This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the responsibility-vs-accountability framing that drives most sales-ops conflicts, the rule that the order is the only source of truth, and the full breakdown of show levels one through six with the operational implications of each.

https://www.trstimson.com/how-sales-and-operations-work-together/

"That's a lot of money" is surprise, not a negotiating position. Most sales objections are single-level, and one response solves them.

In this episode, I break down four types of single-level objections, how to handle each one without overreacting, and why dropping price on an exclamation is the wrong move.

Listen now.

Visit trstimson.com for more resources.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the five primary roles in the selling sphere: account executive (strategic, client-facing), account manager (tactical, customer-by-customer), customer service rep (triage, escalates when needed), project coordinator (sales manager's assistant), and sales director (administrator, not seller).

Plus business development, which is the human face of marketing.

https://www.trstimson.com/titles-dont-matter-roles-do/

More buyers are asking for multi-year agreements because they're tired of shopping and tired of unpredictable pricing.

In this episode, I break down how to price a multi-year deal by holding what you own and control, capping crew increases, and giving the buyer one clear negotiating point on a small piece of the project.

Listen now.

Visit trstimson.com for more resources.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn

The hardest word in business is no. We don't like saying it. I can't say no to revenue. I can't say no to my employees. I can't say no to my customers. I can't say no to my suppliers.

Look at thriving companies in any industry, and what you'll notice first is they're remarkably good at saying no.

https://www.trstimson.com/thriving-company/

A customer asks for a screen, and you're already pricing dress kits and scenic surrounds. That's upselling, and it favors you more than the buyer.

In this episode, I break down the difference between baseline needs, enhancements, and options, and explain why upsells lack context, weren't asked for, and always favor the seller.

Close the baseline deal first, keep enhancements open, and deliver what the customer asked for. Listen to learn how.

Visit trstimson.com for more resources.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's Monday Morning Drive lays out the full structure: the two meetings, the three categories that belong in planning, the magic question that compresses the agenda, the cross-job moves that turn one truck into two jobs of revenue, and why your planning horizon needs to be three to six months out, not next week.

https://www.trstimson.com/stop-wasting-three-hours-on-production-meetings/

"Punching above your weight" usually means taking on a show that's bigger than your company. But the more important version happens when you hire people.

Hire someone ridiculously overqualified for the role, and watch them solve your immediate problem, then move on to the next one without being asked.

Listen now and rethink what "overqualified" means for your business.

Visit trstimson.com for more resources.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn

This week's Monday Morning Drive walks through the four questions, the three priorities that replace "fast, cheap, good," the three different proposals that match those priorities, and the difference between a bow-tie sale and a diamond sale.

https://www.trstimson.com/stop-writing-proposals-without-answers/

All of your prices are made up. The question is whether they're made up based on what you can verify in the marketplace or what you've always charged because nobody complained.

In this episode, I use my summer working at a foreign car junkyard in 1978 to break down the pricing principles that still apply to quoting AV jobs today: replacement cost as your baseline, writing the numbers down, bundling for value, and knowing what it costs to get something from somewhere else.

If you quote smarter, you quote faster. Listen now and rethink how you build your prices from the ground up.

Visit trstimson.com for more resources.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn