Sales trainers, you must keep one very important thing in mind—customers don’t attend your training, only salespeople attend. This seems like an obvious statement, but many sales trainers don’t act as if they understand this. It means all sales trainers are faced with a significant limitation. They can only influence what salespeople are going to ... Read Post

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to an unbelievable YouTube video of a duet between world-renowned virtuoso cellist Tina Guo and blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. It’s a performance of Bonamassa’s song “Woke Up Dreaming” and it will knock your socks off. When I watched it, I immediately thought of how that level ... Read Post

Sales Coaching = Success Coaching Successful Sales Managers understand that sales and sales training is a process, not an event and they support their people on that journey. Too many times, sales managers get excited about a sales training event, hoping that it will be the magic bullet to help their salespeople meet their goals. ... Read Post

Do you train salespeople just to sell better? If you answer yes, you are taking a very shortsighted view of the role of sales. Yes, sales should be proficient at practicing the detailed “movements” of the sales function, but it must be done with purpose. Sales training is a strategic issue; it should always be ... Read Post

You’ll listen better and be listened to if you practice these TIPS from Tony: Let others tell their own stories first. By letting them speak first, you save time. When their interests are revealed you can tailor your discussion to their particular needs, goals, and objectives stop wasting time volleying of sentences that takes much ... Read Post

Having recently become single, I of course get excited when someone asks me out to dinner, especially using the magic words, “I’m treating!” “Now, this is promising. Looks like someone really likes me!” Alas, however, my enthusiasm becomes dampened with these additional words: “I’m treating because I want to pick your brain.” Don’t get me ... Read Post

Sales is the department that drives all the other departments. Without revenue, there is nothing to ship, install or invoice. So why is it that this important department is often the last one to be systematized? Can you imagine your accounting department not having systems for paying employees, vendors and the government? Or, how about ... Read Post

1. PRODUCT AND SALES TRAINING ARE ONE In interviewing buyers, one of the biggest complaints we hear about is the “walking product brochure.” Reps that aren’t customer issues oriented and are hyper focused on product are dead in their tracks. Customers can gain product knowledge in a myriad of ways. It’s the responsibility of the ... Read Post