How to Create an Accountable Sales Team

Whenever I talk about “accountability” with salespeople, I see a lot of eye rolls. Not surprising, given that accountability is a word that gets tossed around when sales managers want to blame someone for something that has gone wrong. Over time, if accountability means blame it can destroy morale and undermine sales results. Instead, sales … Read full article

5 Best Sales Coaching Questions

The questions sales managers ask their salespeople have an effect on the questions salespeople ask their customers. If you want your salespeople to ask better questions of customers – you the sales manager need to ask better questions of your salespeople! Here are my five favorite questions to ask of a B2B salesperson. By asking … Read full article

4 Things the Best Sales Managers Do Differently

Here are four of the biggest differences I see in sales managers that consistently get the best results from their sales teams. 1. The best sales managers rigorously control their time by continually asking themselves, “What can do right now to have a meaningful impact on the development of my team?” Sales managers always tell … Read full article

Why Sales Managers Thrive in a Sales Coaching Culture

In my online sales management programs, I tell sales managers that they should spend at least 20% of their time—8 hours a week—coaching their salespeople. The predictable reactions are a mix of incredulity (“Where am I going to find that kind of time?”) and skepticism (“My salespeople get a lot of training. How is that … Read full article

Where Results-Oriented Sales Managers Go Wrong

Should sales managers focus on results? Absolutely, but problems with sales teams arise when sales managers focus ONLY on results rather than observing and improving the inputs of the sales process. Sales results are an inescapable metric of the sales profession. But sales managers who want their teams to improve results have to pay attention … Read full article

5 Sales Coaching Strategies for Maximizing Sales Results

Sales management training sessions

This article provides five sales coaching strategies designed to maximize your team’s sales results.  Good, structured sales coaching has been found to increase your team’s win-rate by as much as 30%! High quality sales coaching helps your salespeople better understand each sales opportunity, identify gaps in their thinking or approach, and develop more skillful plans … Read full article

3 Obstacles to Installing a Sales Coaching Culture

arrow breaking through the wall

With the Great Resignation happening in today’s business, where many people have quit their sales jobs, sales organizations have to hire more salespeople and often accept candidates with less experience than past hires. New salespeople, especially those with only a year or two of experience, need more guidance and structure as they try to learn … Read full article

Why Online Sales Training is Better than In-person

woman doing online training

This article provides six reasons why online sales training is better than in-person training for improving sales performance. Any company considering a sales training program in 2022 should read this article. Over the past months, sales organizations of all sizes have experienced an increasing number of salespeople who quit. As a company’s number of salespeople … Read full article

Rapid, Successful Onboarding of New Sales Hires

a funnel with info going into it

I mentioned in a recent blog that many experts are predicting the turnover of salespeople to pick up now that the pandemic is easing. That means sales managers have to hone their ability to identify and hire more top candidates, and then create a successful plan for onboarding new sales hires. Here are three tips … Read full article