Mark Matteson

In a recent tele-coaching session with an east coast contractor, I was reminded of a simple idea I stumbled upon 25 years ago when I was a technician and first learning how to sell. I had just changed a compressor and the customer was complaining about the cost of the compressor change. I smiled. The […]

Some of us are warnings, some of us are examples. Everyone is always glad to see you; some when you arrive, others when you leave. Sounds a little like something Mark Twain would have written. I was reading some of Samuel Clemens again recently at the library located at the Stehekin Valley Ranch last weekend. […]

It was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle, the third week in March 2003. I was headed to Starbucks attached to the local grocery store. March Madness and Girl Scout Cookies were everywhere. I was thinking about the days activities ahead. Two young Girl Scout merchants, 11 year olds and their moms where just setting […]

It was the fall of 2000. I had been in Dallas, Texas for four days conducting seminars with a fine group of successful contractors. Sales training. We covered all aspects of the sales cycle: suspects, prospects, qualifying, writing proposals, asking for the sale and following up. I had come back with a slight southern drawl. […]

It was the summer of 1992, my Dad and I were playing a game of cribbage. He was stealing points from me (his way of ‘Teaching’ me the game) when he grimaced. I thought it was a pang of conscious about cheating at cards. I was wrong. He took his shoes off and started rubbing […]

It was 1990. My new job was to sell Commercial Service Agreements. It was a fine company. They were growing. They wanted to expand their Service Base. I had a territory that no one wanted. It was the farthest away from the office. “There is no business there!” was all I heard from everyone when […]