Category Archives for "Steve Caldwell Series"

We began this series with the assumption that “perceptions of risk matter”. We noted that risk is complex. When you wish to change someone else’s behavior (essential for sales), you try to affect their situation as YOU see it. But this is not enough. You must also influence how THEY “see” the situation. After all, […]

Retail is about selling products, right? Well… sure but maintaining a healthy market is a bit more complicated and requires that exchange to remain balanced. Once that balance is disrupted, one party will eventually terminate the relationship. Peter Drucker said, “the purpose of a business is to create customers, profit simply validates the business model.” There’s no […]

Many people consider innovation and invention to be synonymous.  Strategic discussions between retailers and suppliers of “consumer packaged goods” (CPGs) often include conversations about the importance of product innovation. While these companies realize they must innovate to remain relevant, their management may hesitate to implement the necessary change, especially if they have been conditioned to […]

I always start my lectures on TRUST by asking this question, “If everybody wants it, why then do we have so little of it?” I then get a lot of blank stares from students, wondering, “Is this a trick question?” No. It’s not a trick question but it certainly is a fascinating one and it speaks […]

Have you ever wondered why people are inherently resistant to change even when it is obvious that the change will benefit them? I find this “mystery” especially frustrating in CPG sales. You believe you have a product that would really make things better for others. Yet, even the best marketing message and presentation gets a […]

If repeated often enough over an extended period of time, a “myth” can gain acceptance as “fact.” At that point, it begins to influence how we think, feel, and act – hence, birth of a myth. You have heard it said, “You can accomplish anything you want to if you just try hard enough.” Unfortunately, […]