·2 min read
One-line follow-ups that actually close deals
The best follow-up isn't a templated nurture sequence. It's a two-sentence email that proves you were paying attention.
Tag
playbook
35 posts on playbook.
·2 min read
The trade show follow-up nobody does
Everyone collects 400 business cards at a trade show. The 5% of reps who close from them do one specific thing in the 48 hours after.
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Distributor sales vs direct: what actually changes for the rep
Selling through a distributor isn't selling with an extra step. It's a completely different motion, and most CRMs don't model it correctly.
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Cold visits still work (just not the way you think)
The cold drop-in isn't dead. It just has to be done by someone who treats it as a research tool, not a sales move.
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The field sales stack: what reps actually need
What tools a modern field rep actually needs — and what they can safely ignore.
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How to run a sales territory without losing your mind
Territory management is pattern recognition under pressure. Here's a framework that holds up in real field work.
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When to hire your first SDR for a field team
Most field orgs hire an SDR too early, too late, or for the wrong reason. Here's the short version of when it's actually time.
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Quoting from the field: the difference between fast and right
Every field rep has sent a quote in a parking lot. The best ones know when to send it now and when to say 'I'll send it in an hour.'
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Sample giveaways that actually convert
Free samples are the oldest trick in field sales and still one of the most misused. Most of them generate nothing but warehouse invoices.
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What you actually learn by shadowing your top rep
Top-rep shadowing is a cliché that mostly produces bad lessons. Here's how to do it so the mid-tier reps actually improve.
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The field sales KPIs that actually matter
Your CRM can report on 80 metrics. Four of them correlate with revenue. Here's how to pick them.
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Renewing accounts without surprises
Most renewal losses aren't a buyer leaving. They're a rep who didn't notice the buyer was already gone.
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The local market signals most CRMs miss
Your CRM knows what accounts you have. It doesn't know the co-op just opened, the feed mill closed, or the freight cost changed. Your rep does.
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What top field reps actually carry in the truck
A look at the actual gear that makes a field rep's day work — and the things the manual tells you to carry but nobody uses.
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Territory mapping 101: a field rep's guide
Territory mapping isn't drawing lines on a map. It's answering three questions honestly.
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Price objections from the field: what they actually mean
Nine times out of ten, 'your price is too high' means something else. Here's how the best field reps decode it in real time.
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Seasonal kickoff meetings that don't waste the week
Most sales kickoffs are a corporate retreat disguised as a business event. Here's how to run one that actually moves a field team.
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Sales call notes that don't suck
Good notes are short, specific, and capture what the rep heard — not what they want to have heard.
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Phone vs in-person cadence: how to balance them
Most field reps over-visit their best accounts and under-visit the ones that actually need to be touched. The fix is a cadence, not a rule.
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10 questions to ask before you buy any sales CRM
Most CRM demos are theater. These ten questions turn them back into evaluations.
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The pre-site-visit checklist every rep should have
Showing up unprepared to a site visit costs you the meeting. A five-minute prep routine fixes it.
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Field sales rep productivity: what actually moves the needle
Most productivity advice for field reps is nonsense. Here's what actually correlates with quota attainment.
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Why CRM adoption fails in field sales (and how to fix it)
CRM adoption fails in field sales for three predictable reasons. Here's the pattern every VP Sales sees — and what actually fixes it.
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Route planning for field reps: the rules that actually work
Fancy routing software isn't the answer. Three rules about drive time are.
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Shadow CRMs: what field sales reps actually use
Shadow CRMs are what field sales reps actually use — Notes.app, text threads, a homemade spreadsheet. Here's how to absorb them instead of fighting them.
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Sales ride-alongs, modernized: a field manager's playbook
Sales ride-alongs are still the best rep development tool in field sales. Most managers run them wrong — here's the modern playbook.
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The 3-minute morning routine for field sales reps
A 3-minute morning routine that sets up a field sales rep's entire day. What to do in minutes one through three — and what to stop doing.
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Sales account handoffs without losing context
Sales account handoffs are where years of context quietly die. Here's the hygiene — and the voice-memo trick — that keeps the relationship intact.
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Field sales onboarding in a week (not a quarter)
Field sales onboarding doesn't need 90 days. Here's a five-day program that gets a new rep selling in week two — with voice notes, not PDFs.
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What a healthy field sales pipeline actually looks like
A healthy field sales pipeline isn't about funnel shape — it's about the activity inside it. Here are the four signals that matter, and why coverage ratio isn't one of them.
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Why sales deals stall — and how to spot it weeks earlier
Sales deals stall weeks before anyone notices. The signals are in the notes — here are the four linguistic tells that show up first.
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The Monday pipeline review, reimagined for field sales
The Monday pipeline review is mostly theater. Here's a 15-minute, data-first format that actually moves field sales deals.
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Seasonal sales territories: planning for markets that breathe
Seasonal sales territories break most CRMs. HVAC, ag, construction, and landscaping all run on a calendar your pipeline doesn't see — here's how to plan for it.
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Sales to marketing feedback: closing the loop from the field
Sales-to-marketing feedback is broken at most companies. The highest-value voice-of-customer data is already in your reps' notes — here's how to unlock it.
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ERP and CRM integration for field sales teams
ERP and CRM integration is what separates a credible field rep from a confused one. Here's what reps actually need visible — and the simplest way to wire it up.