profile

Snafu, a newsletter about selling

by Robin P. Zander

Learn how to sell without being salesy. For anyone who has something to offer but is a bit hesitant about asking people to buy.

Posts
Featured Post

Snafu: the attitude required for sales

Welcome to Snafu. And to the 846 new readers who have joined Snafu this week! Let's learn how to sell without being salesy. Today’s article is about the best attitude for sales. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ The attitude required for sales In my early twenties, I ran a business working with children with autism. Autistic kids often lack the social standards that we take for granted. They rely on their felt-sense of those around them – their intuitive feel...

3 days ago • 3 min read

Welcome to Snafu: a newsletter about selling, persuasion, and how to change behavior. We just passed 8000 readers - thanks for being here! Today’s article is about five meta-learning skills everyone should try. Thanks for reading. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. And, as always, please reply back with your thoughts and questions. ↓ Specialization is for insects - or important skills everyone should try Selling is interesting to me because of who you become...

10 days ago • 5 min read

Welcome to the 521 new readers who’ve joined Snafu this week! As prospective salespeople, we don't generally think of ourselves as artists. But, at its best, selling is a creative act. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ Selling is a creative act I was in Texas recently to help a client redefine their brand. My agency, Zander Media, was hired to learn about the client and help them distill a new organizing idea. The team and I had done a lot of preparation, but I...

17 days ago • 4 min read

Welcome to the 469 new readers who’ve joined Snafu this week! Here are some lessons about organizational burnout and the consequences of not focusing on a single ideal client or offering. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ Why you should focus on a single customer You've probably heard that you should focus on a specific type of customer or prospect. I’ve always found this to be a struggle because I don't want to work with just one type of client! I like a lot...

24 days ago • 4 min read

Thanks for reading Snafu, a newsletter about having the courage to ask for what you want. Welcome to the 574 new readers who’ve joined in the last week! I sat down with a Snafu reader recently who runs a one-man video production company. Today's article is for him. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ How to sell video production I sat down with a Snafu reader recently who runs a one-man video production company. In the five years I’ve been building my own agency,...

about 1 month ago • 7 min read

Thanks for reading Snafu, a newsletter about sales, persuasion, and behavior change. Welcome to the 339 new readers who’ve joined in the last week! Everything worth doing feels like an April Fools surprise at the beginning. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ April Fools’ Day was a big part of my childhood. My dad once made me a beautiful french toast breakfast. It was only after chewing on the toast for several minutes that I discovered it was made out of a...

about 1 month ago • 5 min read

Thanks for reading Snafu, a newsletter about sales, persuasion and the courage to change. Welcome to the 425 new readers who’ve joined in the last week! Today, I have an exciting announcement to share. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ What is the Future of Work? In 2016, I started a business conference about an obscure idea called “the future of work.” Seven years ago, a lot of the tensions that we’ve seen accelerated in the last few years weren’t well known....

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

Welcome to Snafu, a newsletter about sales, persuasion and courage. In life, and in selling, a key to success is not getting too attached to a specific outcome. That's not easily done, but today we discuss some approaches that can help. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ What’s in their best interest? I recently started dating somebody new. She’s a fellow athlete, owns her own business and I’m quite excited. Unfortunately, it's unclear if she's available for the...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read

Welcome to Snafu, a newsletter about selling. Some friends of mine are starting a company, so I offered to make some cold calls. Here’s what I learned along the way. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ How to practice cold calling Two friends of mine recently started a new business, which we’re affectionately calling BookBook. It is a digital platform that allows users to display their favorite books. The platform would display the spines of books, just like I do...

about 2 months ago • 5 min read

Welcome to Snafu, a newsletter about selling. Rejection is often the scariest thing about selling. Today, we explore why and what to do about it. Was this sent to you? Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. ↓ How to get over rejection I just read an interview in the New York Times about what it's like to be a sociopath. The subject of the interview, Patric Gagne, is preparing to publish a book called Sociopath: A Memoir. The article highlighted that I am not a sociopath because I care...

2 months ago • 5 min read
Share this page