Discover how managers can best exert influence down through the field sales ranks, across to other corporate functions, and up into the C-Suite.
There are many attributes to a great sales leader, but there is one more critical than most. They can imagine and anticipate how the future may unfold, and then prepare and act accordingly. Their ability and willingness to act with purpose and agility in thinking makes them perfect to lead in turbulent times. I think […]
Top Sellers We all love the highly motivated all-star seller who beats his/her goal every year. But for most companies, that’s maybe 10% of your selling population. These sellers find ways to engage their customers with your company, so that the selling part comes easy. You want to nurture these engaged and loyal customers so […]
A fine-tuned sales operations group can be just as crucial to success as a few top-performing sales representatives. This is not to say that sales reps are less important. Rather, a well-functioning sales ops team can have a greater impact on business results than a few really good salespeople. Strong sales ops teams improve the […]
I overheard two salespeople talking in the Delta Sky Club last week. First salesperson: “It’s Thanksgiving now. The selling year is over.” Second salesperson: “Yeah. With the holidays, we won’t be closing deals ‘til January.” But just a year ago a company projected it would end the year 12% short of target. The President set […]
Bias permeates the assessment process, but it’s even worse when it comes to interviewing salespeople since even the least best sales reps are great talkers. Every sales manager wants to hire new sales reps who possess the four “A” attributes: Attractive, Affable, Assertive, and Articulate. Unfortunately, having these characteristics doesn’t mean the person is a […]
Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and the Duke Blue Devil basketball team are perennial winners. Same for Dabo Swinney at Clemson. And, love ‘em or hate ‘em, no one can deny Bill Belichick and the Patriots are winners. One thing they (and many other legendary winning programs) have in common is: Winning teams have great leaders. […]
You can cut ramp-up time of your college hires for sales jobs by 30% while increasing their tenure by 50%: How? Hire from universities with sales programs! So says a 2009 research study by the Sales Education Foundation, a not for profit organization founded to encourage collegiate sales programs nationwide. As of 2019, 134 Universities […]
It’s tempting to promote your best salespeople into sales leadership roles. But it can be a mistake. Top sales leadership skills can be quite different from the competencies of top salespeople. So, promoting top sales reps into management can be double jeopardy: Not only do you install an ineffective sales manager who lowers overall sales […]
Cycles are something we deal with in many aspects of our lives. There are apparent differences each time around, especially as technology and social norms advance. But the secular business trends continue to be consistent over time. Stock markets fluctuate daily and weekly, but over a few years, there are repeating patterns. These patterns should […]
Today’s business press is filled with stories about sales transformation through CRM initiatives and sweeping training programs. These priorities are reflected in 2018 corporate spending: Nearly $88 billion on training and $48 billion on CRM. We suspect far less was spent on sales team building. But as the following case demonstrates, paying close attention to […]
