Learning

Right before the start of the weekend, Friday evening at around 8 p.m., I was searching for an old email on a completely unrelated matter when I suddenly came across a message. It was an email on an ongoing delicate topic that I did not appreciate. Over the weekend, this topic kept wobbling in my […]

This week, I had a fascinating discussion with a business owner about the size of a business and the balance between client quantity and revenue quality. The question was simple yet profound: Is it better to generate €2M with 18 clients, or €1.8M with just 10 clients? The answer, as with most things in business, […]

Leadership is often celebrated as the pinnacle of success, while followership remains misunderstood and undervalued. Yet, in modern organizations, followership is not passive; it is an active and noble role, requiring the same finesse and skill as leadership. Together, these roles form a dynamic interplay that drives innovation, resilience, and success. Contrary to the passive […]

Sales has long been likened to a competitive sport, where dominance, expertise, and force are seen as the keys to success. But what if impactful selling isn’t about overpowering objections, but about redirecting and flowing with them? Drawing inspiration from the martial art of Aikido, we explore how embracing balance, agility, and empathy can redefine […]

What does Montreux—a serene Swiss town nestled by Lake Léman—have to do with Artificial Intelligence? At first glance, nothing. But let me explain… Last week, I was invited to speak at a conference in Lyon about the transformative impact of AI on the sales profession. To frame my talk, I posed three essential questions: The audience […]

ot too long ago, I found myself on the highway, eager to embrace the freedom of driving at my preferred speed of 140 km/h. I engaged my adaptive cruise control, excited for a smooth ride ahead. However, the experience didn’t unfold quite as I expected. As I cruised along, another car entered my lane...

  In the fast-paced business world, we often romanticize the *salesperson of yesterday*, imagining a bygone era of personal connections, simpler transactions, and trusted relationships. But here’s a provocative idea: *the salesperson of yesterday never existed.* What we understand today as the role of a salesperson is, in fact, a relatively new concept, born out […]

Imagine a world where the scoreboard in sales doesn’t just tally wins and losses. It’s easy to fixate on the rush of closing a deal, but what if I told you that’s a narrow view of success? In the high-stakes world of sales, the thrill of closing a deal can often overshadow the true essence […]

In the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, sales became a specialized profession. Unlike the multifaceted tradesmen of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, modern sales professionals often focus exclusively on selling, leaving other aspects of commerce—like sourcing, production, and logistics—to separate departments. However, the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents an opportunity to reintegrate these functions, enabling sales […]