business. So, how do you go from avoiding sales conversations to confidently closing deals and driving growth? This article will provide a practical, no-fluff guide for founders who need to sell but don't see themselves as "salespeople." It will introduce strategies founders can use to build stronger client relationships, better sales outcomes, and increased productivity.