I have the pleasure of coaching and working with some of the world’s most experienced and skilled sales teams, often tackling the largest of opportunities. I also see the new generation of sales professionals developing…
Sales organizations in the high-tech arena have been hit with several redefining trends over the last several years – the shift to virtual relationships, the drive to commoditization by the buyer, the unbelievable acceleration of…
We, as salespeople, are prone to look at the bright side of everything we hear. By nature, we want to accept everything said to us. We are positive people. My deal is awesome! My client…
At the beginning of each year, we traditionally reflect on our past and set goals for the future. As a sales leader, this is a good time also to reflect on our leadership and how…
This will age me! When email first arrived on the scene, I was a front-line sales leader, leading a team of about 15 sellers in the IT Industry. The instruction came from above that all…
If you are not in a new sales role, you can benefit from this article too! In my many years of engaging global sales teams, I am now seeing the most fluid market of sales…
Welcome to 2022! As a Sales Leader, you hopefully have your business goals mapped out, your business plan completed, and are charged up for the new year. If you do not, that is an issue,…
I will admit, I am frustrated to see such an important activity – sales coaching – become an overused and generalized term. In fact, many sales leaders will say, “Of course I do sales coaching.…
I know you will all relate to this scenario! You take a deep breath. You are faced with the embarrassing and unenviable task of delivering bad news to your sales leader –the important deal you…
80 weeks! We are approaching 80 weeks of managing complex sales cycles virtually. When it comes to complex sales, we have learned several critical lessons about how to connect and gain a relationship advantage. We…
A key determinate of growth is the ability of a sales organization to win the largest strategic deals. So, why do so many of our clients that are focused on these types of deals say…
Sales leaders have heard for years that we need to be great coaches… and that our primary role is to advance both the talent of our team and our sales opportunities to ensure organizational success.…
Welcome to 2021! Let us put 2020 behind us and make this year successful. Read about four simple habits you can focus on to take advantage of the challenging world of virtual sales.
When faced with leading the largest deal of your career, how do you lead the pursuit team to a win? Read this article to find out the five critical parts of your deal winning strategy.
Relationship Mapping in an account may be a common practice, but it can actually do your seller more harm than good. Learn how to set aside traditional Relationship Mapping in this article.
The ability to connect and build a relationship “advantage” is still the most dominant differentiator, but it doesn’t have to be so serious. Learn five ways you can stand out from the crowd.
You would be surprised how many salespeople do not set and execute a strategy to outmaneuver the competition. This is especially prevalent with RFPs, where far too much time is spent on the solution. This…
Welcome to the “new normal” of virtual selling like we have never seen before! This article provides five key guidelines on how we can create a virtual competitive relationship advantage and beat the competition.
Most salespeople learn that “solution selling” is the way to win. But what happens when your solution becomes commoditized or there is a better solution on the market? How do you win then? If you…
Fellow Leaders and Coaches, let’s face reality…. When most salespeople are asked into a coaching session or sales deal review, their normal state of mind is, “How can I get through this meeting with the…
Prior to the rapid growth of the virtual sales organization, many of us grew up in the environment of the “sales floor” with all salespeople in close proximity. Typically, everyone could hear each other’s calls.…
How to best build superior business sales relationships has changed markedly over the last few decades. What has not changed is the sales theory that superior relationships can overcome a number of other weaknesses. I…
Sales Leaders today are typically so busy responding to internal company requests, overall management of their team, and even selling or talking to clients that coaching their people falls into the “if I had more…
The competitive sales world continues to change faster now than any time in history. We were all taught in sales school 101 the key to success was based on how well we could differentiate our…
The most under-leveraged and misused asset in a sales opportunity is the Executive Team. Correctly involving themselves in an account or sales cycle is an art that few Executives have mastered. Executive customer calls are…
Distinguishing yourself as a great sales coach, one who can help your team exceed its goals, is directly related to your ability to get into your groove, or flow, as a coach. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who…
Those of us who have been in business-to-business sales for a long time can easily recall being asked by our manager or coach about the ever-elusive decision maker. “Are you the decision maker?” We were…
To deliver a powerful message to an executive in order to move them to take further actions (the key purpose of a sales call), we need to clearly understand the context of the situation we…
As we put the holiday parties, champagne and extra calories behind us many of us are looking forward to a financial win in 2019. How will you RISE above your sales targets from last year?…
As we move into a new year, there is always excitement and hope for what is to come. We look ahead with aspirations for 2019. Yet we remain aware of the volatility in today’s ever-changing…
Before we can discuss the logical aspects of preparation, let’s first understand the dynamics of a meeting. There is a difference between attempting to “sell” people something and “moving” their position of belief. Here we…
As Sales Leaders, the most effective weapon we have to achieve our sales goals is the team’s ability to conduct compelling interactions with their prospects and clients. In the context of sales call execution, a…
Competing for Attention We all clearly understand how the balance of power has shifted significantly in the last decade from seller to buyer, driven by the power of information and knowledge. To compound that power…
It seems that the “Seven Great Lies” stories are expanding year after year to apply to all sorts of criteria. We, as salespeople, are also prone to accepting that everything said to us is good,…
I recently had the pleasure of participating in a client’s coaching conference with more than 180 sales leadership executives in attendance. The focus was on creating a winning competitive sales culture through the adoption of…
I am sure many of us affectionately remember playing Clue (aka Cluedo). The fun involved in following the clues, uncovering agendas, and taking risks — so many twists and turns throughout. It is a game…