We all have made mistakes as sales managers. Yet, there are certain sales coaching mistakes that I hear about time and again in my sales management workshops, mistakes that are damaging to team performance. Sales managers make these costly mistakes because they lack an understanding of how managing and leading a sales team requires a … Read full article

I’ve asked thousands of sales reps to tell me about the best sales manager they’ve ever had. And I’ve heard many different answers, including “she cared about my success,” “he made me feel important,” “she had high expectations of me,” “he always listened to me,” “she inspired me to get better,” and “he was a … Read full article

First, a disclaimer: I was a sales manager myself for many years, and think it is one of the most critical jobs in any company. It is also one of the most demanding. And having consulted with sales managers, VPs, and directors for the past two decades, I know the job pressures have only gotten … Read full article

I’ve become a strong champion of having companies convert their selling-focused sales funnel or CRM to a buying-behavior-focused model. By that I mean instead of tracking the steps of selling that your salespeople take (e.g., qualify, I.D. needs, present, etc.), they track the steps of buying that customers go through. There are many benefits to … Read full article

My first year in sales, many years ago, I was awkward—and a slow learner. But my first sales manager, Guy Campbell, must have seen some potential because he invested a lot of time in coaching me. When Guy joined me on a customer meeting, I noticed he had a habit of pulling out a coin … Read full article

A research report from the Sales Management Association (SMA) published in late 2015 concluded that coaching improvement is high-yield. The firms included in the research that were able to help their managers deliver high-quality coaching to salespeople realized annual revenue growth nearly 17% higher than those that did not provide good support for managers. The SMA … Read full article

One common question I’m asked when I conduct sales management training sessions is about how to handle salespeople who do well selling, but are seemingly uncoachable. This is a common issue that needs to be addressed since, just as good attitudes are contagious, so are poor ones. Whenever I’m asked this question, I always first … Read full article

When I ask sales managers to describe a typical day, they often say that they come into the office at 8:00am with a good plan for the day, then at 8:05am a rep calls up or walks into their office and says “We’ve got a problem.” The next thing the manager knows, it’s 6:00pm and … Read full article