Practical ideas for sales leaders
Sales Management
Develop your managers, run better conversations, and support your team.
77 articles to explore
- 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...
- 3 Indispensable Traits of a Successful Remote Sales Rep
· 3 min read
Miss just one of these attributes and you could be off to a rocky start in a new territory. Long distance relationships make for great love stories. They make...
- How To Create A Compensation Plan That Will Motivate Your Sales Reps
· 4 min read
Design an intelligent compensation plan where everyone makes money and drives sales rep performance. I can’t wait to go to work today to make the company...
- 3 Habits of Successful Hiring Managers
· 3 min read
Successful hiring managers leave clues as to why they acquire premium talent. Try these three things to improve your hiring results. Successful hiring managers...
- 4 Sales Team Challenges That Prevent Growth
· 3 min read
How many of these sales team challenges do your reps have to overcome? Sales team challenges come in a variety of forms for sales managers. Left unchecked,...
- 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...
- 13 Serious Questions to Ask Before Hiring Your Next Sales Candidate
· 7 min read
Does your sales candidate align with what your job requires? I recommend that you conduct a competitive comparison of their previous sales job and the one...
- 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...
- 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Sales Candidate
· 4 min read
Hiring a sales candidate can be exciting and difficult. As a Sales Manager, you can’t help but be excited about the prospect of a high volume salesperson in...
- 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...
- Yet Another 10 Revealing Interview Questions to Ask Sales Candidates
· 5 min read
Before hiring a sales rep, conduct an apples-to-apples job comparison. Line up the structure and activities of your sales job and your candidates current or...
- 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...
- Another 10 Revealing Interview Questions to Ask Sales Candidates
· 6 min read
This is a follow-up to my previous article: 10 Revealing Interview Questions to Ask Sales Candidates . This article focuses on making a job comparison between...
- 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...
- 10 Smart Ways to Overcome the Most Common Sales Training Problems
· 5 min read
Sales training can be highly effective. It can also fail to provide the ROI you expect. Here are 10 reasons why sales training doesn’t work, and the solutions...
- 9 Reasons Why Top Salespeople Leave
· 6 min read
Finding good salespeople is hard enough. Losing a good one can really sting. Why top salespeople leave can be a mystery. According to Harvard Business Review:...
- Avoid Hiring the Wandering Sales Candidate
· 3 min read
Hiring salespeople is difficult. In this series, I identify a group of sales candidates who, when hired, fail to meet expectations. But they all have one thing...
- Beware of Hiring the Golden Child
· 3 min read
The Golden Child interviews well, but fails to meet your expectations. You struggle to hire good salespeople but experience frustration when they fail to...
- Never Put This Person in a Hunter Sales Role
· 3 min read
In this series, I identify a group of sales candidates who, when hired, fail to meet expectations. But they all have one thing in common: they interview well ....
- Don’t Get Fooled by “The Pinball” Sales Rep Candidate
· 3 min read
In this series, I identify a sales rep candidate who, when hired, fails to meet expectations. Like many other bogus candidates, they have one thing in common:...
- Run Away from the “Face Palm” Sales Candidate
· 3 min read
In this series, I’m identifying a group of sales candidates who, when hired, fail to meet expectations. But they all have one thing in common: they interview...
- Watch Out for This Tricky Sales Candidate
· 3 min read
In this series of articles, I identify types of salespeople who fail to meet expectations. But they all have one thing in common: they interview well . You...
- 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...
- The One Interview Question You Must Ask Every Candidate
· 3 min read
There is one interview question I have my clients ask every candidate: Why do you want to leave your job? That question may be a very common one to ask for...
- Hire Better Sales Reps By Adding This
· 6 min read
Every sales leader wants to hire better sales reps. Sadly, looking back on a new sales rep's first six months you realize that the interview was their career...
- 7 Reasons Sales Managers Fail
· 6 min read
Why do sales managers fail? Let's face it, the job of a sales manager is one of the toughest occupations in business. Part strategic and part tactical, they...
- 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...
- 9 Smart Questions Successful Sales Managers Ask Before Recruiting Salespeople
· 7 min read
Successful sales managers know how to hire right and build a sales team. I get calls every day about hiring salespeople. I always respond with: Describe the...
- Your Crisis Stricken Employee Deserves More Than a Sympathy Card... Do This Instead
· 4 min read
Your employee is in crisis – a close member of their family died, a child has become severely ill, or their spouse was injured in an accident and cannot work....
- 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? The Selling Sales Manager
· 4 min read
The Selling Sales Manager has the dual responsibility of achieving a personal sales quota while managing other salespeople. This differs from a typical Sales...
- 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.
- What Type of Sales Manager Are You? The Maintenance Sales Manager
· 3 min read
Find out the role of the easiest job a Sales Manager can have.
- 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...
- What Type of Sales Manager Are You? The Reconstruction Sales Manager
· 3 min read
Not all Sales Managers get to create a sales team from scratch like the Start-up Sales Manager. Instead, some must work with sales teams affected by...
- What Type of Sales Manager Are You? The Start-up Sales Manager
· 3 min read
In our previous article, we discussed the Selling Sales Manger . This manager often works well in small or new divisions. They build a new sales teams and then...
- What Type of Sales Manager Are You? The Turnaround Sales Manager
· 3 min read
What do you do when your sales team continues to lose money, marketshare and fails to close sales? At that point, companies often hire a Turnaround Sales...
- 3 Ways to Make Your Sales Training Better
· 3 min read
While most companies agree that sales training is important, they also agree that it is ineffective. Salespeople enter sessions with low expectations and leave...
- 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 Critical Questions to Gut Check Your Sales Process
· 4 min read
Your sales process should be the path of least resistance to maximum sales. Don’t let your sales process grow cold. A regular examination of the steps, purpose...
- 10 Revealing Interview Questions To Ask Sales Candidates
· 4 min read
Not sure what interview questions to ask sales candidates? Check out these ten to find out if you have a champion or not. Asking sales candidates in job...
- 3 Quick Ways to Make Hiring Salespeople More Effective
· 4 min read
Hiring salespeople who can meet your expectations takes time, strategy and a good process. Implement these three proven ways to acquire premium sales talent....
- 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...
- 8 Guaranteed Ways to Demotivate Your Salespeople
· 5 min read
Motivation comes from within, but you can demotivate your salespeople by the decisions you make. There are some things companies shouldn’t do that make it...
- 4 Killer Interview Questions that Can Make or Break Your Hiring Process
· 4 min read
You don't ask your candidate these interview questions. You ask yourself! Is your recruiting and hiring process doing its job of attracting and acquiring...
- 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...
- 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...
- The Myth of the Million Dollar Sales Rep
· 5 min read
How to avoid hiring lousy sales reps who interview like superstars. Have you hired a salesperson and they didn't perform to your expectations? You believed you...
- 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...
- 5 Valuable Lessons We Can Learn From Introverts
· 4 min read
Pause for a moment to consider using these lessons from Introverts and ease your way through your next sales call. Introverts: Gandhi, Bill Gates, Marilyn...
- 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...
- 5 Things Smart Sales Managers Do to Hire Great Sales Reps
· 3 min read
Stuck with underperforming salespeople? Use these five tips to help you weed through your stack of résumés and hire great sales reps. Many companies are...
- 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 Steps to Hiring Motivated Employees
· 3 min read
Hiring motivated employees requires building a platform for success and acquiring premium talent who align with the role. You cannot motivate people – you can...
- 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...
- 7 Secrets to Motivating Your Salespeople
· 4 min read
What does it really take to have a team of passionate sales reps driven to perform? Take a look at these 7 things successful Sales Managers do. Ultimately, 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...
- 5 Questions to Ask When Designing Your Sales Role
· 4 min read
Successful selling starts with properly defining the sales role. Answer these 5 questions to get you started. One of the most important steps in the hiring...
- 5 Essentials of a Great Pay Plan for Sales Reps
· 4 min read
Want to incentivize your reps to earn more? Follow these 5 guidelines to create a robust pay plan for your sales team. One of the most frequent topics we...
- How Long Should We Cling to Our Sales Process?
· 2 min read
It’s a loaded question, but the answer is deceptively simple. Whenever a salesperson or sales leader asks this question, it sends up a red flag that something...
- 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 Reasons Why A Sales Manager Returns to Selling
· 4 min read
The allure of a management title, executive perks and authority can be very tempting to a successful salesperson. This is what can happen when their career...
- 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...
- 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...