Bob Schultek

Bob has more than 30 years of service as a senior sales and business development executive, CEO and business owner. His expertise includes customer-partnered business development, strategic planning, sales management, customer service, operational alignment, lean process analysis and improvement, quality assurance, and performance management. He has worked in the energy, medical device, bioscience & pharmaceutical, discrete and process manufacturing, packaging and distribution, communications and information technology, and business-to-business service industries.

Is Relationship Selling Dead?

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That’s the premise of The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon. Of course, the message of the book is more subtle. What The Challenger Sale actually suggests is that your customer relationships will generate more sales only when you continue to produce strategic value for your customers. Customers have many options available to them; competitive intensity continues to grow and the pace of evolution continues to accelerate. Customers demand expertise, initiative and innovation. They expect you …

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6 Company Values That Boost Profitability

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How do you know if your company’s Core Values are driving your success? Many companies have Values, but which ones are proven to boost profitability? According to Peter Cohen (Value Leaders, 2003), there are 6 standard Values that have helped eight publicly-traded companies achieve superior financial and stock market performance. Value human relationships. People matter – they make the difference in whether a business succeeds or fails. Satisfied customers are more profitable; satisfied employees are more …

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Pursuing New Customers

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Adding customers is a compulsory exercise requiring persistence and a significant investment of time and money. For much of the B-to-B market, cold calling is no longer an option so what works best? In our connected, noisy, ever-urgent economy, consider the following concepts to meet and develop new customers: Plan your attack. Rather than knocking on any door you see, plan your attack as follows: Specify your Core Customer, the customer most likely to buy …

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3 Essentials for Sustaining Trust

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Trust is the foundation of enduring relationships – trust in self and trust in others.  Individuals and organizations cannot change and grow without it. If generosity creates trust, then what sustains it? Trust must be earned, revealed and validated by your actions. Demanding that others be trustworthy, or proclaiming yourself to be, is a futile expression. Sustaining trust requires the determined implementation of 3 essential elements: Caring: You cannot trust someone you believe lacks a …

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3 Basics for Cross-Selling

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The most productive and economical strategy for boosting sales is to increase your transactions with your current customers. Most likely, you built relationships with your customers by producing value from one product or service. They define their relationship with you through the lens of that one offering and aren’t thinking about how else you might help them be successful. There are 3 basics for using the strategy of cross-selling to expand your relationship with your …

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Preserving vs. Breaking

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Managing the ever accelerating pace of change creates a challenge for leaders. In the race to stay ahead, what parts of your business do you preserve and what should you break? The competitive advantage of your exclusive product or service erodes quickly these days. Sustaining a program of continuous innovation and improvement is mandatory to stay ahead of the disruptive forces of unrelenting, rapid change. Implementing such a program drives you to acquire new skills …

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Increase Lead Conversion with Versatility

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When a customer has a problem, they search the web using whatever words they know about their challenge and possible solutions. But once they have identified potential solution providers, most customers want to connect directly with them to discuss their needs. Rather than forcing a potential customer to fill out a response form on your website, it’s more productive if you enable those customers to contact you in whatever way they are most comfortable. This …

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3 Ways To Move Faster

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In this dynamic marketplace, how can you move faster? How can you accelerate your time to market? How can you react faster to opportunities? How can moving faster help you grow, or save you time and money? Moving faster primarily involves your decision-making process. Here are 3 ways to move faster: Accelerate decision-making. First, you must choose to decide. Ask yourself if waiting to decide will generate any more useful information. If the answer is …

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6 Factors That Enable Influence

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Leading a business, or driving a change initiative, or proposing solutions to a customer requires that you influence others. There are 6 factors that enable you to persuade those you need to convince. Much has been written about the art of influencing others to follow your lead. One of the best known works is called the “The Science of Persuasion” by Dr. Robert Cialdini and it describes six principles that are most productive for generating a …

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Three Excuses That Reduce Sales

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When working with sales teams, three excuses are often cited as obstacles to earning new business. Ask yourself “why” you think it is an issue when you are tempted to mention one of these excuses and try a different approach 1. “If we don’t offer the lowest price, we don’t get the order.” If you make no effort to learn about your customers’ business, and offer nothing novel or compelling to help them achieve success, …

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