Coaching the Sales Cycle – Timing is Everything!
This article describes the phases of a sales cycle when a sales manager’s coaching can have the greatest positive impact on both the salesperson and your team’s win-rate.
3 Simple Time Management Tips for Sales Managers
Here are three simple time management tips for sales managers that can help managers to stop getting bogged down by distractions – so managers can focus more on high-value tasks- like sales coaching - that grow sales results.
3 Mindset Changes New Sales Managers Must Make
There is no more difficult career transition than that which occurs when a salesperson becomes a new sales manager. Overnight, the salesperson has gone from being in control of his or her own destiny, to having his/her performance completely defined by the performance of others. This is a stressful time for new sales managers. Senior leadership […]
Book Review: “The Perfect Close Workbook” By James Muir
“The Perfect Close Workbook” by James Muir provides a deep dive into one of the most important selling skills: how to conclude each meeting with an agreed-upon next-step that your buyer is strongly bought in to.
When I started my career in sales I was taught to ask for the maximum level of customer action commitment […]
3 Things Strategic Sales Managers Do Differently
Strategic sales managers take time to think critically about the crucial role and responsibility they have for improving their team. Trouble is, most sales managers don’t set aside time to think. They are so crazy-busy fighting daily “fires” that it’s easy to skimp on the strategic thinking front.
Harvard guru Michael Porter defines “strategy” as doing […]
5 Sales Coaching Tips that Are Easy to Implement
This article provides five sales coaching tips that are easy to implement for achieving the sales growth you need in 2019.
How to Confront an Under-Performing Salesperson
Have you ever been frustrated by a thickheaded sales rep whom you’ve coached over and over again but they simply don’t get the message? Or by a sales rep who simply refuses to acknowledge that their behavior is a problem? Here are seven tips for how to confront an under-performing salesperson.
Timely: Act as soon as […]
5 Important Things Successful Sales Managers Do Differently
Successful sales managers recognize that while they likely have the best sales skills of anyone on their team, the key question is not how good a salesperson they are. Instead, the crucial question is how effective that sales manager is at coaching salespeople to learn what the manager already knows about selling. Here are 5 […]
Book Review: “Sales Differentiation” by Lee Salz
A book review of "Sales Differentiation"
Hiring Salespeople: 6 Must-Have Techniques for Making Better Hiring Decisions
Every experienced sales manager knows how costly it is to make a bad hiring decision because that bad hire takes a lot of your time and attention and then doesn’t contribute anything. Here are six “must-have” techniques that successful sales managers can use when hiring salespeople.
Ask for a “Memo of Understanding” from the Candidate
A VP […]