I’m actually a nice person. Many people don’t know this about me. They think I’m a hard ass because I work really hard, am focused and actually care about whether they have a job next year. I push them hard to learn what they need to learn. I ask them hard questions and most of them just don’t like it. 

The world is changing rapidly. What marketers did for the last 50 years is not what they will do in the next 50. What sales people did for the last 50 years will definitely not be what they do in the next 50. Not even the next two years! What business owners and senior executives should be doing today, is vastly different from what was done even a generation ago.  

So let’s get down to business. My philosophy as a sales coach or as a marketing partner is pretty much the same one I have for being a friend. Anybody can tell you what you want to hear, what makes you feel good, what doesn’t challenge you to be better. Real friends tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Good sales people don’t just do what you ask, they try to figure out what you need, even if both of you aren’t sure what that is. And marketing partners should try to keep you from becoming complacent, from doing what you’ve always done or what others have always done, just because they’ve always done it (or for any other nonsensical reason).

I’ve been in the business world now for 30 years. During that time I’ve watched really good companies, full of really good people go out of business. I’ve seen sales reps bounce from position to position because frankly, no one has the guts to tell them that they don’t have what it takes. And I’ve watched companies spend unbelievable amounts of money on marketing that doesn’t work because that was easier than trying new things that might actually work. So basically, when I’m not nice – it’s because I see you getting dangerously close to those outcomes.