Professional Development
CEO Sales Guide
Helpful resource for Presidents, CEOs, and Business Owners to understand the people, systems and strategies that impact sales and business growth
Sales Hiring
Why Hiring Only for Skill Leads to High Turnover
When we talk with hiring managers, the number one thing they tell us they are looking for is...Prospecting
Dog Days of Summer
Are you accepting excuses from your sales team during the dog days of summer? When the weather...Sales Hiring
Is Your Hiring Process Stuck in 2014?
Two years ago there were more candidates available than positions available. It was fun! Hiring...Professional Development
Questions Your Sales Leaders Should Ask Halfway Through the Year
Yesterday marked the end of June, which means if your company runs on a calendar year you've hit...Coaching & Training
Are Your Sales Managers Acting Like Tony Soprano?
Paulie: “Here you go Tony. I know my envelope has been a little light these past few weeks, so this...Professional Development
Driving Growth through Goals-Based Coaching
How much do your managers know about the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of every member on their...Sales Process
Is This Sales Blind Spot Impacting Your High Performers?
Busy, highly-productive sales people move at a different pace. They generate more activity. They...Sales Hiring
What UNC Coach Dean Smith Taught Us About Sales Metrics
Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died on Saturday. Sales managers...Sales Hiring
Keeping Your Sales Team Focused through Goals-Based Coaching
As a follow up to our recent post “Is Your Sales Forecast Giving You a False Sense of Security” I...Sales Hiring
Wisconsin CEOs: Lessons Your Sales Team Should Learn from the Packer’s Stunning Defeat
I’m still shocked. The collapse I witnessed during the NFC Championship Game on Sunday is going to...Sales Process
Is Your Sales Forecast Giving You A False Sense of Security?
How many people in your sales department would enthusiastically endorse your Customer Relationship...Sales Hiring
What Can CEOs and Sales Leaders Learn from Barry Alvarez?
Many of you may not be following the recent developments on the University of Wisconsin football...Sales Techniques
Looking Back to Look Forward – Six Exercises to Help Develop Your 2015 Sales Plan
This is usually the time of year when I write a “Year End Sales Strategies” blog post outlining...Sales Hiring
Coaching Rhythm and Texting While Driving
My last post talked about the challenges of teaching my middle daughter, who recently got her...Sales Techniques
What Do Driving Instruction and Sales Coaching Have in Common?
My middle daughter just got her learners permit, so I’ve been spending a lot of terrifying time in...Sales Hiring
Is Your Sales Organization Ready For Topgrading?
If your leadership team understands that the Company’s most valuable asset is its people then the...Coaching & Training
How Much To Budget For Sales Training
If you’re on a calendar year, your VP of Sales is probably preparing their budget for next year....Sales Hiring
Qualities Of An Over-Achieving Sales Team
With so many business issues and challenges beyond your control, Presidents, CEOs, and business...Coaching & Training
Using Sales Role Play To Spot Trends
One of the areas we focus on during our sales development programs is skills improvement through...Driving Sustainable Sales Growth through Employee Engagement
Take a moment to think about your top employees. Not just your leadership team – although you may...Sales Hiring
5 Steps to Hiring Your Best Salesperson
Making the decision to hire a new sales person can be the hardest part of the process. Once you get...Professional Development
Right Revenue vs. Wrong Revenue - Do Your Sales People Know The Difference?
Not all revenue is created equal. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as “bad revenue” and it...Professional Development
How to Get Sustained Sales Growth Over Time
Ask anyone in your sales departments if they’d rather have 10 appointments they booked themselves...Professional Development
How To Get Sales And Operations To Get Along
How many “customer facing” team members do you have in your company?Professional Development
A-Player Only Strategy: When Improving Sales Impacts Other Areas Of Your Business
What happens when you hire and develop A-player sales people and sales leaders? Your company grows...Coaching & Training
Why Managers Struggle When Holding People Accountable
Creating a “Culture of Accountability” is the cornerstone of building an over-achieving sales team....Professional Development
Improve Results By Investing A Day To Plan
This week the Intelligent Conversations team is taking a full day out of the office to evaluate our...Sales Techniques
When Sales People Give Up Too Early or Celebrate Too Soon
The beauty of having an effective sales process is that it creates a level of consistency and...Sales Hiring
High Performing Sales People - How to Identify And Keep Them
High performing sales people are customer centric and have the ability to execute and produce...Prospecting
Prospecting for Sales Appointments Is Not Dead
Inbound marketing is a wonderful tool. We have added material regarding how to handle inbound leads...Sales Techniques
Ask Questions to Ensure Your Sales Team is Slowing Down
Last week we took a look at how you and your sales teams can improve on their effective listening...Professional Development
Slowing Down May Help Increase Revenue and Deal Velocity
In this fast paced world, a lot of sales teams have a high-speed mentality. But it turns out that...Sales Techniques
A Practical Story About Effective Sales Listening
I’d like to share a personal sales story to illustrate an issue we often see in our coaching...Sales Techniques
Why Your Sales People Fail to Listen Effectively
I love this cartoon because it is so true. The more you listen the more you sell. How effective are...Sales Techniques
Are Your Sales People Selling Beyond Their Comfort Zone?
In our consulting practice, we’ve been running a lot of “must win” deal workshops with our clients....Sales Process
Planning For 2014: 5 Things CEOs Must Focus On To Improve Sales
It’s the time of year when we take stock of where we are, and make plans for where we want to go....Coaching & Training
6 Questions Your Sales Managers Hope You Won't Ask...
...About Their Sales Forecasts and Pipeline Reports Many CEOs we work with either don't pay close...Professional Development
Coaching Drives Greater "Sales-Awareness" and Stronger Results
"What would happen to your revenue and profit margin if your sales organization became a...Sales Techniques
Building a Profitable Sales Process – Client Onboarding
In our previous article in this series on Building a Profitable Sales Process, we discussed the...Sales Process
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Asking for the Business
Continuing our series on Building a Profitable Sales Process, this post will address step 9 -...Qualification & Discovery
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Qualify the Opportunity
Here's a radical idea - let's have your sales team qualify opportunities before you prepare a...Qualification & Discovery
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Make Every Appointment Count
All of the work your sales people are doing at the front of the sales process (identifying the...Sales Techniques
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Making Initial Contact
Continuing our series on 10 Steps to Building a Profitable Sales Process, this post will address...Sales Process
Building a Profitable Sales Process - The Right List
If you have been reading our series of articles on "Building a Profitable Sales Process" and have...Sales Techniques
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Know Your Target
The first step in building a profitable sales process is to decide where to focus the prospecting...Qualification & Discovery
10 Steps to Building a Profitable Sales Process
Nearly every CEO we meet with struggles when we ask "Tell us about your sales process." If you have...Sales Techniques
Four Ideas to Shorten Your Sales Cycles and Keep Things on Track
One of the more common frustrations I hear when talking with Presidents, CEOs and Business Owners...Sales Hiring