Have you ever wondered why some of your reps consistently outperform their peers, while others struggle to hit their quotas regularly? It’s the classic bell-curve problem, where 10-20% of sales reps simply seem to be better than others. There’s two ways to fix this: either figure out how to only hire the best reps in […]

There’s a lot to be said for luck… And the role it plays in your success in sales. And in your career overall. Here’s the secret: you can prepare for luck. You can increase your luck. Detractors will scoff and say that you can’t factor luck into your sales planning. Actually, yes, you can. And, […]

Telling stories is important in sales. But, not when you’re telling them to your sales boss. For instance, fiction doesn’t strengthen a forecast. As humans, we hate ambiguity. We feel a burning need to make sense out of uncertainty. So, in situations where we don’t have a complete set of facts, we take the limited […]

Do you coach using all three levels of discovery and understanding with the sellers on your team? Three? Yes, three. An individual salesperson is really three distinct entities rolled into one: a Person, a Seller and a Competitor. Each of these personas requires a different level of understanding and communication from a manager to help […]

Don’t let other people define you. You can achieve success on your own terms. Check out the evaluation of Tom Brady by NFL scouts prior to the NFL draft in 2000. “Poor build, Skinny, lacks great physical stature and arm strength, Lacks mobility and the ability to avoid the rush, lacks a really strong arm, […]

Being busy can create its own “busy-ness.” And distract you from the important things you need to accomplish. As Henry David Thoreau said, “It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Unnecessary busy work is where precious hours of every day evaporate. David Allen’s […]

I believe reading is still the most effective way to absorb new knowledge. While short form “how-to” posts on LinkedIn can have value, they are necessarily incomplete. They don’t tell the whole story. If you’ve become addicted to getting a quick “how-to” fix on LinkedIn, you’ve probably discovered that you’re missing a lot of context. Like […]

Early in my marriage to my ex-wife it became clear that something had to change. Well, it was clear to her.  That something was me. I had good potential as a husband. It was the human side of me that needed work. That was my awakening to the reality that every role we play in […]

Did you know that pessimism may be the key to your success? Don’t get me wrong. Self-confidence is good. Optimism is essential. If you aren’t confident enough that’s a different issue. However, if your self-confidence isn’t tempered with a bit of negativity it will hold you back. I consider myself to be an optimist. People […]

Research has found that the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person can actually increase your brainpower. But, only if you use it. So, if you’re in sales, you have two essential motivations to be empathetic: Empathy is an avenue to connect with your buyer It gives your brain a boost and […]

Jonas Salk was one of the greatest scientific minds in American history. He is most well known for discovering and developing the first successful polio vaccine. He once said, “What people think of as the moment of discovery is really the discovery of the question.” If you, as a sales professional, can keep this solid […]

Before we get started, here’s a quote from Voltaire to help trigger some self-reflection: “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” Actually, that pairs well with this wisdom from the Dalai Lama: “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” […]