Andy Paul, the host of the sales improvement podcast Accelerate!, reminded me in a recent interview about how sales managers are constantly being told to “improve the productivity of their sales team” through sales coaching. Then he asked me whether that improvement should start with the individual salespeople or with the sales manager. My answer … Read full article

Not long after I became a sales manager, I inherited a second team from a manager who was “de-hired” as the saying now goes. On this inherited team, there was one rep who was a chronic underperformer, never reaching quota and seemingly not very interested in improving. Every month, I’d think to myself, “Will he … Read full article

One question I ask in all my seminars is “what is ineffective sales coaching?” Participants have no trouble coming up with lots of examples. They talk about managers who wait too long before addressing a problem, those who do all the talking and no listening, and those who do not attempt to gain buy-in for … Read full article

As I wrote about last week, the majority of sales managers recognize the importance of attitude or “wills” in determining sales rep success. But few have been taught how to identify, evaluate, and coach attitudes. Here are three steps that are essential for moving in that direction. Step 1: Identify the behavioral aspects of a … Read full article

Last year, I delivered a webinar to combined audiences of 295 sales managers. One of the poll questions I asked was “what percentage of your performance problems do you think are due to poor attitude or ”˜wills’?” The most common answer by far was “50-75%”— and overall, nearly 3/4s of the audience attributed a significant … Read full article

David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene, devoted much of his career to studying the behavior of elite athletes and champions. In an interview he gave in conjunction with one of his TED talks, he discussed a pattern he noticed in how champions set their goals. The TED program had just had a segment about … Read full article

If I asked you what was the most valuable contribution you could make as a sales manager, what would you say? A client of mine, Jackie, spent years developing into a stellar sales rep for her employer, a tech company. She had a well-earned reputation for producing results far beyond expectations. They duly rewarded her … Read full article

Within a few years of becoming a salesperson, I’d established myself as a top sales producer. So when I sat down with my sales coach for a monthly one-on-one meeting, I had the smugness of a top dog, sure that I was about to be praised. The meeting went quite different from expectations! My boss … Read full article

With the revenues of the company resting on their shoulders and the constant demands for their attention, sales managers often feel they have to be superhuman. Unfortunately, we all know that’s not possible. That’s why sales managers have to develop skills that will help them focus themselves and their reps on what’s most important (meaning … Read full article

In recent years, sales managers have become increasingly aware of the need to have sales reps who are coachable, who will listen to advice and continue learning and improving. I’ve discussed the topic several times, such as here. Think of it this way: most likely, you were put into your position as a sales manager … Read full article