Sales Myth Buster: There ARE Limits to What You Can Achieve with Hard Work
I’ve been seeing a lot of motivational and inspirational quotes roll by in my various social streams lately. I really enjoy a lot of them and I imagine they help people. In my typical style, I also disagree with a few and find them unrealistic. I have always enjoyed and chuckled at Zig Ziglar’s well-known […]
Continue readingThe Path to Sales Growth through Customer Focus – Part 1
The journey toward sales growth starts and ends with our customers. If we want to grow our companies, marketing and sales must align with an unwavering focus on our customers, building everything around them. The need for customer focus goes beyond marketing and sales, of course, to include implementation, execution, and service delivery, but this […]
Continue readingThe Oversimplification of Sales Performance Work
The Oversimplification of Sales Performance Work Yes, you read that right. I’m worried about some of the things I’m reading and trends I’m seeing in the world of sales performance improvement. Simple is good. Oversimplified is not. If you’ve been reading my work for a while, you may remember that I define performance levers as […]
Continue readingTransforming Sales Results is Back
Ch-ch-ch-changes If you haven’t seen my social profile updates yet, change is afoot. Friday, March 7 was my final day at Richardson. Monday, March 10 is my first day at GE Capital. (Technically, I guess that means I’m unemployed this weekend. Hadn’t thought about that until this instant.) Past Can something be bittersweet and exciting […]
Continue readingImprove Your Sales Coaching with Two Simple Steps – Part 3
I guess it’s somewhat funny that a simple, two-step addition to sales coaching has taken a 3-part blog series to communicate. Hopefully, it’s been a good journey for those who have come along for the ride. In Part 1, I laid out the overall framework of the two-step addition, and explained Addressing the Right Issues, […]
Continue readingImprove Your Sales Coaching with Two Simple Steps – Part 1
Coaching & Fashion – Models Abound There are many solid models for generalized sales coaching and sales rep development. Most of these models address how to coach – meaning, how to conduct an effective, interactive coaching session. Appropriately, these models usually include some sort of Socratic, dialogue-based, facilitative approach, similar to effective selling, interactive classroom […]
Continue readingHow to Increase Sales with Top Performer Analysis – Part 2
In part one of this series, I discussed the misnomer inherent in the term “best practices” and recommended “top performer practices” instead. I also pinpointed the reason for the bad reputation, since poorly executed best practices projects often fail to produce tangible results. In the projects I’ve run over the past 25+ years, I’ve learned […]
Continue readingHow to Increase Sales with Top Performer Analysis – Part 1
The term “best practice” is tossed around a lot. These days, it’s sometimes met with a groan or disbelief. There are many reasons for that, some valid, some not… but two of the most prominent reasons seem to be: The reaction to the misnomer inherent in the phrase “best practices.” The fact that it’s been […]
Continue readingWe Live in Different Sales Worlds
I Love a Good Rant In 1989, Richard Bach released his follow-up book to “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” called “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.” In the book, Bach struggles to learn from his new friend, Donald Shimoda, a man Bach believes is a Messiah who quit the job, but found him – based on […]
Continue readingLaunch Redux – Deja Vu All Over Again
Okay, it’s true. I’m calling a “Do Over.” I announced, in mid-November of 2012, what I’d be doing with this blog. It hasn’t happened. Ouch. I know. Shortly after the announcement, I got embroiled in the end of several-month career search, navigated multiple offers (fortunately), landed a new gig, took a vacation for the holidays, and […]
Continue reading