Leadership
5 Traits of Sales Leaders Who Always Beat Their Number
My transition to sales manager was fairly typical. I was promoted from a role I had excelled in (selling), to a role where I was completely incompetent (leading). In those early years of managing a team, I was more of an interactive kiosk than a leader: “If you have questions, I have answers. Be safe…
Read MoreThe Secret of the One Percenters
Have you ever witnessed greatness? I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to personally watch some of the greatest athletes of all time. I’ve experienced the unrivaled performance of Michael Jordan, Nolan Ryan, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, and even Trevor Brazile (every blog needs a rodeo reference). I can testify to some of the…
Read MoreA Surprising Tip for the Toughest Presentations
Think about your most difficult presentation, your toughest audience, or the time where you had little to no shot at changing the minds of the decision-making team. Despite the odds, you showed up anyway. Got it? You remember the day? I promise you it doesn’t come close to the audience Erin Gruwell faced in the early…
Read MoreHow Can You Measure Sales Training Success?
Starting a new training initiative for your sales organization can be daunting. How will you know if it was successful? Should you look at revenue? Team morale? ROI? Something else? So, how can you measure the success of sales training? You have to ensure your internal presentation on measuring sales training is successful. Few…
Read MoreThe One Thing Missing from Every Sales Process
Every sales process is missing one step. When I’m passionately trying to make a point, I’ve been known to overstate reality to boost my argument. I use words like “millions” or “never” or “always,” especially with my wife, to win the argument or sell an idea. This isn’t one of those times. I have reviewed…
Read MoreHow to Impact & Improve Sales Rep Performance
I have spent the last 25 years singularly focused on answering one question: How do you improve a sales rep’s performance? There may be higher callings in life, but this is the path I’ve chosen, and after 25 plus years, I believe I’ve discovered the most important ingredient to not only catapult a rep’s performance,…
Read MoreMaster Your Sales Presentations with 3 Easy Steps
It’s probably safe to say that we’ve all had a case of the pre-presentation jitters. The level of nervousness can range from slight anxiety to full blown panic. Think about it – we’ve all been there before. It’s the night before your big presentation, you’re practicing your pitch, furiously reading and re-reading your notecards, nervously…
Read MoreSelling Principles from Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban once summarized his activity as a Shark Tank investor at the Wall Street Journal “WSJD Live” conference like this: “Of the 71 startups that I’ve invested in through Shark Tank, two have gone out of business, three are so stupid they don’t know they’re out of business, and then probably 50, give…
Read MoreDefeating Your #1 Enemy: Fear
Fear. It’s the foe I battle every day. I believe fear is the biggest villain in all of our stories. We know that if we put ourselves out there, stand on the stage, write the post, try the new thing, we become targets. This was my biggest fear in writing my book: that I…
Read MoreWhat We Can Learn from Chuck Noll’s Coaching Style
Chuck Noll was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1969-1991, leading them to four Super Bowl wins (more than any other coach) and nine AFC championships during that time. Noll was the youngest NFL head coach in history when he took over in 1969, but he showed great talent for choosing to draft…
Read More