You know what it’s like, when you happily run into someone you haven’t seen in a while? I saw a guy named John Dunn recently and it was like that.

I grew up professionally in a world where knowing stuff was paramount (IT consulting) and I continue to live in a world where the same is true (professional services).

It’s not new to any of us that decision-making—others’ or our own—isn’t the rational, logical process we all so desperately wish. “People buy with their hearts and rationalize with their heads” is an age-old sales adage.

I owe this tip to my co-author, Charlie Green, and the great thinking he’s done on how buyers actually buy professional services.