You’ve all seen this salesperson. He looks busy, complains there isn’t enough time to get everything done and has no sales results to show for his efforts. What’s not working? This salesperson is confusing being busy with being productive. As a result, he is on an endless sales-gerbil wheel leading to no sales. Here are… Read More
Are You Confusing Being Busy With Being Productive?
You’ve all seen this salesperson. He looks busy, complains there isn’t enough time to get everything done and has no sales results to show for his efforts. What’s not working? This salesperson is confusing being busy with being productive. As a result, he is on an endless sales gerbil wheel leading to no sales. Here are a couple… Read More
Are You Thinking Like A Salesperson Or A CEO?
Salespeople often fail to connect with and sell to the executive buyer because they don’t think like a CEO. Leaders buy from leaders and if you aren’t exhibiting the CEO behaviors and leadership thinking, the C-suite buyer will quickly dismiss you. Why would an executive want to engage with a salesperson that doesn’t understand the… Read More
Building Trust Is Your Best Sales Strategy
We live in an information age and bad news is everywhere. There are stories about wealth managers embezzling clients’ money, corporate America not looking out for shareholders, and the government overstepping boundaries. Is there more scandal today? Not really; it just seems that way, because access to bad news is so much easier than ever… Read More
Can You Afford Another Bad Sales Hire?
Can You Afford Another Bad Sales Hire? You’ve seen this movie before. In fact, you might have landed the starring role in this film. Sales manager hires new salesperson, with high hopes that this individual is a keeper. The résumé looks good, the interview went well, and the job is offered. After the new hire… Read More
Do You Have What it Takes to Be in Sales?
Sales is a profession. Let me repeat that statement. Sales is a profession. Unfortunately, it’s a profession that most people fall into or default to as a last resort. As a result, sales leaders waste a lot of time trying fit round pegs into square holes. So what does it take to be successful in… Read More
Do You Need to Stop or Start?
The countdown is on. There are approximately 34 days left on the calendar (depending on when you read this) to hit your 2014 sales goal. For some sales managers and salespeople, there is little anxiety because the ‘money is in the bank.’ Not so much for others. There are sales professionals looking for ways to… Read More
Do You Really Believe That?
The self help guru’s are the best at teaching, “You are what you believe. Your thoughts determine your outcomes and actions. And what you think about most will manifest in your life.” These guru’s are right and many salespeople and sale managers still subscribing to old beliefs and ways of selling do not serve them… Read More
Don’t Re-live Groundhog Day by Repeating Your Mistakes
Groundhog Day is a popular movie about Phil, a grumpy weather forecaster. He finds himself trapped in a time loop while covering a story around the ritual of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The movie centers around Phil’s need to change his behaviors or events will keep repeating themselves. This is a good time of… Read More
FOCUS – The competitive advantage for sales organizations
Sales managers work hard to transfer the success skills that made them a top producer. They deliver training and coaching on key account management, running consultative sales meetings and overcoming objections. All of the above require another selling skill that is becoming obsolete in our multi-tasking society: focus. Learning and mastering new skills can only be… Read More
Four Ways to Think More Like a Sales Leader
Salespeople think like salespeople, when they should be thinking like leaders and CEOs. Top salespeople know this, and act every day like the CEO of their own business. Here are four principles to consider: 1. First in or last out? Every good salesperson knows the best time to reach the C-suite is early in the morning or after… Read More
How Emotional Intelligence Helps You Become a Better Sales Manager and Coach
Good sales managers invest a lot of time training and coaching their sales team. And sometimes, regardless of effort, they see little or no improvement. Why? Because most sales managers haven’t been taught formal training and coaching skills that incorporate both hard skills and soft skills training. As a result, they often work on the… Read More
Is Poor Emotional Intelligence Preventing You From Gaining More Business?
You’ve preached the importance of consistent prospecting and business development to your sales team. All heads nod up and down in agreement. You’ve dedicated a portion of each sales meeting to teaching your team new skills and strategies for opening up opportunities. Key performance metrics have been determined and are being tracked. So with all… Read More
Is Your Monthly Sales Meeting a Motivator or Yawner?
It’s costly to meet each month with your sales team, after you figure in the payroll expended sitting in a room and the time not spent dealing with prospects or customers. So, are you and your sales team getting a good return of investment on this time? Or is it just another roll call, a… Read More
Is Your Team Equipped to Handle Sales Stress?
The sales profession carries plenty of stress. Your sales results are out there for the world to see. You either achieved your sales quota or you didn’t, and it’s on a visible company dashboard. Stress grows as the number of competitors increases each day. The internet allows small companies to look big. It’s harder to… Read More
Objection Handling With Emotional Intelligence
Are objections questions? Should you address them? Do you find yourself trying to overcome objections that really may just be simple statements? In this interview with Lynn Hidy, Colleen Stanley, author of the book “Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success,” explains that people often don’t know what they are supposed to do when faced with what… Read More
Sales EQ and Sales IQ of Effective Sales Management Coaching
I enjoy teaching and coaching salespeople about the hard skills of running an effective sales call, what I refer to as the “Sales IQ.” It’s challenging — and fun — to analyze and figure out the best strategies to unseat a strong incumbent, attract the attention of an overloaded prospect or eliminate price objections. But… Read More
Sales Management: How Long Do You Hang On?
This question has been asked by more than one sales manager. When do I let a salesperson go? Have I given the person enough time to succeed? Look no further for the answer than the hit song from Kenny Rodgers, “The Gambler.” “You’ve got know when to hold ‘em. You’ve got to know when to… Read More
Sales Managers: Draft Day
I love movies. My problem is that while watching most movies, I can’t help but connect most of the plots and messages to sales and sales management training! Draft Day is my new favorite. The plot involves the NFL Draft and the important decisions made by general manager, Sonny Weaver, in an effort to rebuild… Read More
Sales Pipeline or Pipe Dream
Monday mornings start off with sales meetings and the infamous sales pipeline review. The sales manager interrogates, the salesperson fabricates and the CFO wonders how she can run a company when the sales department isn’t able to accurately forecast sales. So what’s the answer? There are several reasons for inaccurate sales forecasting, however, the two… Read More
Sales Thought Leader or Thought Repeater
I had the good fortune to hear Neen James, leadership expert, present at the National Speakers Association. She asked the audience a great question. “Are you a thought leader or thought repeater?” (You might be thinking I am a thought repeater at this point….stick with me.) Salespeople are told be thought leaders, trusted advisors, insightful… Read More
Should Your Salesperson Be Allowed To Stay On The Island?
Reality TV shows are quickly becoming the new source of entertainment. (Why, I have no idea.) Perhaps it’s time to introduce a new show and contest: Sales Survivor. The concept would be centered on making sure only the best salespeople stay on the island because of their ability to sell and influence the right prospects… Read More
The Emotionally Intelligent and Effective Sales Leader
It’s a great time to reflect on 2018 and set new goals for 2019. But most sales managers won’t take the time to think and reflect. Why? Because effective people are busy people, right? Busy people are productive people. And sitting quietly, thinking and reflecting just doesn’t look or sound busy or productive. Time to… Read More
The Emotionally Intelligent Sales Manager
Integrating emotional intelligence skills into the sales profession is a fairly new concept for most sales organizations. Progressive sales organizations such as American Express and Motorola are adopting the knowledge and skills as they know it is an edge in a competitive market. So what is emotional intelligence and how can it help sales leaders… Read More