When it comes to gaining trust with small to mid-sized business (SMB) owners, absence definitely does not make the heart grow fonder. In fact, it’s much more likely that if you’re out of sight, you’re also out of mind. Not a good situation if you want business owners to come to you when they have a need for your services.

Now that we are in full swing with the new year, it’s a perfect time to think about your sales approach and ways to increase your performance for 2018.

Having been a banker for 13 years and a relationship manager for five, I found that my sales process revolved around three basic groups: the business I had (my clients), the business I wanted (my prospects), and the people who championed my cause (my centers of influence). And a critical component of my sales process was a successful...