Speed Kills.  This may have negative connotations in sports like auto-racing or billiards, but in sales – it’s a positive.  I once set a personal record and closed at $300,000 deal in 2-1/2 days.  As with all sales, luck played a role.  But even more important was SPEED!  I had an excellent team on this pursuit with just the right skills and experience, but what really set us apart from the competition was a drive to understand and respond to the client.   It started with the client asking us for a personal visit with 12 hours notice.  We jumped right in, took them up on that offer, and proceeded to have a great introductory meeting.  We then responded in kind and told the client that we would like a proposal review the very next day.  They were impressed that we heard their urgency and answered the call.  Needless to say that meeting went very well and we won.  Moral of the story?  My competitors may have had a better solution (doubt it), but we moved so quickly they did not have time to breathe.   Speed Kills!