Sales Leadership: Keys to Unlocking Consistent Improvement

In a world where change, organizational transition, and sales force transformation seem to be the status quo, some things remain the same.

One constant is the resolute expectation that sales managers continually improve performance. No matter how successful a sales team or selling organization is at the moment, there remains a need for continuous improvements in productivity and profitability. For a number of sales managers today, this call to achieve even more has become a stain on an otherwise spotless management career. And, according to numerous sales managers, the question is simple: “How do we get even more sales than we are currently producing?”

As a training and education company that offers both advanced selling skills and management leadership education and coaching; and having educated and coached more than 40,000 professional sales leaders; we have come to what we believe are some very credible conclusions. Consistent improvement requires 5 key components for success.

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Planning for Success: Sales Development Part 2 – Lessons in Leadership

The previous post on Planning for Success introduced you to the idea of a Tactical Map and presented one of the benefits of creating such a map. In this post, we will discuss two more benefits.

Benefit #2:

Motivation is “internal” not “external.”

In order to achieve the plans you create for yourself it is extremely important you begin to visualize not only the end result but also the path you must travel to those achievements. Developing, consistently reviewing, visualizing, and, if needed, changing your written plans, allows you to make better decisions, effectively organize time use, and reduce stress.

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Planning for Success: Sales Development Part 1 – Lessons in Leadership

Many people want something. Fewer achieve their desired results. There is a formula for achieving results.

Vision + Planning + Competent Effort = Results

Most people have some idea of what they’d like their future to be. We’ve heard employees say things like, “Someday … I’d like to work on a team where everyone gets along.” Or, “Someday … I’d like to do work which excited me.” We’ve even heard, “Someday … I’d like to be a manager.”

Planning for Success Sales DevelopmentWell, someday could be closer than you think. We’d like to help you bring the distant horizon in your mind into clear focus and closer to you.

We’ve gained some valuable knowledge on our journey from employees and sales professionals to sales managers and we’d like to pass on to you the catalyst that can bring your chosen future closer to you and maybe even into your current reality. Continue reading…

Sales Strategy: Selling Differentiation Through Customer Centric Selling Skills

Sales Strategy: Selling Differentiation Through Customer Centric Selling Skills

More times than not these days, when a salesperson meets a customer for the first time, the customer appears to have preconceived ideas about the salesperson long before they ever get to really know them. And … they are not normally good perceptions. Have you ever wondered why this sometimes occurs when you meet new customers?

Fortunately, many customers’ negative perceptions of “salespeople” have nothing to do with you, your intentions toward them, or your personal selling style. The real reason this happens so frequently is because as human beings our perceptions are forged in our previous experiences. And many of the previous experiences that customers have endured with other salespeople have not been good ones.

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Creating Your Future: A Sales Coaching Message from Lessons in Leadership

Creating Your Future: A Sales Coaching Message from Lessons in Leadership

How many times have you thought about creating a plan? If you’re like many people you’ve probably thought about creating plans for some specific purpose and you may have even done some planning.

Here is a great reason for planning:

When you don’t know where you’re going… all roads lead there.

                                                                                Paraphrased – Lewis Carroll

It’s easy to end up lost or unfulfilled when you lack direction and purpose. Most people seem to have some idea of where their life is heading. Very few actually create written plans for the trip. We all possess the ability to achieve our own happiness, and we should employ the tools that will produce for us the future we have chosen. In sales and consultative selling, a clear plan is the quickest path to success.

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Dare to Dream: Sales Management Development – Lessons in Leadership

As you travel the road of life you may find this statement to be true.

A successful person will take responsibility for what needs to be done… and do it.

The challenge is many people are working very hard, attempting to do the right things, all the while losing sight of why they were willing to accept the responsibility in the first place.

More people today are having greater difficulty imagining any long-term future inside their current company.  According to The Herman Group, creator of The Herman Trend Alert, several recent studies suggest as many as 40 percent of American workers have mentally “checked out” of their job. These studies also suggest more than half of American workers are at some level dissatisfied with their current job. Wow! How can such a large percentage of American workers be somewhat dissatisfied with a job most of them applied for and were subsequently hired for?

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