How To Decrease Stress and Increase Sales
Imagine if you and your friends watched a movie recapping the year 2020 and didn’t know it was a true story. At least one person would probably say, “Wow, wouldn’t that be something if that really happened?” Well, 2020 is happening and the pandemic, recession and cantankerous election season are creating a lot of […]
Don’t Lose Sales to the J Curve of Learning
One of my favorite quotes comes from the late, great basketball coach John Wooden: “Don’t equate your expertise with your ability to teach.” This is great advice for all leaders, particularly in sales. Many sales leaders are former top sales producers, but being a top seller may not equate to your ability to transfer the […]
Is Your Sales Team Chasing Squirrels?
My husband and I used to live in a home where a crazy squirrel ran back and forth, back and forth, on top of our backyard fence. This erratic behavior got even more exciting when our neighbors let out their dog. It would bark and chase this squirrel every day, thinking his barking would get […]
How Influential Are You as a Sales Manager?
[embedded content] Influence is described as the capacity to have an effect on the character, development or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. It’s what great sales managers do. The best sales managers influence their salespeople to consistently execute the right selling behaviors and attitudes every day. They do this through the […]
One Reason Salespeople DON’T Disqualify Prospects
You’re having a one-on-one coaching session with a member of your sales team, reviewing the sales pipeline. You quickly notice three prospects that are still hanging around, like a bad cold. Now, you and the salesperson have had more than one conversation about these opportunities. You’ve agreed on these points: They don’t fit your ideal […]
Five Ways to Blow a Sales Call in the First Five Minutes
You finally land an appointment with that coveted, ideal-fit prospect. Congratulations. Now the real work begins. We’ve all heard phrases such as, “You only get one chance to make a good impression.” Psychologists call it “thin slicing.” You meet someone and within seconds, you make a decision about their trustworthiness, status, intelligence and who knows […]
Are You Running Fake Sales Meetings?
[embedded content] It’s the Monday morning group sales meeting. The sales team shows up, pop open tablets and computers, and pretend to pay attention to the sales manager and colleagues. They give a cursory nod or answer while checking emails and responding to texts. What’s wrong with this picture? Everything! Sales managers, this one is […]
Are These Outdated Sales Tactics Hurting You?
In the Information Age, it’s hard to believe that so many salespeople and sales managers still practice outdated ideas and methodology. Salespeople show up to meetings more focused on closing than on having a real conversation. Sales managers still teach overcoming objections and trial closes, all of which lead to superficial, guarded sales meetings with […]
Are You A “Good-Enough” Sales Professional?
The great thing about the sales profession is that you have the ability and control to conduct sales and business in a manner that best serves you and your clients. The most successful salespeople know they have to earn their spot on the team every year, both with their company and with customers. These high […]
Two Ways Arrogance Kills Sales
I had the good fortune of starting in sales with Varsity Spirit Corp., a small company that now is the world’s largest in its industry. When I started with Varsity, we were the David in the “David and Goliath” story, competing with companies more than quadruple our size. With hard work, great leadership and innovation, […]
