Champions are made in preparation. Olympic competitors train for years to prepare for their chance on the world stage. Professional athletes and competitors of all sorts train day in and day out to prepare for the next game or competition. Practice is the mother of all skill. The same goes for people who become champions in sales. They know that…
As we kick off the New Year and think about goals and plans for 2016, may I suggest that all of us focus not just on “what” we want to accomplish, but also “how” we are going to accomplish it. What is the approach we will use and the behaviors we will model that will help us all adapt, adjust,…
In the work I do with sales teams, I’m asked sometimes to give insight as to why particular sales opportunities go south. Recently, someone shared a situation with me that reminded me of that old saying, “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.” Or, for our international audience, “don’t take on more than you can reasonably handle!” When clients share with…
At some point during the year every business goes through a “planning process” where they talk about budget, people and plans for the following year. For most businesses on a calendar year cycle these conversations are taking place now, during the months of August and September. Why is this important to know? Because this is a perfect time for you…
There is a term for sales people who have to be so prepared to make a sales call that they never actually make the call. They are known as the “Over-Preparers.” Have you ever noticed a sales colleague go to make a phone call – to a potential client, to follow up after a meeting, to respond to a client…
I can’t begin to tell you how many Sales VPs have said to me: “My sales team needs better time management.” And the expectation is that a workshop on “time management” “task management” and “priority management” is going to magically make the team more productive. But here’s the thing. When someone says they have time/task/priority management issues, that’s a major…
Have you ever opened your drapes and been amazed at how dirty the windows got while you weren’t looking? And then closed them again because you didn’t want to take the time to scrub them? I have noticed that very few sales professionals enjoy stopping to prepare for a sales call or sitting down to spend a few hours mapping…
