Managing Sales People — Busy Or Effective?(1/30/2014)-Managing sales people -- busy or effective? I work with many presidents, and vice presidents, and they tell me one thing consistently: They don't work day-to-day with their front line salespeople. They're not familiar with the precise problems that their… Continue Reading →
So You Think You Know Your Sales Process – SalesTactics.org(2/3/2014)-Sometimes I get feedback that makes me do a double-take. Feedback like, "This is Sales 101. I must be much farther ahead than most people." I have to tell you: the evidence is heavily against that being the case. Sales… Continue Reading →
Improve Sales Performance with CSO Insights Report(2/9/2014)-CSO Insights released their 2014 Sales Performance Optimization report. Their intention is to highlight key sales problems so companies can improve sales performance. The results match up clearly with the symptoms of sales problems I have been sharing for years.… Continue Reading →
Productivity and Sales(3/20/2014)-Productivity and Sales typically don't hang out together. And there's a simple reason why: Sales is messy. Google "productivity and sales" and you'll find a cluster of articles about sales tools--CRMs, time management devices, reminder alarms, apps that shut off… Continue Reading →
What Matters When Hiring Salespeople(5/1/2014)-What matters when hiring salespeople? Recently I was asked this question on Quora. (The exact question was "What qualities should I look for in a B2B sales person for a startup?") A couple other people responded, talking about firm handshakes… Continue Reading →
Sales Productivity Tools Are Unproductive!(5/8/2014)-Sales productivity tools have exploded along with technology over the past decade and a half. But metric leader CSO Insights reports that productivity in selling has actually gone down: 1 on 1 selling time has dropped from 47% in 1998… Continue Reading →
SREDIM and Selling(6/6/2014)-SREDIM and Selling: What's the Connection? Like most people in the field of selling, I am trained in another specialization. From 1994 to 1996 I took 10 and 11 courses a term, double the maximum recommended university courseload, in the… Continue Reading →
Improving Sales Performance–Not As Easy As You Think!(8/16/2014)-Improving sales performance is often thought of as a pushbutton solution by sales training clients. We'll just buy the training, the clients believe, and everything will turn out great. The cautionary truth is the results are often lackluster. And there's… Continue Reading →
Does Sales Training Really Work?(8/25/2014)-Does sales training really work? Can you figure out an ROI on the investment? Rapid Learning Institute CEO Stephen Meyer says in Forbes you might as well have asked "to prove unicorns don't exist." Among other credentials, I have a… Continue Reading →
Tax Time Is Coming(12/18/2014)-"Tax Time is coming," he said as ominously as a Stark announcing the impending onset of White Walkers. As a business owner, you must learn how to talk about money. As self-employed business owners, that's the game we're in now:… Continue Reading →
Product Mix and VARs(2/26/2016)-Product Mix and VARs (Value-Added Resellers) was a topic on an expert platform I'm a member of. We haven't discussed product mix before, so let's do that now. Product mix is generally a topic for larger organizations, like VARs, chain… Continue Reading →
Figuring Things Out For Yourself(4/3/2016)-Figuring things out for yourself is, apparently, a skill many people haven't developed. Recently I saw a banjo for sale. Now, I play the keyboard and harmonica, and know I like a plucking or picking style of guitar playing. But… Continue Reading →
Change Management And The Unexpected(7/6/2016)-Change Management is a field of study that has been around for over sixty years. Yet most people outside of corporate executive roles at large companies have never heard of it. Managing change is hard. Let's get that point out… Continue Reading →
Hobby Or Business? How You Can Tell The Difference(8/22/2016)-Hobby Or Business? This is a question asked by an Australian business owner on an expert platform I'm a member of, and I'd like to share my answer here. "Is this a hobby or business?" The mentor of the questioner… Continue Reading →
Value Of Reserves: The Unexpected Problem of 100% Utilization(4/26/2017)-Value of reserves is a concept frequently missed in the real world. Think it's good to have all your resources hurtling along at 100% utilization? Think again. Sounds good, doesn't it. Everything at work on your behalf. Nothing sitting around.… Continue Reading →
The One Right Way(12/20/2017)-The One Right Way is something everyone—even me—seeks. Let's look at a story about this idea: back in college 20 years ago, I tutored fellow students in AutoCAD. That's computer-aided design (or drafting). When I was 18 I walked into… Continue Reading →
Why Buy Books Or Courses?(3/31/2019)-Why buy books or courses? My answer is of course my opinion, though that opinion is backed with many years of experience. And I presume you're reading my blog because you're at least interested in if not value my opinion.… Continue Reading →
Productizing Your Business(5/29/2019)-Is coaching a service...or a product? In my opinion, if you want to learn anything, build up institutional knowledge, get better at serving people and get them to their desired result at a faster speed, the answer is to productize… Continue Reading →
Do Businesses Learn?(6/27/2019)-Do businesses learn anything? I was watching a video analysis of the 1986 Miami-Dade Shooting by Paul Harrell when he said something that made me really pay attention. Paul’s discussion was about the police and FBI experience with two tragedies,… Continue Reading →
Documentation Is Important: More Valuable Than You Think(8/28/2019)-Documentation is important, gosh darn it. I had a conversation with a highly experienced business owner late last week that gave me some feedback I found alarming. We were talking about process improvement, and he told me what he thought… Continue Reading →
Your Environment Is Critical To Your Problem Solving Ability(9/18/2019)-After more than two and a half decades "in the real world" I'm astonished to again be slapped in the face by an idea I profess to already understand. The environment you're operating in is absolutely critical to your ability… Continue Reading →
Choosing Your Sponsor Wisely for Sales Success(10/27/2019)-Choosing your sponsor wisely is even more important than I thought. After 20+ years in the field I didn't expect to be surprised by anything in sales and project management. Peter Taylor's The Lazy Project Manager (not an affiliate link)… Continue Reading →
Got Your 2020 Money Plan?(1/31/2020)-Your Money Plan is important. But if you're a small business owner, it's likely you don't have it. As the end of the year approaches, coaches start talking about planning out the next twelve months. Smart business owners take them… Continue Reading →
Why Are CRM Setups A Problem?(1/27/2021)-I ran into something about CRM solutions and CRM setup that is definitely under the "Curse of Knowledge" this morning. That's when you're familiar with a thing, and you can't remember what it's like not to know it. A newbie… Continue Reading →
When Should I Fill Out the CRM Info?(2/24/2021)-When should I fill out the CRM info for a prospect? This common question needs a clear answer—and sales managers, you'll appreciate this post as a place to point your people to for the solid answer. Over the years as… Continue Reading →
Salesperson Success: A Clear Picture of What It Looks Like(3/29/2021)-Salesperson success provided as a clear picture to sales staff is what’s missing in most organizations. What the poor salesperson normally gets is this: No targets No coaching No managerial involvement No feedback loop Just a “Here’s your desk, your… Continue Reading →
Feedback Loops: The Bane of the Experienced(3/23/2022)-Feedback Loops are the #1 challenge killing businesses I've seen in over 25+ years professionally. From startups through $100MM multinationals, feedback loops are the Achilles Heel of every organization. I have also noticed that the awareness of this issue is… Continue Reading →
Advice for a New Agency Founder(2/17/2023)-"Any advice for a new agency founder?" This was a real question posted in a large agency group yesterday. My Answer: Focus on REVENUE GENERATING ACTIVITIES. Playing around with your website is not a revenue generating activity. Fiddling with your… Continue Reading →
