I didn’t want to write Sales Management. Simplified. I was compelled to write it because of what I was observing in company after company with less than optimal sales results: frustrated executives, overwhelmed, overworked sales managers, and underperforming, confused, poorly led salespeople – many of whom working in anti-sales cultures. To say that I’m glad I …
Last week I had the privilege of joining a company’s management team and key salespeople for their annual leadership retreat held in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. I was impressed with and energized by this company’s leaders and its culture from our first interaction. It was fun working with them to prep for the full-day session they asked …
7 Valuable Highlights from a Client Sales Leadership Retreat Read More »
Figuring you’ve read enough predictable New Year’s predictions to make you gag and that you’re tired of being pandered to about how to make your resolutions stick, I wanted to offer a different approach to help us maximize sales performance in 2016. Skipping the pleasantries and softening statements and fully expecting to labeled as politically …
7 Commitments I’m Asking of Sales Executives and Salespeople to Increase Sales in 2016 Read More »
How much time and trouble would we save each other if we all committed to being 100 percent truthful 100 percent of the time? It’s a crazy thought, but when you really think about it, it is amazing how often we don’t tell people the truth. Sometimes we are scared. Sometimes just too nice. Or …
Life is Too Short and the Stakes are Too High Not to Tell the Truth Read More »
It’s the fall Selling Season and we all running hard. My encouragement is to keep sprinting and finish Selling Season strong! We’re only a few weeks from Thanksgiving in the US and you can rest then. Recently I’ve had conversations with various sales leaders who asked what I’m working on with my eclectic group of …
Nope, it’s not that your sales team hasn’t yet mastered social selling. And believe it or not, it’s not your sales process. Despite what the thousands of new purveyors of sales enablement tools tell you, that’s not the answer either. It probably isn’t even your lazy, reactive sales team who love to over-serve existing customers …
Lame Sales Leadership from Companies, Executives and Managers is THE Problem Read More »
It’s October, and here in St. Louis that means yet another year of post-season baseball and a drop in work productivity as much time and energy is expended talking about and watching our beloved Cardinals. I was amused reading an article in USAToday last week that the Cardinals have become the new Yankees and are now …
Sales thought leader Dave Brock and I are in the homestretch of a series for sales managers we’ve been writing for OpenView Labs / Venture Partners. I was honored to contribute at Dave’s invitation, and we’ve had a lot fun sharing the straight truth about sales management, offering guidance to new managers, and attempting to …
Five Blunt Powerful Sales Management Tips for the Price of One Read More »
I admit it. I’m confused. Maybe I skipped the sales leadership class the day “they” taught that publishing and distributing sales reports and rankings was no longer appropriate or politically correct sales management. Don’t goals and results go hand in glove? Hasn’t business, and particularly sales, always been about hitting your numbers? Aren’t salespeople judged …
When Did Publishing Sales Reports and Rankings Become Politically Incorrect? Read More »
The title of this post isn’t meant to be rhetorical. I’m serious. If sales managers can’t coach, won’t coach, or don’t know how to coach their people, then who is? Back in the day (I have enough gray hair now to use that expression), sales managers were the ones responsible for developing their people. Many …
If Sales Managers Are Not Coaching Their Salespeople Then Who Is? Read More »
