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In the heart of Phoenix, small businesses are booming - construction firms in Gilbert, med spas in Scottsdale, HVAC shops in Tempe, and marketing agencies popping up like saguaros after rain. But with growth comes pressure, and that pressure often lands squarely on the sales team. So, naturally, business owners start looking at numbers . Only problem? Not all numbers are created equal. Vanity Metrics: The Mirage in the Desert Let’s get this out of the way: if your dashboard l

Phoenix Is Full of Competitors - But Which Ones Actually Matter? You hear “know your competition” all the time. But how do you actually  figure out who they are - especially in a crowded, hyper-local market like Phoenix? Too many small business owners guess. Or worse, they try to copy whoever shows up first on Google. Here’s a better way: A step-by-step framework, a real case study from Asana, and a local playbook you can use right now. What “Identifying Competition” Actually

You know that feeling when someone follows up just enough to stay on your radar, but not enough to make you block their number? That’s the sweet spot. And most small businesses are either way off to the left (totally forget to follow up) or way off to the right (might as well be texting, emailing, and calling all in the same hour). If you're running a business in Phoenix, you already know how competitive things are getting - whether you’re in plumbing, IT, home remodeling, or

Let’s clear something up: Being a sales leader isn’t about hovering over your reps, refreshing dashboards, or quoting Glengarry Glen Ross at meetings. In small businesses - especially here in Phoenix where most teams are lean - the role of a sales leader is less about pressure and more about clarity. Yet a lot of small business owners fall into the same trap: “I need someone to lead sales.” Translation: “I need someone to fix this without me.” But great sales leadership doesn

Coaching is one of the most important parts of sales leadership. But somewhere along the way, “coaching” started looking a lot like free therapy sessions  - and not the helpful kind. Instead of focusing on deals, skills, and strategies, the conversation drifts into endless talk about “how they’re feeling” without any movement toward improvement. Here’s the truth: Your role as a sales leader is to help reps succeed in their role - not process every frustration in their life. 1

Why Market Research Matters (Even for Small Businesses) When most small business owners hear “market research,” they picture massive reports, expensive consultants, and corporate jargon. Something only big companies do. But here’s the reality:  Market research is just a fancy way of saying, “Get to know your customers and competitors better.” And in a place like Phoenix (where small businesses are the heartbeat of every neighborhood) market research isn’t optional. It’s how y

When people picture a “great leader,” the first image that comes to mind is often someone charismatic. Big energy. Big presence. The kind of person who can walk into a room, say a few words, and have everyone leaning in. Charisma is magnetic, sure. But here’s the problem:  charisma fades if it’s not backed by consistency. For small business owners trying to scale teams, charisma might win attention in the short term - but it’s reliability and clarity that win loyalty in the l

The Big Question Every Owner is Asking A few years ago, most small businesses didn’t have to think too hard about “work models.” People came into the office, did their jobs, and went home. Simple. Then came the pandemic, laptops on kitchen tables, and Zoom fatigue. Now, every business (even small, local ones) is asking: Should my team be in-office, hybrid, or fully remote? For Phoenix small business owners, the answer isn’t one-size-fits-all. Let’s break down the pros and con

If you run a small business, you probably started it because you love the product or service. So when it’s time to sell, you step in. You hustle. You close. That works… until it doesn’t. The problem:  Founders often build sales  around themselves , not around a repeatable process.  Which means when the founder is the engine, the business can’t run without them. Why It Becomes a Problem Leads dry up if you're busy or unavailable. Everything depends on your personality, not a c

In 2018, a group of dairy truck drivers in Maine won a  $5 million lawsuit  against their employer, Oakhurst Dairy. The issue? Not working conditions. Not pay rates. Not safety. It was a comma. A missing Oxford comma in the company’s overtime policy created just enough legal ambiguity for the drivers to successfully argue they’d been denied wages they were owed. That tiny punctuation mark cost the company millions. Now, you might not have $5 million riding on your grammar. Bu

Picture this: you’re in a team meeting. The boss kicks things off by laying out exactly what they think the problem is and how to solve it. What happens next? Most of the room nods. A few people offer supporting comments. And just like that, the discussion is over before it even began. Now imagine the opposite: the leader holds back, listens carefully as the team debates, asks a few clarifying questions, and only then weighs in. Same meeting. Completely different outcome. Ins