In sales, as in life, there will be times when you encounter people who throw up (unconscious) barriers or resistance even when your intent is to be helpful – to sell them something that could dramatically increase their business results or to improve their personal condition.
Read moreInconsistent Sales Results? Here’s Why
When I ask that question to most CEOs, sales leaders and sales learning and development professionals, I’m usually met with a questioning look and then an explanation of adopting best in class sales process, methods, content or the latest selling fad.
Read moreSales Leaders! How’s Your Forecast Looking?
If you’re honest with yourself, deep down you know they never will – despite your salespeople protestations and best efforts.
That’s because they aren’t qualified properly and your customer doesn’t see or feel the value in buying from you.
CEOs & Sales Leaders! Low Proposal Win Rate?
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been coaching and mentoring several sales teams on how to navigate to power and involve true decision makers in their conversations – so that they’ll win significantly more business.
My Top 10 Blogs in 2019 to Improve Your Sales Results
With the new year and new decade just commencing, I thought I would share my top 10 blogs in 2019! If you’re looking to take sales performance as an individual or team to the next level in 2020, apply these insights.
Read moreWhat Do You Need to Give Up to Grow?
What’s the ONE thing you can STOP doing that will transform your sales results or life?
Back in 2013, I had a truly transformative experience that changed both my life and sales results.
CEOs & Sales Leaders! How Do You Rate Your Salespeople’s Level of Awareness?
Many salespeople - and some sales leaders - will admit that they don’t know what makes them successful. When things are going well, they don’t know why.
Read moreWhat Gets Measured Gets Done. Not Quite…
If you’ve spent any time working in sales, you’ll no doubt have heard, “What gets measured gets done” (variously attributed to W. Edwards Deming, Peter Drucker, and Rheticus).
Read moreYear in Review: 2019’s Biggest Sales Challenges…
In the spirit of providing immediate value (tis' the season), I thought I would share my biggest takeaways from working with sales forces in 2019.
Read moreCEOs & Sales Leaders! Do Your Salespeople Nail Their First Meeting?
If you’re like me, you will find these stats staggering. Whether these meetings have been self-generated by salespeople or sourced through marketing, it doesn’t matter.
Read moreCEOs & Sales Leaders! Are Customers Surprised by Your Pricing?
Do your salespeople wait until the customer asks them what the price will be for your product/service/solution?
Read moreCEOs & Sales Leaders! Do Your Customers Make Your Salespeople Play FETCH?
This is a picture of one of my dogs, Luke. Unfortunately, he passed away far too young for such an active and handsome fella.
Read moreCEO's & Sales Leaders! Can You Teach Curiosity to Salespeople?
Over the years, I’ve often heard CEOs and sales leaders lament that they wish that their salespeople were more curious. Perhaps you wish that, too?
Read more4 Reasons Why Companies Struggle to Grow Sales, Starting with the CEO...
So many businesses struggle to generate enough new sales to take their growth to the next level…and it doesn’t have to be this way.
Throughout my career, first as an inside sales rep (SDR), new business field sales rep, sales leader, executive and finally as a consultant and advisor, I’ve seen the same issues at nearly every company I’ve worked at and consulted with, small or large.
Read moreCEO's to Salespeople: How to Answer, "So, What Is It You Do?"
So, you’ve been let loose at a conference or are manning your company’s stand at an exhibition.
You’re looking sharp. Hair recently cut, shoes polished or heels just high enough and your favourite suit or outfit makes you shine with confidence. You look every inch the successful salesperson, head of sales or CEO.
That is until someone walks onto your stand or starts making small talk with you in the line up for the buffet and innocuously asks, “So, what is it that you do?”
Read moreDoes Your Job Title Make People WANT to Respond?
If your salespeople are involved in prospecting for new business and they use email as part of their outreach to new contacts, you may want to take a close look at their email signatures – specifically their job title.
Does their job title establish peer to peer credibility with the person you want them to speak or meet with, or does it, like most of the sales teams I work with, sabotage their prospecting effectiveness and results?
Read moreSales Leaders! Are YOUR Limiting Beliefs Affecting Your Sales Team?
You may have heard from me before that “words have power”.
So do the stories that you tell yourself habitually.
Recently, I worked with a sales leader and his team on a project to improve their positioning and messaging so that they sounded and acted in a competitively distinct manner to their competition.
Read moreInside Sales Leaders! STOP Calling Potential Customers TARGETS
Recently, I watched a video delivered by an inside sales expert. He teaches a LOT of leading-edge content that will be creating a great deal of value for his customers.
BUT, and I use the word intentionally, I believe he is unconsciously sabotaging the results that his SDRs and potential customers will be getting because of the words he uses to describe potential customers – aka “targets.”
Read moreCEOs and Sales Leaders, How Is Your Offering Different?
Last week, I wrote an article – CEO! Sales Are Struggling Because of YOU! – on why salespeople often struggle to discover and create customer value because of the way YOU talk about your products, services and solutions – what they are vs. what they do specifically for your customers.
Read moreCEO, Sales Are Struggling Because of YOU!
In the course of my sales growth advisory, training and coaching engagements over the last ten years, it’s become apparent to me that much of the responsibility for sales organizations that struggle lies at the feet of the company’s most important salesperson: you – the CEO.
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