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Sales Resources
Learn by Sales Challenge
“How do I stay in touch with a prospect but not overdo it?”
How do you stay top of mind with a prospect without crossing the line into being a nuisance? After multiple outreach attempts with no response, it can be tough to know when to keep pushing and when to step back. The key is delivering valuable, relevant messages that show you’re persistent, not annoying. But how much follow-up is too much? And how do you strike the perfect balance?
“I want new business”
File this one under, “No kidding. Who doesn’t?” Okay, so you want to open some new accounts but you don’t know where to start. You likely fall into one of two categories: “New Reps” or “Legacy Reps”. The Sales Vault has options for both.
“I want to improve my time management”
There is a big difference between busy and productive. Most likely, if you have clicked on this category, you find yourself busy all the time. Equally likely is the fact that the only way you believe you can grow is by working even harder. So, let’s talk ideas for improving your productivity, starting with some lessons on time management.
No one is returning my calls!
Yep, this is definitely an issue. Over the years, various forms of, “No one is returning my calls” has become a top sales challenge. So, first, understand this: You are not alone. Feel better? Probably not. So, let’s dive deeper…
My sales suck. What should I do?
A bad week of sales becomes a bad month. Not only is no one on your new business list responding to your connection attempts, but no reorders are coming in either. Before the pattern repeats and becomes a full-on epidemic of terrible numbers, misery, and depression, let’s talk about actions you can take to reverse the trend and get back to solid sales growth.
Selling to Different Personalities
Overall, understanding different personality types as a salesperson allows you to adapt your communication style, build rapport, identify buying triggers, address objections, and strengthen customer relationships. These skills can significantly enhance your effectiveness in sales and contribute to your overall success in the field.
I’m New to Sales
Looking back to the start of my sales career, I was fortunate to work for a company that invested in training. The fundamentals of sales haven’t changed in the 40+ years since I started. If you’re new to sales, this is where to start.
Selling Digital Printing
Select from this collection of white papers available for download. Each written by Bill Farquharson and Kelly Mallozzi, focused on the nuances of selling digital printing vs. traditional print with actionable strategies.
I feel like I need to follow the job all the way through production…
Are you battling “CSR Disease?” Definition: CSR Disease is the name given to sales people who spend an inordinate amount of time mothering their jobs through the plant. They either can’t or won’t pass the baton to production. Is this you?
Sales Apps You Should Know About
Search “Sales Apps” on Google and the number of responses will rival that of the Gross National Product. There are thousands of apps and many do similar things. Here are just a few that are worth your time, listed by their intended benefit.
Workshop Replays
Recap & Replay: The Weekly Sales Plan: Think Ahead, Win Ahead
A calmer week starts before the week starts. Build a simple plan, set priorities, block selling time, and use quick daily check-ins to stay on track—even when interruptions hit.
Recap & Replay: What the Groundhog Can Teach Us About Time Management
Stop “catching up” (spoiler: you won’t). Learn Bill’s repeatable time-management routine: plan tomorrow before you end today, set weekly priorities, keep your pipeline healthy, and build real accountability into your week.
Recap & Replay: The Persistence Advantage: Smart Follow-Up That Wins More Deals
Persistence isn’t pestering—it’s proving you’re the pro. This replay shows how to build a repeatable follow-up routine that earns trust, reduces price sensitivity, and helps you win deals others abandon.
Recap & Replay: How to Sell Without Selling: Education-Based Marketing for Warmer Leads
People hate being sold to—but they love learning. In this Sales Vault replay, discover how to shift from pitching to educating, position yourself as the expert, and turn simple teaching content into warmer leads.
Recap & Replay: Selling Value When the Customer Just Wants Price
Customers who only want price will treat you like a quote machine. This replay shows you how to shift the conversation to value with better questions, smarter options, and stronger positioning—so you can win the work at your price.
Recap & Replay: Stop Quoting & Start Selling
Stop sending quotes into the void. In this workshop, Bill shares how to qualify the job and the customer, ask smarter questions, and use speed, communication, and better options to turn quotes into conversations (and revenue).
Recap & Replay: Breaking Out of a Sales Slump
Lost your selling spark? This workshop replay delivers practical, confidence-building strategies to reset your mindset, take controllable actions, and sell your way out of a slump—starting today.
Recap & Replay: Creating a Prospecting Process You’ll Actually Stick To
Struggling to stay consistent with prospecting? This workshop replay shows you how to build a simple, repeatable outreach process—using scheduling, accountability, reflection, and easy “starter” actions that keep momentum going.
Recap & Replay: Just Checking In Isn’t a Follow-Up Strategy
Prospects aren’t ignoring you because you’re bad at sales—they’re ignoring you because your follow-up sounds like everyone else’s. Learn how to add value, use smarter touchpoints, and stay “pleasantly assertive” without sounding desperate.
Recap & Replay: From Paralyzed to Productive
In this interactive Sales Vault workshop, real sellers open up about distraction, overload, and chaotic workdays—and learn how to protect their time, plan smarter, and get important sales work done.
Short Attention Span Sales Tips
Back to Your Sales Future
They say the best indicator of the future is the past. A visit to the past can also help your sales future, as explained in Bill Farquharson’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip this week.
Beating Sales Fraud
The Imposter Syndrome affects 70% of sales people. While time and experience will eventually help, there is a quicker path to confidence. It’s the subject of Bill Farquharson’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip this week.
The What Then the Who. That’s How.
Want to land a Big Fish account? In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, Bill Farquharson gives you a step-by-step plan.
Your Sales Face is Your Sales Force
Want to know why no one is returning your emails? Or why your voicemails fall into the abyss? Bill Farquharson knows and he tells all in this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip.
The Upside of Sales Chaos
The next time you are working at a 100mph pace, remember the words from this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip: This is a good thing! Keep it up!
New Rep Sales Guarantee
There are few guarantees in life (other than death and taxes), but in this first Short Attention Span Sales Tip of 2026, Bill Farquharson offers new sales people an iron clad guarantee for success.
Useful Marketing
The computer cursor blinks on and off as you struggle to find something to post on LinkedIn. But after this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, the words will flow!
How to Grab a Prospect’s Attention
What do the first ten seconds of this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip have in common with the first 10 seconds of your voicemail? Answer: One word.
100 Sales Calls in a Week
Any idiot who says “You must make 100 sales calls a day” has never made 100 sales calls a day. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, Bill Farquharson shows you how to make 100 sales calls a week. Combine this info with his ideas for making quality sales calls and now you really have something!
Sales Productivity
Why does Bill Farquharson dedicate so many Short Attention Span Sales Tips to the subject of productivity? Because selling more in less time is a shared goal…or at least it should be.
Short Attention Span Sales Blog
The One Sentence Email Challenge
Want to get a client to respond to your email? Try the innovative approach outlined in Bill Farquharson’s blog.
You Screwed Up an Order!
The premise of Bill Farquharson’s blog is bizarre: The goal of the screwed up order is to come away better off than if everything went smoothly.
Sales Lessons From the Mouse That Ate My Car
When a mouse did thousands of dollars of damage to Bill Farquharson’s car, one benefit was a sales lesson. Read more in his blog this week.
The Learning Hour
What if you took an hour a week to get better? By the time you read this week’s blog by Bill Farquharson, he will have done just that for half of January. Find out what he is up to and then come back next month to hear the results.
Stop Lobbing My Groceries
Two recent interactions with entry-level workers serve as the source for Bill Farquharson’s blog this week. Do you remember your first/worst job? You will after this quick read.
When a Client Meeting Makes a Statement
As you read these words, Bill Farquharson is headed to a client meeting so important, he is taking the unnecessary step of flying 6 hours in one day when he could have clicked a Zoom link instead. The difference? One makes a statement reserved for Big Fish. Read more in Bill’s blog.
My “Best of” 2025 Memories
While 2025 was a deeply flawed year for the world, Bill Farquharson still has some good thoughts to share in this, his final blog of the year. Here are Bill’s “bests” from a year that seemed a lot longer.
Unhappy Customer? Make it Free!
In Bill Farquharson’s blog this week you’ll hear a message you need to hear every day. In fact, that’s the point (1 min read).
The One Trait That Matters Most Right Now
In Bill Farquharson’s blog this week you’ll hear a message you need to hear every day. In fact, that’s the point (1 min read).
Mindset Is the Message
A client can hear every emotion you are having, so in this week’s blog you’ll find out the most important ones to have (1
On-Demand Courses
Applying Pareto: Work Less, Sell More
In this four-part video series, I give you a completely different way to think about how to spend your selling time. Some of my discussion points will challenge your long-held beliefs about time management as it relates to sales efficiency.
Why Your Sales Reps Won’t Sell Inkjet (and what to do about it)
Overview OVERVIEW Why Your Sales Reps Won’t Sell Inkjet (and what to do about it) Congratulations on the purchase of that new inkjet press. Bad news: Your reps won’t sell to it? This 20 minute video explains why and then, more importantly, what owners and managers need to do in order to change that. Click […]
Verticals: Selling to Banks Opportunity #2 – Follow the money.
This second-in-a-series video discusses a clever idea for uncovering a sale to a bank. Banks spend 10 times more on this than on anything else. Follow the money.
Verticals: Selling to Banks Opportunity #1 – The Basics
Before you sell to banks, you need to understand their world. This first-in-a-series video goes over the basics and gives 2 ideas for where you should start.
Nail that First Prospecting Call
That first prospecting call can be terrifying for a lot of reasons. This Sales Vault course gives you ideas and strategies to take you from fear to fierce.
Finding the Elusive Customer in COVID Times
Overview OVERVIEW Creative ideas to help you connect with prospects In a recent Sales Vault poll, members overwhelmingly reported “Finding and connecting with customers/prospects” as their #1 sales challenge. This course speaks to that issue directly with several ideas designed to help with a long time obstacle made more difficult with so many now working […]
How to Overcome the ‘Price’ Objection
Ask a sales rep to name their top sales challenges and, “Responding to a customer telling me my bid was not the lowest” is certainly in the top three. This course teaches you options for not only beating this objection, but avoiding entirely.
Sell like Geico
Overview OVERVIEW Sell Like Geico Quick: Think of a Geico ad campaign. Bet you thought of several. The result of their approach: $41.6 Billion in profits to Berkshire Hathaway. What’s the lesson? How can you “Sell Like Geico” and what might it do for your sales? Take the course and find out. Click image below […]
Selling to Vertical Markets
On-Demand Course View All Courses Overview Watch the Video Additional Resources Related Courses OVERVIEW Selling to Verticals is all about creating a repeatable success. You remember being in grade school (sixth grade, Max) and the teacher asked a question to which you are 100% certain he knew the answer? You’d thrust your hand into the […]
Basic Time Management: Strategies
This course is a “strongly recommended” prerequisite to the Advanced Time Management Course: Applying Pareto. As you complete each section below, click on the course navigation buttons to progress through the course. This course is the second of two video-based modules setting the stage for you to improve your time management skills. Learn the not-so-secret […]
Downloadable Tools & Templates
AI Prompts for Presentation Prep
Smart AI prompts to help you use ChatGPT effectively for planning and refining your next sales presentation.
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Tips for Delivering an Effective Presentation
A one-page guide to help you deliver more persuasive, confident, and client-focused sales presentations.
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Effective Sales Presentation: Pre-Call Readiness Checklist
A practical checklist to confirm you’re ready for your next presentation — from prospect research and objective setting to visuals and follow-up planning.
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AI & Time Management Prompts for Sales Professionals
Learn how to use AI to plan your day, track goals, and stay accountable. This downloadable guide includes proven ChatGPT prompts for better time management and sales growth.
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Weekly & Ongoing Tasks for Sales Growth
Want to grow your print, promo, or signage business? This downloadable guide from Bill Farquharson lays out the must-do weekly tasks and strategic questions that drive real sales growth. Perfect for solo reps or sales teams.
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Growth Strategy Worksheet Download
This downloadable worksheet from Bill Farquharson guides Sales Vault members through 40 essential questions to evaluate their current sales performance, uncover new opportunities, and develop a strategic plan for growth. Whether you’re a sales rep or a selling owner in print, signage, or promotional products, this tool will help clarify your vision, sharpen your competitive edge, and move your business forward.
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Own the Stage: Bill Farquharson’s Pro Tips for Knockout Live Presentations
Want to captivate your audience from the first moment you step on stage? These tried-and-true tips from Bill Farquharson will help you own the spotlight—without breaking a sweat.
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Sales and AI Download
Download notes and instructions generated during the January 2024 Sales Vault Workshop entitled “Sales and AI”. Join in on the follow up discussion in February.
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The Right Way to Nag
It is frustrating to continually make attempts to connect with a prospect and get nothing back. Yet, we can all understand that it isn’t easy getting bombarded with unsolicited emails. Let this email be an example of how to follow up on an initial attempt and learn to nag the right way.
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Sales Call Checklist: Download
You finally got that appointment after endless attempts. Congratulations!
But, now what?
This could be your one and only opportunity with this prospect. That means you need to make the most of your face time.
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Whitepapers
Digital Printing Sales Action Plan
In the following pages we will prepare you with the tools you need to successfully implement your digital print sales action plan. Consider this your do-it-yourself digital printing sales kit.
Selling to Verticals
Learn how to look beyond the printed piece, specs and quantities and shine the spotlight on the industry itself. There you will find some fascinating tidbits of information that will help you achieve the goal of solving problems and earning orders, while creating a repeatable industry sales strategy.
Identifying Digital Print Opportunities
Learn how to rapidly recognize the existence of a digital/inkjet print opportunity from circumstances that might include: A problem a client is trying to solve, A delivery requirement, or even… a need to convey multiple messages to multiple markets. Be able to quickly survey the landscape and identify the best places for digital/inkjet print opportunities.
Digital Printing: Success Through Disruption
Selling inkjet is WAY out of the traditional sales rep’s comfort zone. The inkjet print sale can be highly technical. And when you add the prospect of variable data printing, it becomes exponentially more complicated. But, there are pathways to success!
Back to the Future: The New Old Sales Skills Required to Sell Digital Print
The smart, flexible sales rep understands that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Drawing on lessons from the past, a new approach to sales is necessary – one that includes many of the same selling skills and techniques from a different era.
Want to Sell More Digital Printing?
Take your sales process to a whole new level! Follow Bill’s sales fundamentals tenets and success will follow.
Why Aren’t You Selling More
Download Whitepaper Now, there’s a good question! Learn 4 questions to ask yourself when sales go south…
The Sales Calendar
Download Whitepaper The selling year ebbs and flows. Think of it as 12 hard months and that’s what it will be. Break it up as Bill down in this download and you can make smaller plans which yield bigger results.
How to Make TEN Sales Calls a Day
Download Whitepaper Do you have time to make ten new business calls a day? You might not think so but I’ll change your mind…
Articles
Sales Challenges: Cross That Line
Want Sales Success? Get in Line!
Sales Challenges: The Tsunami of AI
Everything, everywhere, all at once. A strange, hard to follow Academy Award Best Picture winner (we shut off after the hot dog fingers scene) or the description of AI as it infiltrates our lives? Answer: both. You might have heard the phrase, “Drinking from a fire hose.” This occurs when you are taking in a […]
To Get Ahead, Think Ahead
Sales is a job of do, do, do. It is a task-oriented endeavor, full of checklists, prioritizing, interruptions, procrastinations, have-to’s, want-to’s, could-do’s, should-do’s, and ultimately, results. Oftentimes, a sales rep’s daily agenda is self-generating: arrive in the morning, take on the first task that comes, and don’t stop until dark. They live on a treadmill, […]
Tennis, Sales Management, and Winning Twice
It was the Saturday before Labor Day and that meant the club’s tennis championships. In the men’s doubles event, 17-year-old Jack Rubin was serving. His team was down 5-4 in the first set and 30-40 in the game. Jack’s first serve went long. He tossed the ball into the air and hit his second serve […]
Sales Challenges: When You Know You Can Do Better
It was late in the day and late in the month. My wife and I were enjoying a cocktail by the pool, debriefing each other on our day, discussing numerous child-related issues (with seven kids between us, there were plenty), and looking ahead. Toward that end, Allison asked me, “What are you looking forward to […]
Worst Case Scenarios: Sales Edition
Salespeople are, by nature, optimists. If they weren’t, they would never be able to endure the beatings taken along the way to a successful career. Tomorrow will always be better than today. Your business will grow. Your client base is secure and your customers are happy. Regardless of the economy, someone is always buying. Print […]
What to Do When Your Sales Are …
In an attempt to check in on you, your boss walks past your desk and tosses out a lazy, “How’s business?” You answer, then provide just enough information for her to walk away satisfied. The last thing you need is commentary on your sales efforts. She’ll stay out of your hair for a while and […]
6 Printing Industry Sales Tips to Create an Experience
The email read, “Thank you for your proposal and presentation to become the print vendor of choice at Whatsamatta U. We were impressed with your equipment list and capabilities. The samples you showed displayed some excellent quality. There is no doubt you do great work for your clients. However, at this time we have chosen […]
Raise Prices the Right Way and Clients Will Love It!
Price increases are inevitable. Over the course of a career in this (or any other) industry, you will no doubt be faced with the challenge of delivering bad news to a customer: We are going to be charging you more for the same goods and services. The event itself cannot be avoided but the customer […]
10 Reasons Why Sales Are Down
Your email inbox is empty. You have no voicemails. Your phone is quiet. Looking at the sales leaderboard, your name is last on the list. To say business is off is an understatement. Having gone through all the usual “It’s not my fault” excuses to explain your situation — no one is buying right now, […]
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