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 2015Â 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
While being a good coach might not be a bad thing, a positive trend that I’m seeing in the sales managers with whom I work is an aspiration for greatness. Here are five key traits that separate a good coach from a great one. 1) External focus – While a good sales coach has a … Read full article
News flash – your team’s sales quota is about to go up, not down. So the question you should be asking yourself is, “how can I motivate and inspire each of my salespeople to produce at higher levels?” Here are five sales management strategies you can use to achieve consistent revenue growth: 1. Emulate the … Read full article
With the New Year just around the corner, many sales managers are thinking about what they can do to improve team performance in 2017. And for many, the answer lies in hiring new people. Every experienced sales manager knows that a bad hiring decision is costly in many ways. If you hire the wrong person, … Read full article