What aren’t your clients telling you?
Talking to Your Clients Isn't the Same as Understanding Them "I already know my clients really well." I hear that quite a lot. And usually it's true. But knowing your [...]
Sales isn’t about selling!
A lot of highly skilled consultants don't like sales. I understand why. Mention "salesperson" and they picture someone talking too much, pushing too hard and trying to convince somebody to [...]
You don’t need more leads…
When revenue slows, the first reaction is usually predictable. "We need more leads." Maybe. But what happens to the leads you already have? How many conversations go nowhere? How many [...]
Why You Should Always Have an Outsider Look at Your Business
One of the most dangerous phrases in business is: “We’ve always done it this way.” Most industries develop their own rules over time. Competitors watch each other. People move between firms. Processes [...]
Why are good testimonials so hard to get?
Why are good testimonials so hard to get? It’s usually not because your clients aren’t happy. They’re busy. And when you ask them to write a testimonial, you’ve just given them a [...]
Why referrals aren’t a sales strategy
Referrals are great. But they’re not a sales strategy. Every prospect sits somewhere on a line. At one end is a stranger who has never heard of you. At the other [...]
Your best client just hired someone else!
When your sales pipeline looks thin, the first response seems clear: find more leads. Hustle harder. Approach more prospects. Spend more on ads. That may help. But it will not help fast. [...]
“I was blindsided…”
“I was blindsided. I thought we were doing really well, and then out of the blue got an email saying they no longer wanted to use us.” Heard this recently from another [...]
Great meeting – but your deal stalled… here’s why
You write the proposal. Send it through. Follow up the next week. Polite reply. Follow up again. Silence. Three weeks in, you're chasing a ghost. Three months in, you [...]
Head vs. Heart: How your buyers actually decide
I'm willing to bet you've sat through many a presentation where the salesperson has metaphorically vomited all over you. They've whipped out their laptop and bored you to death with a fifty-slide [...]
Are you Solving the Wrong Problem
If I asked what problems you solve for clients, you'd give me a confident answer. "I do X, Y, and Z. My clients get these results." But that's your view. What if [...]
Are you the biggest growth bottleneck?
One of the first questions I ask new clients is: “Who is responsible for bringing in business?” Usually, the answer is: “Me.” The outreach, the proposals, the follow-ups, closing deals - all [...]
5 sales questions you should be asking
Most sales conversations are too comfortable. The prospect describes their problem. You nod. You explain how you can help. You both agree it sounds good. Everyone leaves happy. Then the deal stalls. [...]
Why booking the next meeting isn’t progress
The email came in fifteen minutes before the meeting. "Sorry, our priorities have shifted. We'll have to cancel." No new date. No real reason. Just a polite exit from a meeting that, [...]
Stop Selling, Start Qualifying
Your job isn’t to convince people to buy. Your true role is to find out who is actually ready, and help them buy properly. Think about your best wins. The [...]
Why deals often stall
Every business has a priority list. The problem you solve ranks somewhere on it. The only question is where. If you aren’t in the top three, you will get bumped. A staff [...]
The referral test – why your best clients don’t refer you!
Would your best client recommend you to the person they most want to impress? Not their golf buddy. Not a casual acquaintance. The peer they respect. The one whose opinion of them [...]
Leaky bucket?
If you poured water into a bucket and half of it leaked out the bottom, would your first move be to pour faster… or fix the leaks? Ironically, most professional [...]
The panicked phone call
A prospect called me in a panic. He'd just lost his biggest referrer. Now there was a mad scramble while he stressed about where new business was going to come from. Unfortunately, [...]
Why warm leads are dangerous
Warm leads are often the most dangerous leads in your pipeline – here’s why… Cold leads keep you sharp. You know they don't trust you. You know you have to [...]
The referral trap nobody talks about
A flood of referrals sounds like the perfect problem to have. But how many are you converting into clients? Here’s what happens. A referral lands in your lap, and you feel the [...]
The common sales advice costing you deals
I started my professional career giving advice in highly technical roles. I learned a lesson that stuck with me through every sales and business role since. The usual "know you, [...]
The day the referrals died…
“I'm okay. I get a most of my business through referrals and don’t need help to get more clients”. If this is you, great! But could a steady stream of referrals be [...]
The four words that unlock your next deal
There is an old saying, "Ask and ye shall receive." The problem is most of us are conditioned not to ask, and that is costing us opportunities. Think of it [...]
$535 – for 60 seconds work?
The surgeon said "open wide." Sixty seconds later, the tooth was out. Two stitches. Done. $535. If you've been following my newsletters, you'll know this wisdom tooth had been causing me grief [...]
The deal killer hiding in plain sight
I had a call from a frustrated client the other day. He'd presented a solution to a prospect. Everything seemed fine. Nods all around. On the surface everything appeared positive and then [...]
How many no’s will you take?
No, no, no, no, no, no… yes! Got this from Anthony Iannarino which illustrates persistence… “I called a contact every Monday morning only to be shut down. After calling him one day, [...]
Why your prospect won’t move… even when they know they should
A couple of years ago I bit into a piece of hard bread and lost a filling from a back wisdom tooth. My regular dentist refilled it, but said, “I don’t know [...]
Liked or respected? Which would you choose?
There’s a fundamental question in sales… (and dare I say, life in general) Do you want to be liked… or do you want to be respected? In my early 20’s, in one [...]
From Cleaner to Consultant: What Starting From Zero Taught Me About Systems
When Barbara and I started Revealed Resources 25 years ago, we had no clients. No marketing system. No clear idea how we were going to get work consistently. There was a period [...]
Doubt: The final sales frontier
Apologies to Star Trek. It's not space that kills promising deals. It's doubt. We have a solar system at home. It tells us how much power we're generating, which is useful. But [...]
The real competition you’re losing to (it’s not who you think)
Barbara and I recently bought a robot vacuum cleaner off Facebook Marketplace. We weren’t sure what we actually needed or whether it would actually work. So instead of spending $800 on a [...]
83% of your prospects are doing this right now
One of the most powerful lessons I ever learned: credibility provides the greatest leverage in sales. The more credible you are, the easier it is for people to trust you. And trust [...]
The leaky bucket
I hear it all the time: "I'm good at conversion and sales but I just want more leads." But the reality is, most of us treat lead generation as a leaky bucket. [...]
The Feast-and-Famine trap
If you've been in professional services for any length of time, you've likely experienced it. A big project lands. Revenue looks solid. Everyone's heads-down delivering. Then the project wraps, the invoice goes [...]
The hidden money in your CRM/database
What if you discovered that around 20% of your “new” clients were actually former clients who had stopped working with you… until a new offer pulled them back in? Would that change how you [...]
Why understanding your buyer’s motivation style is critical
I was speaking with a business owner who is struggling. But not in the way you might think. He’s successful. Good clients. Solid revenue. A strong reputation. But the spark is gone. [...]
Growth stalling? You’re likely to be solving the wrong problem
Having worked with professional services firms over 25 years, I've observed most sales stall because they make a fundamental mistake. (And full disclosure – I’ve made the same one myself) We describe [...]
The Friend Zone: Why Dale Carnegie is Killing Your Sales
I first read Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" as a teenager, and over the next few years, I read it probably dozens of times. Written in 1936, it [...]
Are you gambling with your business without realising it?
Giddy up… The 2025 Melbourne Cup has just been run and, true to form, the favourite didn’t win - it came 19th. (Interesting fact: Since the first race in 1861 – the [...]