The belly flop… a dive with great potential that… well… flops. It’s the perfect metaphor for all the things that can go wrong after the sale. Over the last few months, I’ve watched too many big ideas fail—and not because the ideas were weak. These projects were brilliant, and they could have produced a nice profit. As a consumer, number one fan, and a marketer, I’m frustrated that these ideas fell flat before they ever had a chance to take off. I’m sure you’re wondering… if the concepts were so stellar, what went wrong? Two words: poor planning.
When we have success in any area of life—from making a big sale to raising a child with great character—we will find clues that led to that success if we look backwards. It’s easy (especially in 2012) to be moving so fast we don’t stop and look at the clues. I encourage you to stop down sometime in the next few days and look back at one of your recent successful sales and look for 
While there is no tactic as valuable as a good strategy, there are times when—despite your artful and strategic approach to 
Nobody really likes to fail! But the reality is, every salesperson has experienced some kind of failure at some point in their career… it’s inevitable! The great ones consider these experiences equivalent to an Ivy League education. Instead of allowing the negativity to devour them, they learn, overcome and move forward—quickly! 
My husband and I have been doing some home improvement projects in our backyard. We relocated a pencil cactus, planted in a dry, arid location by the previous homeowner, to make room for a deck. But, unlike the other plants in the castaway pile, this one didn’t turn brown and crispy. It laid on its side for more than a week, roots exposed, looking as green and hearty as it ever had. For those of you without a green thumb, this story is about more than gardening, so stick with me...
You already know the answer, don’t you? It’s both. But, I suggest as you try to do both, start by focusing on smarter… and then build in harder. If you do it the other way, you might end up making a lot of noise but not making a lot of progress (like a race car revving its engine while the wheels are not on the ground). 
I know sometimes you probably just want to stop the conversation and say something like, "Excuse me, but I don't understand a word you are saying." But you don't because, these days, people don't ask questions. They nod and say "okay," and then change the subject... and talk about things they do know. This seems to be the situation with digital. Most people reading this did not grow up speaking digital, and while some did take digital as a second language, they still speak it with an accent. 
We live in an age that seems to encourage complexity. You can slice and dice research six ways from Sunday to build a compelling argument as to why your product or service is better than the other guys’. Spreadsheets, pie charts and white papers are only a few keystrokes away… and illustrate why the competition is inferior to the company you represent. 
You know that feeling you have on your child’s birthday… that feeling you get when you are in a panic, trying to understand the instructions that will help you assemble The Perfect Gift? That Perfect Gift that came in 100 pieces? The one your child is no longer patiently waiting to play with? You know that feeling you get when you want to throw the box against the wall and crumble up the instructions because nothing makes sense? I think that is sometimes how we approach digital and social capabilities.
Sometimes our real-life experiences as customers provide those of us at The Center for Sales Strategy with great examples of how the sales process should flow. Not long ago, my air conditioner died, so I asked my trusted neighbors who they would recommend. We valued their opinion, so we called that company. The next day, this service provider came to our house. (We also called another company, and they said they would come and never did). The rest of the story is near-perfect execution of customer focused selling.
