When you move from sales producer to sales leader, you must learn new skills in order to lead and develop your sales team. Some of those skills are hiring and selection, coaching and performance feedback. While you need to learn new skills to be a successful leader, don’t forget to apply the selling skills that… Read More
The One Question Salespeople Don’t Ask — and Should
Salespeople ask many great questions during meetings with prospects. They ask probing ones about their prospect’s pain and uncover their prospect’s short-term and long-term goals. However, the most important question often not asked in the sales conversation is, “How committed are you and your organization to eliminating this pain and/or achieving this goal?” I am… Read More
The Power of the Mastermind
In the classic book, “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill introduced the importance of having a mastermind alliance. He describes it as an alliance of two or more minds, blended in a spirit of perfect harmony and cooperating for the attainment of a definite purpose. Sounds easy, right? So why aren’t more sales professionals engaged in… Read More
The Sales EQ and IQ of Leading During a Pandemic
It’s an understatement to say that it’s an interesting time to be in business and sales. During difficult economic times, a sales leader has the opportunity to step up and lead or fall down and fail. A few sales managers will fall into the second category, and it’s not because they are bad people. It’s… Read More
The Smartest Guy In The Room — That No One Likes
You’ve met this person. They are brilliant. Their ideas creative. And—no one wants to work, interact or ‘hang’ with them. This high IQ person doesn’t show empathy when a colleague shares a vulnerable story or concern. He is aggressive rather than assertive. She looks and sounds arrogant, even if she’s not. Lots of brains and little… Read More
Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming a Sales Manager
Business can be filled with a lot of shoulds and the sales profession is no different. “A top sales producer should ask for a promotion to sales management.” “You should keep climbing the corporate ladder.” “You should aspire to lead and manage a sales team.” It’s easy for salespeople, particularly top producers, to fall into… Read More
Three Ways Sales EQ Improves Bottom-Line Sales Results
CEOs and sales managers always are looking for the one or two things that will set them apart from the competition. They invest in innovation and new products; they meet and talk about branding and marketing. Maybe it’s time for your sales organization to look at the best predictor of success: hiring and retaining salespeople with… Read More
To Tell The Truth – Candor and Kindness
I am a big fan of the magazine, SUCCESS. They do a great job with articles, interviews and relevant topics geared towards business and sales. In a recent edition, Darren Hardy interviewed Jack Welch. As always, Welch had a lot of great information to share. My biggest takeaway was his comments around the often misquoted,… Read More
Trusted Advisor or Typical Salesperson?
Does anyone, besides me, get a little tired of the buzz words thrown around in the sales profession? Salespeople are told to be trusted advisors, consultants and solution salespeople. Just what does all this jargon really mean? Let’s go back to Webster’s Dictionary. Trust is defined as ‘assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or… Read More
Your Emotional Intelligence and the Sales Call
Have you ever left a sales meeting or ended a sales call and wondered why you said one thing or didn’t say another? According to Colleen Stanley, emotions can take over during your meeting and you have a physiological reaction that interfered with good communication skills. It’s what she call’s “sloppy sales.” Hear Colleen talk… Read More
Your Sales Team Came With The Building—and It’s Crumbling
You accepted the offer of Vice President of Sales and are now charged with rebuilding the sales team. They haven’t hit quota in months and the excuses vary from: Our product isn’t the best in the market Marketing isn’t generating enough leads Our price is too high Your work is cut out for you in… Read More