Jerry R Mitchell’s Blog

There is nothing new under the sun; you’ve heard it before.  But we ought to repeat some things regularly despite the tedium of the process.  They’re like reflecting lights that illuminate our way, and our way is one step from the shadow of darkness.
Seek contentment, abhor complacency, and don’t be anxious about anything.  The most [...]

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Venture capital takes ownership away from you; do you really want to do that?
It was 1999, at the height of the boom, a few months before the bust of April 2000 so he can be forgiven.  I stood before a crowd of entrepreneurs gathered at a hotel on Route 128 in Burlington Massachusetts.  They’d each [...]

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“We can’t afford to just hold the line; we’ve got to attack the competition” “This new product will help us to penetrate our target market”.  “Smith, you’ve got to defend our position”.  “With this advertising campaign we can outflank”.  “Let’s bring in the big guns from headquarters”.  “The objective of this operation is to.”
The world [...]

Read the rest of SALES IS LIKE WAR By: Written May 1970

Entrepreneurs starting out today, have an enormous advantage over their predecessors when it comes to acquiring information, and it’s all because of the Internet.  In days gone by new entrepreneurs had to explore libraries and bookstores to learn about financing, sales, marketing, venture capital, and oh yes business plans.  If they wanted to ask a [...]

Read the rest of Asking the right person for help.

The words authority, responsibility, and accountability are old friends to the management profession. They have been helping managers set operational boundaries for years.
As my Management 101 professor declared: “By making it crystal clear who is authorized to do things, who is to make sure things get done, and who will be checked on whether they [...]

Read the rest of Can do, should do, must do. Six little words can make a big difference.

History abounds with tales of experts who were convinced that the ideas, plans, and projects of others could never be achieved. However, accomplishment came to those who said, “I can make it happen.”
The Italian sculptor Agostino d’Antonio worked diligently on a large piece of marble. Unable to produce his desired masterpiece, he lamented, “I can [...]

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When Tiger Woods steps onto the golf course and tees his ball, a specific goal consumes his mind, doesn’t it? He chooses his club, addresses the ball, concentrates deeply and swings with just the right amount of force and finesse to put the ball in the distant cup. Without the goal, he might just as [...]

Read the rest of Goals will take you where you dream of going.

I’ve been thinking: Why aren’t there more entrepreneurs? A better question might be: Why are there ANY entrepreneurs?
If what you read is true, the title “entrepreneur” would be synonymous with “glutton for punishment.” The stories of brushes with disaster, reports of the long odds of success and the need to work 24 hours a day [...]

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You can because you know you can.” Without that phrase and the emotional/intellectual connection it represents there is no personal growth. I observe many entrepreneurs who tell the same story year after year their business plan looking the same from year to year not really believing that  they will ever achieve their dreams. I believe [...]

Read the rest of To me life is change: When you don’t change, you’re either dead or acting as if you are.

                                     
Has this discussion come up in your sales meetings? “How can we increase the volume and scope of services sold to our larger customers? We need to sell more network consulting, needs analysis, configuration, installation, telephone support, and maintenance, but our larger customers have taken on these services internally.
 
Selling services may be the remedy for [...]

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