BDU Blog

Do you have a strong network of referral sources and COIs introducing you to good, qualified prospects? Do you have a long list of potential clients or customers you’re planning to contact? This is a great start, but these referrals or contacts are not valuable until you convert them to net new appointments. Having difficulty with getting your foot in … Read More

You’ve gone through all of the steps necessary to successfully bring a prospect through to the final stages of the selling process, and you’re getting ready to present them with a proposal. Do you set a time to meet with them face-to-face to review what you’re offering or do you simply shoot out an email with your proposal attached? Which … Read More

Last month, we provided some tips for maximizing your summer business efforts to keep your progress moving forward despite the common myth that business doesn’t happen over the summer. Now, as we head towards September and prepare to enter the final third of the year, there are only a few more months left to hit your goals. In addition to … Read More

We’re in the middle of summer, and you may have heard over and over again that it’s a terrible season for business activity. We often hear that people are not motivated to move forward with new deals, sales are slow and everyone is on vacation. However, before you completely write off the summer months as a waste of time, flip … Read More

During a recent visit to the gym, BDU’s CEO Lisa struck up a conversation with one of her workout buddies. The topic quickly turned to business, and Lisa’s friend excitedly shared with her that, after much negotiation, he had just signed a large contract for his company. This was a huge deal for him, and he was very proud of … Read More

If you’re going to take the time to attend a networking event, you need to make sure that you’re getting the most from your efforts there. It’s not enough just to show up. You should arrive well-prepared so you’re purposeful in your activities. “Networking Events: BDU’s Step-by-Step Guide,” by BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin, helps you plan for everything from what to bring … Read More

Consider doing a little “spring cleaning” on your business development efforts to remain focused and purposeful in your activities: Reevaluate and make a plan. Don’t just wing it. Be purposeful in your approach. Update your “to do” list. What items reoccur on your list week after week and don’t get accomplished? Does it still make sense to execute those tasks? … Read More

BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin had a wonderful time recently when she spoke with a group from the Professional Sales Organization of TU, a student-run association from Temple University. They held a Fox Sales Challenge event, breaking into groups of two to analyze a case study and showcase their presentation skills for a panel of judges. Lisa is very passionate about … Read More

It’s so much easier to keep your existing clients or customers than to spend time and effort seeking out new business. How do we maintain our current business relationships to make sure our clients or customers stay satisfied with what we’re providing them and to anticipate their needs if they should change? BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin recently met with a … Read More

CEO Think Tank recently published the findings of their 12th annual growth strategies survey, data compiled from businesses in and around the Greater Philadelphia area, and what we’ve learned from the results isn’t the least bit surprising. According to the CEOs surveyed, 40% say “increasing revenues” is their top priority for the year. It appears they’re facing the same challenges … Read More

Time goes by so quickly and it’s difficult to believe we’re already in March! It’s easy to become discouraged if you haven’t yet set your business development goals for the year or determined how you’ll carve out the time. Rest assured… it’s not too late! Seize the opportunity today to evaluate the beginning of your year and plan for the … Read More

Lisa’s Interview with Temple’s Fox School of Business As a Temple University graduate, BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin is proud of the time she spent at the Fox School of Business earning her MBA. She was so honored when they recently reached out to her for an interview on her secrets to sales success. Read the full article, where Lisa discusses … Read More

Non-selling professionals such as lawyers, accountants, consultants and small business owners need to grow their client base, but they want to do so without coming off as too pushy. It’s hard to walk that fine line between gently pursuing new leads and aggressively going after them, so how exactly to do you sell without being too “salesy?” BDU has eight … Read More

Happy New Year! Now is the perfect time to evaluate your past year’s performance and put together your game plan for the year ahead. BDU has five important tips to help you plan for success in 2018: Take a minute to reflect and reset. There is nothing you can do about last year, last week, the other day or even … Read More

BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin recently spoke to a group of Vistage members on the topic of “Sales Superstars: Getting the Most out of Your Sales Team.” One of the main takeaways from her talk was that as a sales leader you have a one line job description: to maximize the potential and performance of your sales associates. How do you … Read More

We’re so excited to share this recent spotlight on BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin for ASI’s Advantages magazine! In Lisa’s Q & A, featured in the magazine’s “The Experts” section, she discusses what she’s discovered to be the keys to sales success.   Advantages is the leading industry publication for distributors with content that “regularly gives distributor sales people a leg up on their … Read More

Regardless of industry, there comes a time in every sales person’s career when they enter the “picky” stage. It’s the stage when, due to time and bandwidth constraints that come along with maintaining, up-selling and cross-selling existing customers, a sales person needs to be particular with the business they take on and the customers they pursue. It is just not … Read More

At BDU, one of our core philosophies is the concept of “squeezing the lemon.” It’s not about turning lemons into lemonade. It’s the idea of “squeezing” the most out of everything we do and maximizing every opportunity to make the most out of a situation, whether it’s for business or in our personal lives. Even something as basic as taking … Read More

With the summer months quickly coming to an end and the fall season right around the corner, now is the time to make sure you’re not only hitting but exceeding the goals you set for 2017. There are only a few short months left until a new year begins, so you need to make sure you’re preparing yourself or your … Read More

As the Sales Executive in Residence at Temple University, BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin had the opportunity on Thursday, July 20th to present at the Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s Startup Studio, a forum for new and upcoming business leaders. In her talk, given mostly to the 2017 BYOBB finalists and other new entrepreneurs, Lisa covered the key aspects of growing a young … Read More

If you’re responsible for managing a sales team, it’s likely you’ve seen your sales associates come and go. However, have you ever wondered if you could possibly do things differently in order to decrease a rapid rate of turnover and keep a strong sales team in place? Here are the top four reasons your sales people are most likely to … Read More

In May, BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin had the opportunity to once again join a panel of “sharks” for “Sales Shark Tank,” a presentation for Kim Richmond’s Personal Selling course at Rutgers University in Camden. During the “Sales Shark Tank,” teams of students from Richmond’s class practiced demonstrating their sales skills by presenting various products they’ve created to the panel of … Read More

“If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Those words of wisdom from Ben Franklin were a focal point of BDU’s CLE workshop, Making Time for Rainmaking. BDU’s Beth Rosenfeld and Heather Herrington held several interactive sessions on this valuable topic. The 90-minute sessions focused on developing individual plans for carving out time for business development and marketing, as … Read More

Do you want to know the three secrets of sales success? BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin uncovers these “expert secrets” in this short, informative video by ASI. (Read their full post at www.asicentral.com.) Want to learn more from Lisa? Join her at the next ASI show in Chicago!