What would your company look like if your salespeople were totally in sync and performing well as a team? You’d be experiencing what I call “smooth selling.” Calling on the right target market, articulating the value your company offers in a way that resonates with your customers, finding out more about business plans and services ... Read Post

There is an economic principle called comparative advantage which can be a tremendous benefit to sales management. In economics, the term is used to describe the ability of a party to produce a particular good or service at a lower cost than another party, and take advantage of that fact in trade. For example one ... Read Post

I’ve always maintained that a truly great person responsible for a team of sales professionals doesn’t “manage” at all. Traditional sales “managers” spend their time enacting what the sales discipline prescribes. Their intent is to move the sales team up the learning curve on sales fundamentals to make sales individuals better; to improve their performance. ... Read Post

1) It’s buyers who are in charge The time has passed of mystery in the sales process. “Selling” doesn’t happen anymore—it’s only buying. Since potential customers can find near perfect information online, salespeople must transform themselves the the role of “authority” to “consultant.” Product narratives have to tell stories, and businesses must have the agility ... Read Post

“You can’t handle the truth!” is a favorite movie line that was delivered by Jack Nicholson in the movie A Few Good Men. Some people have difficulty handling not only the truth but also creative answers, and not just for business but in social settings, too. I recently learned that an old friend, John, now ... Read Post

The job of a sales manager is to provide a succeeding environment for salespeople. Part of that is the provision of intrinsic competitive value in the product or service being sold. Beyond that, it’s providing viable territories and targets, proper support levels, tools for training and enablement, demand generation leadership, and the removal of internal ... Read Post

All about the hardest job in a company--and where a sales manager should stop, go and yield. Read Post

Building a top-notch sales force is a dynamic endeavor. It requires a solid foundation of leadership, market focus, sales process and ongoing management. In Part One we addressed Leadership and Market Focus. Many organizations have one or two of these critical components in place and wonder why results may be lacking. Is your sales force ... Read Post