Jill Konrath

This not meant to be a political statement. It is simply commentary about what a candidate did - and what we, as sellers, can learn from it.

When Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the presidential race, he immediately soared to a front-runner status. But, it didn't last long due to his performance during the Republican debates.

For those of you who don't follow American politics, during the recent debates Perry stated that he'd eliminate three federal departments. When asked which ones, his mind went blank. He came up with two, but the third eluded him. For 55 seconds, he wracked his brain, babbled and even looked to his colleagues for a little help. (Check it out on YouTube.)

Today's video is designed to get you thinking. Seriously thinking. If you're on a sales team, talk about it together. If you're on your own, explore the ramifications. What you discover may have a huge impact on your success this year.

And when you're done, please add your thoughts & comments below. Your ideas may stimulate us all to think at a higher level.

There's no pussyfooting around it. I feel pretty strongly that I'm right on about this.

My prediction is that we will soon see the total demise of nice salespeople.

And here's why. Today's crazy-busy decision makers have absolutely no time nor interest in working with sellers whose main focus is on building relationships & providing great service. 

In today's marketplace, your prospects have so many options -- and they know it. When you tell them, "We're special" -- they don't believe you. If you say, "We have a passion for excellence" -- they don't care one little bit. Tons of companies have the same passion for excellence.

Today I continue my interview with Brent Adamson and Matthew Dixon, author of the groundbreaking new book, The Challenger Sale. Their research has major implications on sales success in today's business environment. [Note: Miss Part 1? Click here to read it.]

MATT: Sure thing. According to the data, there are three things Challengers do differently. 

They teach the customer during the sales interaction. They share new ideas for making money or saving money that customers themselves hadn't even realized existed. This is a very different type of sales conversation than what most reps deliver. 

It takes a lot to get me excited about a sales book these days. But that's exactly how I felt after reading The Challenger Sale, a new book filled with groundbreaking research with major implications for all business-to-business (B2B) sellers.

The authors, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of Corporate Executive Board, surveyed over 6000 B2B salespeople to determine what it took to be successful in today's business environment. I decided to interview the authors so you could learn more about what they discovered.

Sales Safari Series

In South Africa, national parks have a "shoot to kill" order for anyone caught poaching a rhinoceros. Last year, nearly 10% of the black rhinos in the world were killed for their horns.

When you're out on a safari, zebras are everywhere. They're grazing with the giraffes, kibitzing with the kudus and wandering with the warthogs. And, because they're so "Africa," they were one of the highlights of my trip.

On the second day of our safari, our guide posed this question when we saw a herd: "So why do zebras have stripes?"