Coaching & Training
Mike Carroll
Coaching & Training
Coaching for Development vs. Coaching for Production
In today's hyper-competitive business landscape, the difference between mediocre and exceptional...Coaching & Training
Manage Agreements, Not People
As a sales leader, you're walking a tightrope every day, driving consistent results while giving...Coaching & Training
A Sales Manager’s Blueprint for Coaching and Accountability
In today's sales environment, leaders face unprecedented challenges—hybrid teams working across...Sales Hiring
How to Build an Effective Onboarding Program That Drives Results
Hiring the right salesperson is just the beginning. Without a solid onboarding process, even top...Sales Hiring
Final Interview Questions That Reveal the Best Candidate
Hiring the right salesperson isn’t just about assessing skills—it’s about finding someone who...Sales Hiring
Optimize Your Sales Hiring with the 6-Minute Phone Screen
Hiring the right salesperson is about finding someone who can thrive in your sales environment....Sales Hiring
How to Use Sales Assessments to Predict Success Before You Hire
What if you could predict a candidate’s success in your sales role before you even hire them? This...Sales Hiring
Find the Perfect Sales Hire with the Fit Factor Interview
Hiring the right salesperson isn’t just about experience or technical skills—it’s about fit. The...Sales Hiring
How to Find the Right Candidates for Your Growth Strategy
Your ability to find and attract top-tier salespeople directly impacts your bottom line. Period.Sales Hiring
Sales Hiring as a Growth Strategy
Hiring great salespeople has never been more critical—or more challenging. The stakes are high. A...Leadership & Management
How to Build a High-Performing Sales Team
Every CEO dreams of a sales team that delivers results seamlessly—hitting targets, closing deals,...Coaching & Training
Balancing Short-Term Wins and Long-Term Growth in Sales Coaching
Every sales manager knows what it feels like to train for a marathon while competing in daily...Coaching & Training
No-Excuse Culture: How to Foster Accountability on Your Sales Team
In sales, the difference between good and great often comes down to one crucial factor:...Professional Development
The 90-Day Sales Manager Playbook: How to Start Strong and Succeed
As a new sales manager, your first 90 days will either set you up for success—or create challenges...Sales Hiring
Avoid Job Posting Clichés
Intelligent Conversations is not a salesperson recruiting company. We teach companies a different...Sales Techniques
The Importance of Questions
Just as salespeople can easily get wrapped around the gears of talking about features and benefits,...Sales Techniques
Coaching to Reach Decision Makers
It is obvious that more sales will happen if your team starts the conversation with people who have...Sales Techniques
Psyched to Sell
How excited is your sales team? How passionate are they about your product or service? There's...Qualification & Discovery
Cost Per Opportunity
As the old saying goes, management gets what management measures. What would happen if you put some...Sales Process
Sales Process Vs. Sales Methodology
How consistent is your sales process? Does every sales person understand what they need to do to...Sales Techniques
Re-framing Pricing Conversations
Salespeople run into many common challenges and a difficult one to artfully overcome is the pricing...Prospecting
Remote Selling In Era of 'Social Distancing'
Here are two videos I posted on LinkedIn as the coronavirus forced salespeople to work remotely....Sales Hiring
Is the MVP of Your Sales Team like Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Who is the MVP of your sales team? Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where our office is headquartered, happens...Sales Hiring
Self Limiting Beliefs in Sales and How to Coach Through Them
One of the common stumbling blocks we see holding salespeople back is self-limiting beliefs that...Qualification & Discovery
Creating a Client Scorecard
We have been working with a lot of our middle market clients lately on implementing or refining...Sales Methodologies
Coaching Ruts and How to Get Out of Them
Every sales manager we talk to says, "I coach my team all the time." But their idea of coaching...Sales Process
Goals-Based Coaching
Do your sales leaders keep it simple when it comes to setting goals for their team? One of the...Sales Techniques
Living in the Land of Ahs
One of the things that absolutely destroys sales is when the buyer perceives a lack of confidence...Sales Techniques
What Makes Your Sales Team Likable, Knowledgeable, and Memorable
Salespeople and sales leaders often ask us: "What can I do to stand out?" This is particularly...Sales Hiring
Creating a Healthy Coaching Environment in Sales
One of the barriers sales leaders encounter when trying to establish a consistent coaching rhythm...Sales Hiring
Wanted – Humble Sales People
One of the challenges when you're hiring salespeople (or coaching them) is the dichotomy between...Sales Techniques
Two Great Sales Lessons From the Film Free Solo
A few weeks ago I was flying across the country, and was able to watch the Oscar-winning film Free...Sales Hiring
Leveraging Sales Enablement Practices that Drive Performance
How much focus do your sales managers put on conversation speed and tonality when they coach their...Sales Hiring
How to Retain High Performing Sales People
Over the years you may have noticed a difficulty in keeping your highest performing sales people on...Professional Development
5 Old School Sales Habits of High Performers
I have the privilege every week of coaching and working with high performing sales people. I also...Professional Development
Everything you want to know about sales compensation, but were afraid to ask
For companies who operate on a calendar year, now is the time when sales leaders are asked to...Professional Development
It’s Sales, There Are No Participation Medals
New data from Objective Management Group (OMG) suggests that while the top 10% of millennials are...Sales Hiring
Building Your Virtual Bench
As we head into the fourth quarter you should have a pretty clear line of sight on how things are...Sales Hiring
Building a Culture of Sales Accountability
When we talk with CEOs about sales accountability at their companies, we usually hear stories about...Leadership & Management
Getting Ready for the Final Sales Push of 2016
In early August I wrote an article titled the Dog Days of Summer where I focused on how difficult...Professional Development
10 Activities Sales Managers Should Focus On
When I talk with CEOs, I often hear them complaining about how their sales managers are always...Coaching & Training
Where Should CEOs Invest Their Sales Training Dollars?
A question that I often hear when speaking with CEOs is where should they invest in training? When...Sales Hiring
What Should CEOs Worry About When Hiring a New Sales Manager?
In last week’s post we talked about growing your company to the point where it makes sense to hire...Sales Hiring
Top 5 Mistakes New Sales Managers Make
Is it time to provide some “adult supervision” for your sales people? Has your revenue grown to the...Sales Hiring
Why Sales Managers Suck at Hiring Sales People
Are your sales managers using sales recruiting as a growth strategy for your company? Are they...Professional Development