- This Week's Blog
- The Sales Challenge Blog Archives
- by Bill Farquharson
The Sales Challenge Blog
New blog articles by Bill Farquharson released every Tuesday. Search by topic below or read this week’s blog now.Â

Climbing Out of the Sales Slump
It’s coming. It’s going to happen to you. A lot. You will need a strategy. The “It” in this equation is a sales slump. The strategy is what Bill Farquharson has in mind in this week’s blog.

Forecast: Sales Headwind
In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson sends out a special message of encouragement to all struggling sales reps.

I Sure Hope You’ve Been Hacked
A mind-bending email arrived in Bill Farquharson’s inbox and it resulted in a blog warning to others.

Making the Dreaded Collections Call
“Collection calls are my favorite part of the job,” said no sales rep ever. But in this week’s blog, Bill affirms the thought that this, too, is what sales gets paid for.

The Best Differentiator
When you’re in grade school, it’s all about fitting in. Get into sales and you want to stand out. In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson advises you to not overthink it.

Name-Dropping Danger
“Who are some of your other clients?” is a common question for a prospect to ask. How you respond can make or break the opportunity. Learn the right way in Bill Farquharson’s blog.

The Confidence Myth
When it comes to selling with confidence, we have it all wrong…so says Bill Farquharson in this week’s Sales Blog.

How Sales Entrepreneurs Think Differently
Can you name three things top sales reps do differently? You will after reading Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.

Best Case Assumptions
Ever talk yourself out of picking up the phone to make a sales call? They’re probably busy. Or gone. Never mind. In this week’s 1 minute read blog, Bill Farquharson changes those thoughts.

Git ‘er Done: How to Avoid Distractions
Got distractions? Here’s some thoughts on how to carve out a little quiet time. Read Bill Farquharson’s blog.

An Odd Sales Compliment
When a prospective client rewards your diligent sales efforts with these words, it is high praise indeed. Read more in Bill Farquharson’s blog.

A New Sales Rep’s Journey
Do you remember when you first started out? Remember the fear? The anxiety? The rejection? In this week’s blog, take a walk down Memory Lane with Bill Farquharson.

Selling by Their Rules
A post-golf conversation over a beer planted a thought in Bill Farquharson’s head: Whose rules are we following when we sell? Get it right and you have a client for life. Read more in this week’s blog.

Prospect Small, Sell Big
Bill Farquharson bristles at the common belief, sales is a numbers game. In this week’s blog, he presents an alternate approach.

Differentiate Your Next Email Appointment Request
You are emailing a prospect looking for an appointment. If your efforts aren’t working, perhaps you could use the advice in Bill Farquharson’s blog.

Marchand-Like Anticipation
With the Stanley Cup Finals now over, Bill Farquharson examines the play of Brad Marchand and writes in this week’s blog how you can score your next selling opportunity.

Solution Now, Anger Later
An order has gone wrong and the client is furious. They say it’s your fault but you know it’s not. Before you solve that mystery, there is something even more important to get to and Bill Farquharson writes about it in his blog this week.

Making a Good Post Great
When you bake a cake and want to make sure it is fully cooked, you are taught to stick a knife or toothpick in it. A clean instrument means done. When you are creating content to post, Bill Farquharson has a tip for you to know when it is not just good, but great.

How to Get Your Point Across in Written Form
Are your customers excited to hear from you? When an email pops up in their inbox, do they rush to open it or roll their eyes? You’ll do a better job at getting your point across in writing after reading Bill Farquharson’s blog (which you are hopefully excited to read).

Two Things to Say About Sales Objections
Why use 250 words when 50 will get your point across just fine? In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson goes with brevity to make two important points about sales objections.

Never Close a Sale
If you have a lot of quotes out there, you need to do two things. The first is to close, close, close. The second is to learn how to sell so you DON’T need to close, close, close. Find out more in Bill Farquharson’s blog.

I Know I Know You, But…
You are at a mall when you see a familiar face. They look at you and smile, then walk towards you to say hello. In the interim, you panic and go through your Rolodex of names but nothing comes to you. There is an awkwardness that can be cured two ways: miraculous recall or…reading Bill Farquharson’s blog.

Things You Can’t Teach a New Rep
The thing about starting up as a new sales person is you can take hours and hours of training classes to learn the do’s and don’t and how’s, but there a few points which are completely untrainable, and that’s what Bill Farquharson has on his mind in this week’s blog.

See If You Can Spot the Problem
A print shop owner has a problem: He can’t get a new sales hire to stick around. In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson shares the transcript of his conversation and asks, “Can you spot the problem?” Help Bill’s customer by sharing your thoughts on why there is a revolving door of new sales hires.

Sell Like You Mean It, But You Don’t Need It
When Caddyshack’s Judge Schmails said, “It’s easy to grin when your ship comes in,” he wasn’t talking about sales. But when Bill Farquharson considers the Judge’s words, he comes up with a compelling thought in this week’s blog.