Sales leadership is truly about leading yourself first. This inconsistency helps to account for the inability to increase sales. When working with clients, I use the Results Tool (as constructed by myself and Laura Novakowski ). If your goal is to increase sales, consider assessing this talent for you or your sales team and then construct an aligned course of action including WAY SMART goals.  P.S. Each remaining Tuesday in 2012, one sales leadership talent will be featured based upon the past blog “ Selling Is Not the Problem.” MORE >>

Here’s what often happens in sales departments all over the world. The sales manager picks a goal, picks a process, and shares it with the sales team. This process is usually one that served the sales manager well when she was a sales person. Sales managers also believe that it’s their job to direct their staff; it’s their job to structure the way their salespeople behave. They decide how the sales people should sell, what they should say, who they should say it to, and where they should go. Meet Them Where They Are. MORE >>

Part of any manager's role is to make the people around them better. Whether it's mentoring someone to take over your role when you ascend the corporate ladder, or taking a rep with just enough potential under your wing, ultimately, the job of a manager is to improve his or her team. The Sales Manager is always looking for better performance from a team, and in order to get that, you've got to give a little. Here are four things you, as a Sales Manager, need to give your team if you want to get more production out of them: 1. Believe me, it works! MORE >>

Successful sales peopleSales coaching. Heretofore, when we designed sales coaching programs for our clients, we have customized the “what to coach” portion of the program around the core selling skills and best practices relevant for that individual client. One aspect of the survey addressed the issue of destructive behaviors – that is, things sales reps do that drive buyers to be dissatisfied. Thirty five (35) percent of the decision makers rated too much contact as the most destructive sales rep behavior. Implications for sales coaching. Final note. MORE >>

There is a large storm brewing in many sales organizations unknowing to both sales managers and their bosses. Simply put sales accountability is lacking. The problem results in less production, missing sales goals and more importantly less business. The rationale for the issue is that between a busy world, too much intense competition and the power of customer influences, sales managers have little time, patience and focus to attend to it. It leads to communication – Many sales leaders fail to communicate because they are so busy. c) 2010. MORE >>