Blogs from Art Waskey

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The AI Gold Rush – Presenting Opportunities

The Early Movers  AI never ceases to amaze me. I’ve just read another article about the rapid changes it's bringing. AI feels like a gold rush, transforming industries and even making its way into Super Bowl ads! AI appears to be broadening beyond the handful of...

Why Response Speed and AI Win Customers

In today's accelerated B2B environment, response speed has become a critical competitive differentiator. According to Harvard Business Review, companies that contacted potential customers within an hour of receiving a query were nearly seven times as likely to qualify...

Monthly Sales Assessment – the Foundation of Success

This article on Monthly Sales Assessment is the last in my series on the AI-Enabled Sales Process. The Monthly Sales Assessment is a joint manager-salesperson meeting that reviews 10 key metrics across Outcomes and Territory Management. I consider it to be the...

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5 Tried and True Tips to Get A Contract Signed

We all know the value of a good contract, one that holds a customer to a solid, long-term business commitment. Getting a contract signed is therefore an important part of sales rep’s job. Five Tips...

Picking the Right Team and Planning the Right Strategy

I work with small and medium business owners (SMBs) in the distribution sector and find they struggle with implementing meaningful strategic plans. As we know, corporate strategy starts at the top....

What Buyers Expect Today

Do you know who your buyers are and what they expect? According to LinkedIn’s 2025 B2B Buyers Report , Millennials now make up 73% of all B2B buyers and 44% of final purchasing decision-makers. Mark...
Selling in a seller-free marketplace

Selling in a seller-free marketplace

Seller-free sales The transformation to the digital marketplace for sales channels happened gradually — and then suddenly. The global pandemic...

The Makings of an Effective Leader

The Makings of an Effective Leader

When I consult with the next generation of business owners and key executives, I am frequently asked what makes an effective leader. This is an...

Boosting Inside Sales

Boosting Inside Sales

Tapping inside potential Digitalization, combined with a worldwide pandemic, has caused significant disruption in distribution sales, especially...

Hold Them Accountable

Hold Them Accountable

A commitment to resolution The owner of a distribution business complained that his staff was not following through on commitment deadlines. I had...

The Balanced Sales Team

The Balanced Sales Team

The changing sales landscape In my 50 years of distribution sales and sales management, I have worked with all types of sales reps. By nature, I am...

Accountability: Steps to Success

Accountability: Steps to Success

Problems and Solutions We all need to take steps to accountability. Throughout my career in executive leadership, I have had relationships with...

Becoming a Go-Giver

Becoming a Go-Giver

One of the benefits of retiring from the corporate executive world is that I now have more time to read, write, teach, and give keynote speeches. I...

How Enterprise Selling Works

How Enterprise Selling Works

Enterprise Selling occurs when you demonstrate where customer needs meet your company’s innovative capabilities. According to Mark Dancer, “B2B...

Creating New Opportunities

Creating New Opportunities

A distributor asked for advice on creating new opportunities for his company. It was experiencing sales erosion to alternative channels. While sales...

Adjusting to change

Adjusting to change

Information technology is at the root of so many alterations in the way we do business, both internally and externally. We all need to learn, and...

Engage in Your Mission

Engage in Your Mission

A focused mission yields results. The most effective leaders of the 20th century all had a razor sharp focus on a cause. Fully engaging in a mission...

Sales Strategies for the Digital Age

Sales Strategies for the Digital Age

Develop commercial insight In their seminal 2011 work, The Challenger, Taking Control of the Customer Conversation, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson...

Know Your Customer

Know Your Customer

Make personal connections To remain competitive in a world with lots of alternative purchasing channels, you need to know your customer. I advise...

Personal Service is a Plus

Personal Service is a Plus

Is anyone listening? As automation replaces people in customer service positions, the sense that no one is really listening grows. This makes...

A Balanced Sales Approach

A Balanced Sales Approach

Feeling Appreciated It is easy to slip into the Best Supporting Rep role. Filling an urgent client request or fixing a problem begets customer...

3 Tips for Business Growth

3 Tips for Business Growth

I enjoyed 47 wonderful years in a career as a sales executive and leader, seeing tremendous business growth during that time. When I reached...

Handling Success Wisely

Handling Success Wisely

Being in a leadership position is an honor we work toward, but once there, you may find yourself unsure of how you go about handling success. Have...

Freedom to Believe in Yourself

Freedom to Believe in Yourself

Napoleon Hill posited, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Hill is an example of someone who found his...

Keys for an Organized Executive

Keys for an Organized Executive

The disciplines of an organized executive Self-confidence Sales and leadership is more about a person’s self-confidence than the amount of product...

Reading as a Resource

Reading as a Resource

I have a client who is concerned about her intellectual growth. She asked how I came up with so many ideas for my weekly sales tips. I shared with...