Imagine it’s a typical workday and one of your salespeople bursts into your office or calls you on the phone. “Hey, Boss! Guess what! I have an inside track on that MegaCorp deal. It’s looking really good! This could be the biggest deal I’ve ever landed!” Pop quiz: What do you do as this person’s … Read full article
Should sales managers focus on results? Absolutely, but problems with sales teams arise when sales managers focus ONLY on results rather than observing and improving the inputs of the sales process. Sales results are an inescapable metric of the sales profession. But sales managers who want their teams to improve results have to pay attention … Read full article
Having a feedback loop is essential for building a sales team that achieves consistent sales growth through ongoing improvements in sales skills and team members’ attitudes.
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
We are currently embroiled in a divisive election where each candidate harshly criticizes the weaknesses of the other. For a refreshing change, I decided to revisit the leadership attributes possessed by arguably our greatest president — Abraham Lincoln — and discuss why a few of Lincoln’s skills are so important for today’s sales managers to … Read full article
What is the sales performance problem? In a webinar I gave recently, 75% of the 150+ sales managers who attended indicated that a significant portion of the performance issues they face on their team are due to bad rep attitudes—or what I call a sales rep’s “willingness problems” (to contrast them with “skill deficiencies”). Why … Read full article
Recently I watched the famous Saturday Night Live skit “More Cowbell,” one of the Top 10 best skits of all time on SNL. It originally aired on April 8, 2000 and if you haven’t seen it lately or at all, watch it here. The skit was a spoof on what was offered up as the … Read full article
Like many people, I couldn’t help but follow the exploits of the Villanova Wildcats in the most recent NCAA basketball tournament. And along with the rest of America, I was thrilled by the last-second 3-point shot that won Villanova the national championship. Their achievement impressed me so much that I decided to study up on … Read full article