The Importance of Questions
Just as salespeople can easily get wrapped around the gears of talking about features and benefits,...
Posts about Listening Skills
Sales Process Vs. Sales Methodology
How consistent is your sales process? Does every sales person understand what they need to do to...
Remote Selling In Era of 'Social Distancing'
Here are two videos I posted on LinkedIn as the coronavirus forced salespeople to work remotely.
...
Creating a Healthy Coaching Environment in Sales
One of the barriers sales leaders encounter when trying to establish a consistent coaching rhythm...
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...
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...
It’s Sales, There Are No Participation Medals
New data from Objective Management Group (OMG) suggests that while the top 10% of millennials are...
Building Your Virtual Bench
As we head into the fourth quarter you should have a pretty clear line of sight on how things are...
10 Activities Sales Managers Should Focus On
When I talk with CEOs, I often hear them complaining about how their sales managers are always...
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...
Are Your Sales Managers Having the Right Coaching Conversations?
Most sales managers believe they’re already having coaching conversations, but when we dig a little...
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...
Dog Days of Summer
Are you accepting excuses from your sales team during the dog days of summer? When the weather...
Is Your Hiring Process Stuck in 2014?
Two years ago there were more candidates available than positions available. It was fun! Hiring...
Is This Sales Blind Spot Impacting Your High Performers?
Busy, highly-productive sales people move at a different pace. They generate more activity. They...
What UNC Coach Dean Smith Taught Us About Sales Metrics
Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died on Saturday. Sales...
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...
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...
Coaching Rhythm and Texting While Driving
My last post talked about the challenges of teaching my middle daughter, who recently got her...
Qualities Of An Over-Achieving Sales Team
With so many business issues and challenges beyond your control, Presidents, CEOs, and business...
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...
How To Get Sales And Operations To Get Along
How many “customer facing” team members do you have in your company?
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...
Prospecting for Sales Appointments Is Not Dead
Inbound marketing is a wonderful tool. We have added material regarding how to handle inbound...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
Building a Profitable Sales Process – Client Onboarding
In our previous article in this series on Building a Profitable Sales Process, we discussed the...
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...
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...
Creating a Culture of Accountability for Your Sales Team
Are your sales managers doing everything they can to create a culture of accountability for your...
What is the Most Important Step in the Sales Hiring Process?
The most important step in the sales hiring process is not writing the perfect ad so you attract...
Is Selling More Difficult Today?
If you’re like many of the CEOs, Business Owners and Presidents we work with, one of your key...
Free Sales Seminar - The Ultimate Sales Call
There are only a few seats remaining for our upcoming free seminar, "The Ultimate Sales Call, Five...
Top 5 Mistakes Your VP of Sales Makes at Trade Shows
If you are the person who signs the checks (the President, CEO or business owner) for all of the...
Sales Leap Every Year!
What would your revenue look like if your sales team had one extra day to sell every year? This...
Sales Vision - Gap Between What Is/What Could Be
Here's another excellent Ted Talk with an important lesson for your sales team. In this 18-minute...
Focus on Sales Activity
I enjoyed reading another great post by Anthony Iannarino last week, The Case for Activity Goals...
Effective Sales Listening
The first thing a sales person needs to do to listen more effectively is to stop talking. We've all...
Growing Your Sales Team On Purpose
Change is inevitable. Growth is intentional.
Sales Winners and Sales Losers
Top producing sales people understand that every sales win - just like every sales loss - is...
Are You Selling Price or Building the Case for Value?
Many sales people struggle with how to handle pricing objections because they fail to build the...
Customer 2.0 - Death of Your Sales Team?
When Dave Kurlan spoke to a group of Milwaukee CEO's a few weeks ago, one of the key points many...
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Relentless Prospecting
As a general rule I tell our sales force development clients that a new sales person should spend...
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Outlook & Attitude
Take a moment to write down the last time you made a major purchase from someone you didn't like....
Sales Advice From Mr. Spock - Use Emotion Not Logic
Sales people who use logic to convince their prospects make selling a lot harder than it needs to...
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Commitment
How committed is your sales team? Are they willing to go the extra mile? Will they do whatever it...
Increase Sales By Focusing Your Prospecting Efforts
When a sales person is struggling one of the first questions we ask is "how many people are on...
Sales Systems and Super Bowl Champions
What a great Super Bowl game last night! As a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan it was especially...
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team
When it comes to growing your company, the list of business issues and challenges you cannot ...
Does Your Attitude Support Sales?
"Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines...
Cold Call Strategies – How to Overcome Your Sales Call Reluctance
Believe it or not, there are sales people who absolutely thrive on making cold calls. But for most...
Sales Accountability Plan for 2011
In working with sales professionals for the past 21 years – as a business consultant and sales...
Year End Sales Focus – Mad Dash or Building Relationships?
Is your sales manager frantic this week or relaxed? Is your sales team focused on a final year-end...
Keeping Your Sales Role Balanced
Do you remember the last time you closed a big deal? Or maybe you closed two or three in a row, on...
Optimizing Your Strategic Alignment for Massive Growth in 2011
Ensuring your sales force is aligned with your strategies is imperative for massive growth. Start...
Optimizing Your Sales Management for Massive Growth in 2011
Your sales management team is critical to massive growth within your company. Now is the time to...
Optimizing Your Sales Force Selection Criteria for 2011
Ensuring you have the correct selection criteria for your sales force is imperative for massive in...
Optimize Your Sales Force by Mapping Your Sales Process
A clear sales process is key to optimizing your sales force in 2011. By mapping your sales process...
Optimizing Your Salesforce for 2011
Now is the key time to prepare for 2011 to ensure that you'll achieve your short-term revenue...
How Much Should We Budget for Sales Training?
If you’re on a calendar year your VP of Sales is probably in the initial research phase of...
CEO Views on Sales
According to a recent study by SpencerStuart, the most common path executives take before becoming...
Sales Management – Toughest Job in the World
It's difficult to imagine a position that can have a greater impact on the growth of a company. And...
Are You Missing this Sales Secret?
Why do some sales professionals convert more business than others? What do they do in their sales...