Practical ideas for sales leaders
Sales Coaching
Turn feedback into practice and strengthen day-to-day sales habits.
68 articles to explore
- Build Better Sales Habits in 30 Days
· 1 min read
A simple habit loop that keeps new hires focused on the right behaviors.
- A Sales Coach Primer for Rookie Sales Managers
· 4 min read
You want to be a great sales coach to your team – but what if you’ve never had a role model? Here are three great tips to get you started. One of the most common...
- How Extraordinary Salespeople Outsell The Competition
· 5 min read
Great salespeople know that good questions aren’t enough to outsell the competition. They ask their questions within a framework of logic that elevates the...
- 4 Exceptional Habits Of Highly Successful Salespeople
· 3 min read
Successful salespeople possess certain habits. Knowing and applying these four habits can put you into a select group of superstars. One of the questions I get...
- 7 Proven Ways to Differentiate Yourself from Your Competitors
· 4 min read
Differentiate yourself and overcome sales resistance using as many or all of these seven forms of validation. Differentiate yourself from your competition by...
- 6 Sales Questions To Help You Sell Like a Champion
· 3 min read
Sales questions that really draw out the buyers needs, desires and wishes. You'll improve each sales call with these gems. Asking good sales questions gets you...
- 10 Reasons Why Most Sales Training Doesn’t Work
· 6 min read
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...
- 7 Smart Questions Sales Managers Ask When Coaching Reps
· 2 min read
Coaching sales reps is one fo the primary roles of a sales manager. Unfortunately, too many sales managers don’t spend enough time in the field observing sales...
- Why is Your Sales Rep Failing?
· 4 min read
Why is your sales rep failing? Our research shows that there are many reasons why a sales rep fails to achieve their quota. For the purpose of this article, I...
- 7 Ways to Fix Underperforming Sales Reps Right Now
· 6 min read
Identifying the root cause of underperforming sales reps is always the first step to a solution. Avoid applying an impulsive decision like throwing more...
- 5 Qualifying Questions to Ask Your Sales Reps
· 3 min read
When coaching your salespeople through the sales process, there are certain questions that you need to consistently ask them. They really need to have a...
- 10 Awesome Follow-up Questions to Get Your Buyer Talking
· 5 min read
Follow-up questions get you the whole story. Of course, asking good questions is the heartbeat of a good sales call. However, many salespeople can become so...
- 7 MORE Qualities of a Great Sales Coach
· 4 min read
This is a follow-up article to 7 Qualities of a Great Sales Coach . Here are seven more qualities to help you become a great sales coach: 1. They know the...
- 7 Qualities of a Great Sales Coach
· 5 min read
Being the sales coach to 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...
- 7 Questions That Reveal Why Your Sales Team Performance is Low
· 5 min read
Why is your sales team performance not meeting your expectations? I ask this question to my clients on a first call to get their perceptions about why their...
- 7 Sales Mistakes To Avoid from a Painfully Awkward Video
· 4 min read
The late, great comedian, Jerry Lewis, sat for an interview in his 90’s with a staff member from The Hollywood Reporter. The interview is known as 7 Painfully...
- 8 Reasons Why Qualifying Makes You an Awesome Sales Rep
· 3 min read
1. You don’t get derailed by unknown decision-makers. Part of qualifying is finding out each of participants involved in the purchase decision. Fully...
- 5 Behaviors of Stellar Salespeople You Should Replicate Now
· 5 min read
We desire to be stellar salespeople. But what are the common characteristics of superstars? Some traits deal with internal factors such as personality style...
- 4 Simple Steps for Upselling Your Customers
· 4 min read
Upselling is vital to leveraging more sales with your existing customers? Apart from simply asking for more business, the goal is to develop or reinforce your...
- Why Bad Salespeople Get Hired
· 6 min read
Bad salespeople get hired everyday. Unfortunately, they can devastate a sales team and a company's reputation. Here are a few reasons why bad salespeople get...
- 4 Smart Ways to Coach Your Sales Reps on a Sales Call
· 3 min read
When you coach your sales reps in the field, how often should you step in and save a sale? You need the revenue, so why not? As a sales coach, your goal is to...
- 5 Steps to Holding Your Salespeople Accountable
· 5 min read
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...
- 16 Questions You Need to Ask Your Customers Right Now
· 2 min read
Ask your customer questions about their business and where it’s going. Focus on collecting information relevant to what, why and how customers buy from you. In...
- 8 Intelligent Questions for Evaluating Your Sales Reps Performance
· 4 min read
Evaluating your sales reps is like evaluating an athlete. No experienced football coach would ever consider sending his team onto the field without being right...
- 6 Smart Interview Questions to Ask Superstar Sales Candidates
· 4 min read
In some (rare) cases, you need to roll out the red carpet for a sales candidate. Yes, they are that good. And with the ever decreasing quality of candidates...
- 6 Truths That Separate Superstar Salespeople from the Mediocre Masses
· 4 min read
From my two decades of training and coaching salespeople, here are six fundamental truths about what it takes to join the elite group of superstar salespeople....
- 5 Ways to Rock Role Plays with Your Sales Reps
· 5 min read
Want to improve your sales reps’ selling skills? Here are five things you can do to engage in role plays effectively and get the results you want. For many...
- What Type of Sales Manager Are You? Pure Growth Sales Manager
· 3 min read
One of the toughest, yet rewarding jobs a Sales Manager can do.
- 10 Sales Meeting Topics Your Sales Reps Really, Really Want
· 6 min read
If your sales meeting was not required, would you show up? Anyone else? Too often a sales meeting is seen as a waste of time – an event that lacks any purpose...
- 6 Questions To Ask Before Terminating A Sales Rep
· 4 min read
Objectively evaluate the source of the problem before terminating a sales rep. Terminating a sales rep is a difficult thing to do. At this point, you’ve...
- 7 Things Smart Sales Managers Do When Coaching Sales Reps
· 6 min read
Coaching sales reps is a fundamental task of sales management. Follow these guidelines to improve your performance as a sales coach. Great Sales Managers leave...
- 4 Ways to Maximize Customer Revenue and Retention
· 4 min read
What does it take to keep good customers and the revenue that comes from them? Follow these four steps and you'll leverage more than you thought. Make the most...
- Smart Sales Managers Know How and When to Switch Hats
· 3 min read
Sales managers are more than a glorified salesperson. They must wear multiple hats if they are to succeed at building a high performance sales team. Most sales...
- 5 Things Successful Sales Managers Do on Joint Sales Calls
· 3 min read
Get the most out of your sales calls with your sales reps using these 5 proven strategies Before you even go out on joint sales calls with one of your sales...
- 5 Ways Smart Sales Managers Deliver Profitable Sales Meetings
· 3 min read
If your sales meetings were not required, would anyone show up? Sales meetings are notorious for being boring and unprofitable. The Sales Manager simply does...
- 6 Things Successful Reps Want from Their Sales Manager
· 4 min read
Top performing sales reps leave clues as to why they’re successful. Check out these six things that they want from their sales manager to help them achieve...
- 6 Slacker Habits That Cost You Sales
· 4 min read
Changing habits is difficult, but it can be done. Check to see if any of these sales habits inhibit you from reaching your goals. We all have areas of...
- 4 Timely Questions That Will Improve Your Closing Ratio
· 4 min read
Why do some sales opportunities not close when every indicator leads you to believe they will? Preserve your closing ratio by following these four tips. You...
- 4 Vital Questions to Answer Before Discounting
· 4 min read
What are the right circumstances to discount the price? Before your next sales opportunity get’s to the pricing questions, here are four to help you construct...
- 8 No-Nonsense Questions to Ask Sales Reps Who Are Not Hitting Quota
· 3 min read
What does it take to uncover why your sales rep is not achieving their sales goal? Ask these 8 questions to find out. The sales manager’s goal is to have 100%...
- Improve Your Sales Coaching Results: Avoid These 7 Mistakes
· 4 min read
You think you’re coaching. However, you may be preventing your sales reps from developing their skills. If you really want to coach your sales team to...
- 3 Pivotal Questions To Help You Benefit From Lost Sales
· 3 min read
Lost sales can be your greatest teacher as a sales professional. Learning from it can change the trajectory of your career. One of the most underutilized...
- 3 Better Ways to Upsell
· 3 min read
One of the quickest ways to increase revenue is upselling. Unfortunately, it’s not always executed well resulting in reduced trust between the buyer and...
- 3 Ways Smart Salespeople Close Sales with Slow Buyers
· 3 min read
Here are some ways to help you wrap up a sale when the buyer appears slow to make a decision When? That one-word question can make all the difference. You can...
- 5 Intelligent Ways to Hold Your Sales Reps Accountable
· 4 min read
Whether you’re a rookie sales manager or a seasoned sales leader, you must hold your sales reps accountable. Use these 5 strategies to help you get the results...
- 15 Proven Sales Tips to Boost Your Income Immediately
· 6 min read
I'm a collector. I collect everything from vintage Coca-Cola machines to really good sales questions . In this article, I'm sharing some of my favorite sales...
- 7 Reasons Superstar Salespeople Laugh at Rejection
· 5 min read
Rejection is a difficult aspect of professional selling for many salespeople. Here’s how top performers handle this challenge with ease. “No.” That can be a...
- Smart Salespeople Are Not Afraid To Do This With Their Customers
· 3 min read
Smart salespeople can differentiate between good customers and mediocre ones. They study the subtle differences and focus on looking for those who fit that...
- 7 Ways Savvy Sales Managers Grow Their Sales Reps Skills
· 4 min read
Here are a few great clues from savvy sales managers who know how to improve the skill level of their sales reps through role-playing. Want to dramatically...
- Why You Should Stop Talking About Sales Quota
· 4 min read
Change the conversation with your sales reps and change their results for the better. When a sales rep isn’t making their sales quota, the issue of quota...
- 3 Awesome Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople
· 4 min read
Superstar salespeople know which prospects will buy and which one’s won’t. For the average sales rep, however, it’s tempting to become overly optimistic about...
- Secrets to Selling to Darth Vader and Other Forceful People
· 3 min read
The practice of identifying personality styles has been around for centuries. Today, it is still highly effective to recognize your customers’ different styles...
- 3 Big Reasons Why You Lost That Sale
· 3 min read
Overcome these common mistakes and make more sales One of the most misunderstood phrases in our business is the “lost sale.” Sales managers hate any lost sale,...
- 8 Things Smart Salespeople Never, Ever Do
· 4 min read
Avoid these common sales mistakes and follow the lead of successful sales reps to improve your sales What mistakes do successful salespeople sidestep that the...
- 5 Ways to Get New Sales Reps Selling Faster
· 3 min read
Training new sales reps is a critical part of success. Too much training can diminish performance. These 5 steps will get them producing quickly. What do you...
- 5 Things to Eliminate from Your Sales Meetings Right Now
· 3 min read
Just because you call it a sales meeting, doesn’t mean it is. Most sales managers don’t actually hold sales meetings… but they think they do. Sure, they...
- How An Unexpected Question Flipped a Decision-Maker to Say “Yes”
· 4 min read
Knowing the difference between being liked and being trusted can transform your sales career. With just one question, here’s a story of how it instantly...
- 4 Ways to Get Mentally Prepared for a Sales Call
· 3 min read
Whether you have five minutes or five days before your next call, use these tips to get yourself mentally prepared for sales success. Salespeople aren’t always...
- 5 Things Never to Say on A Sales Call
· 4 min read
The words we use can make the difference between landing a sale or getting kicked to the curb. When observing salespeople selling, I’ve found many phrases used...
- How a 4-Letter Word Dramatically Transformed a Sales Reps Career
· 5 min read
The words we say can have a powerful impact on people - positively or negatively; not only to others, but also to ourselves. Read this story about how a sales...
- Use Nurture Selling to Stay in Front of Prospects
· 3 min read
Nurture selling is the systematic means of staying in front of a potential buyer through a variety of communication channels. Years ago, I was on a sales call...
- How Skipping One Step Derailed an Entire Sales Team
· 3 min read
Every step of the sales process is important, even if the sale cycle is short. Be wary of skipping steps. That can lead to unintended consequences for your...
- The Final Word on Sales Manager Success
· 4 min read
You cannot achieve sales manager success if you don’t know what it is. Sales managers need a clear picture in their mind of ideal sales performance and the...
- 3 Unshakeable Beliefs of Top Performers
· 3 min read
Success begins first in the mind. Top performers work on their mind more than their body, job, or career. Right thinking is the genesis of success. Michael...
- 7 Things You Should Not Do on a "Ride Along" with Your Sales Rep
· 3 min read
Most sales managers make at least one of these mistakes when they do a ride along with their sales reps out in the field. See if you do some of these. No...
- This One Word Costs Sales Managers Massive Sales
· 4 min read
As Sales Managers, we must develop clear job expectations. Then evaluate your salespeople and candidates against those expectations. Put SuperBowl-winning...
- 5 Stellar First Appointment Questions
· 3 min read
You only get one first appointment with a prospect – never waste one again. If you don’t have a list of first appointment questions, you need one. Don’t waste...
- 4 Ways To Effectively Hold Sales Reps Accountable
· 3 min read
Accountability is critical to running a successful sales team... but it's not always easy. Use these four tips to help you keep your salespeople on track. It’s...