- 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

That Little Extra
Differentiation comes in many forms. A printer is a printer is a printer. All transactions are the same. But every once in a while you come across a small difference-maker. Bill Farquharson saw one while his wife was hanging a picture and it turned into ideas that can help you stand out. Read Bill’s blog.

Best Things to Say to a Customer Right Now
There are two types of people: Those who love roller coasters and those who don’t. Both groups, however, are united in their feelings about a

AI Research = Better Sales
The single most important sales skill a rep can have? Pre-call research. In this week’s blog, learn how to harness the power of AI to secure more appointments.

AI-Powered Prospecting
Referrals are every sales rep’s best form of new business development. How can AI help? Listen in on a conversation between Bill and Emma Farquharson in this week’s blog.

AI’s Shortcut to Smarter Answers
A Google search gives you results, but can also lead you down time-wasting chains of information. Save time with AI and Emma Farquharson’s conversation with Bill on how AI can help get you better information, faster.

Lemonade from Printing a Lemon
When is a printing error a GOOD thing? When you end up better off BECAUSE of the error! Not easy to do, but with help from AI, you can turn your lemons into, well, you know…

Get Perplexed by AI
As if AI isn’t confusing enough, they had to go and name one important AI tool “Perplexity”. Are they mocking us? In this week’s blog, Bill and Emma banter about Perplexity and provide insight into how it can help you.

AI-Infused Wicked Smaht Research
Congratulations on getting that appointment with a top prospect. Now comes the arduous task of preparing for the sales call. But thanks to AI, what used to take hours can now take minutes….if you listen to the advice in Bill and Emma Farquharson’s blog this week.

The Hole-in-One of Sales
There is nothing like a hole-in-one. Whether you witness it or accomplished it yourself, the feeling is one of exuberance matched only by the unique and rare sales accomplishment Bill Farquharson talks about in his blog this week.

Using DeepSeek to Land an Appointment
Have you heard of DeepSeek? This Chinese company shocked the world a few weeks ago and $1 Trillion in market value disappeared the next day. There is a lesson in this story you need to apply in order to gain a face-to-face with that stubborn prospect. Read all about it in this week’s Sales Challenge Blog.

Today’s Nobody, Tomorrow’s Decision-Maker
Today’s decision-maker was yesterday’s coffee-fetcher. How can you keep track of movements and lay the foundation for a future sale? Get the answer in this week’s blog where Bill Farquharson of The Sales Vault and Emma Farquharson of SharedIntel AI team up to address a common sales challenge from their unique perspectives.

React, Recover, Resolve.
The phone rings. There is a problem with an order and the client is not happy. What happens next can crush your customer relationship or solidify it. Read more in this week’s blog where Bill Farquharson of The Sales Vault and Emma Farquharson of SharedIntel AI team up to address a common sales challenge from their unique perspectives.

‘Dry January’, Exercise, and Client Visits
What do these three things have in common: ‘Dry January’, Exercise, and Client Visits? Answer: All three appear both in the title and the body of Bill Farquharson’s blog this week. Give it a read and find out more.

A Scientific Approach to AI
Like most of us, blogger Bill Farquharson has been curious about AI and, in particular, if it can be trusted. A few months ago, a scientist came along and pushed him in front of an AI train. In this week’s blog, he asks a question about AI and integrity.

Pilates and Marketing
Pilates is the best exercise you can get, but no one gets ripped. The benefits are present but not visible. There is something else exactly like this that helps your sales and is absolutely mandatory. It’s…the subject of Bill Farquharson’s blog this week

Do You See What I See?
A website is a window to the soul of the company. But what exactly does your website say, and is it even accurate? Bill Farquharson found a clever and entertaining way to find out and shares the intel in this week’s blog.

How to Sell Trust
You tell a prospect you can be trusted but they won’t believe you because they have no evidence. Trust is at the center of every sale and every relationship. In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson, the man you know and trust writes about how to prove yourself to be trustworthy.

Genuine Sales
Most sales people never reach the deeper level of success achievable when you understand the simple point in Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.

Your Biggest Sales Mistake
The start-to-finish sales process has one key flaw and Buyers notice when you skip it. Learn more in Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.

The Sales Challenge You Won’t Admit to Having
No one answers your calls. You are not sure who to call on. Your prices are too high. All of these are common answers to the question, “Why aren’t you selling more?” But there is one core issue no one is talking about but it permeates every aspect of sales. Read more in Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.

What I Wrote vs. What I Said
An email comes in from angry client. You respond in kind. Your phone rings and the customer says, “Yikes, I was joking!” If you read into a message incorrectly, your response can cause a lot of damage. And before you misinterpret this teaser, you’d should probably read Bill’s blog.

Get it write.
Bill Farquharson is used to seeing his name butchered on mailing pieces and name badges. It’s to the point where getting it right is the anomaly. In this week’s blog, he talks about one instance where a mistake led to a crazy-high response rate of a direct mail piece.

I need my help.
You are probably an expert in the customer service experience of a half dozen companies you buy from. But what about your own? After battling for 90 minutes just to update a credit card, a snarky Bill Farquharson gives you an earful on what might be the speck in your own eye.

Two New, Struggling Sales Reps. Two Different Outcomes.
In one day, two of Bill Farquharson’s young sales clients saw their fate go in different directions. One is looking for a job while the other is basking in the glow of a great sales day. While there are many possible reasons for this outcome, Bill’s blog features the biggest one.

How to Get Production to Love Salespeople
It’s no secret that salespeople are not universally loved inside the walls of their own company. They can be demanding and don’t always speak to their fellow workers respectfully. In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson offers up 8 words that can change how Production thinks about the sales reps who get the process started.