Our research shows that there are many reasons why a sales rep fails to achieve their quota. For the purpose of this article, I will keep my comments focused on three categories: 1. Personality Conflict with the Sales Role Does your sales rep have the right personality style that aligns with what their job requires? Most roles require a higher
This is a follow-up article to 7 Qualities of a Great Sales Coach. 1. Great sales coaches know the value of incrementalism. Sales skills develop over time if they’re going to last. Great sales coaches work on techniques continually to make lasting changes. That means the sales process provides the structure and the reps’ skills within the process will improve
Coaching your reps is the primary function of your job. It’s the best pathway to achieving the sales quota. In this article, I list seven qualities I’ve experienced and observed of great sales coaches. 1. Great sales coaches do NOT speak in generalities, but specifics. Instead of saying, “You need to get your close ratio up”, ask “How many contacts
How often should you step in and save a sale when you’re out in the field with one of your sales reps? You need the revenue, so why not? As a sales coach, your goal is to develop your sales reps to drive and close sales on their own – not to save them every time they need you to
I received a call from a Sales Director recently who told me that his Sales Managers fail to hold their salespeople accountable. He said: “My Sales Managers are too soft on their salespeople 95% of the time and too hard on them 5% of the time.” He went on to explain that when attempting to hold their salespeople accountable, the
Objectively evaluate the source of the problem while you consider terminating a salesperson that is not meeting their sales goals. Got a salesperson that you might be terminating? So far you’ve tried everything to correct the situation – training, begging, threats, performance improvement plans, mentorship, etc. Still, they’re not meeting your expectations. Before making the decision to terminate a rep, ask yourself these
Sales training can be highly effective. It can also fail to provide the ROI you expect. Here are ten items to help you implement a successful sales training program. You’re ready to train your sales team. They need a standardized process, universal language and defined steps to guide their efforts. The sales training firm has been selected and classes are
Drive more sales with these consultative selling questions that draw out the buyers needs, desires and wishes. Asking good questions gets you the buyer’s story. Poorly worded ones invoke silence and puts undo pressure on yourself. Getting the buyer to talk is critical. Getting them to share relevant information is even more important. Like a journalist, your job is to get
Overcome sales resistance and differentiate yourself using any one of these seven forms of validation. How do you differentiate yourself from your competition? Demonstrate your credibility. Chances are good that many prospects have decided whether they buy from you very early in the sales process. So, how do you overcome an inherent lack of trust? How do you separate yourself
What does a productive coaching session look like with your sales rep? Follow these guidelines to improve your performance as a sales coach. Great Sales Managers leave clues as to why they have successful sales teams. When coaching salespeople one-on-one, there are consistent practices that emerge to give us insight as to what really works. I’ve assembled seven of them