When your product is excellent - when quality, reliability, and support already rank high - the real difference between winning and losing increasingly lives in relationships, influence, and insight.

Last week, I had the honor of leading a workshop with the leadership team at John Deere in Moline. The mission was clear: help Deere leaders coach their distributors to shift from surface-level vendor relationships to deep, strategic partnerships inside their customers’ organizations.

A large and growing body of B2B insight backs this imperative. The authors of The Challenger Sale and The Challenger Customer taught us that top-performing teams don’t just sell. They challenge thinking, activate hidden influencers, and build consensus in complex decision environments.

📌 Why This Matters Now

1. Complexity is rising Decisions aren’t made in isolation anymore. Finance, operations, safety, compliance, sustainability - all have a voice. If a distributor interacts only with the familiar...

Does anxiety ever creep in when you have to meet new people?

It doesn't matter how rich, handsome, athletic, smart, or beautiful you are, the one thing we ALL have in common is that sometimes our biggest fear is that we won't fit in - that we won't be liked, that we will be awkward, or that we will be rejected.

This fear creeps in when we me meet new people in any number of arenas:

-The first day of school is never easy. 
-Fitting in with new co-workers can be equally intimidating.
-Networking events can make us feel isolated. 
-And pitching a new product or service requires stepping out of our comfort zone on a daily basis.

Fitting in is different than standing out! And make no mistake, there are times when you're going to want to stand out - but not every situation calls for that. Sometimes, our only desire is to FIT IN.

I have three things you can do right now that will make fitting in easier the next time you enter any arena.

1. Have a warm and genuine smile at the ready. I say ...