The sales reps looked really uncomfortable. No, it wasn't the furniture, the room temperature, or environmental things. It was the topic. We were training them to use a Sequence of Events with their buyers. Their sales manager was ready to tear his hair out because he requires them to use this tool and update [...]
One Perspective "I'm a successful salesperson because I have good intuition." From the perspective of a veteran sales professional, intuition is a crucial trait of successful salespeople. Some see intuition as a powerful trait that separates great and good salespeople. However, the evidence tells us otherwise. The Evidence Research on the performance qualities of [...]
Sales Performance Behaviors Sales and marketing budgets will consume an average of 12% of company revenues, according to the Gartner 2016-2017 CMO Spend Survey. With that level of spending focused on promoting your company's products and services, you want to ensure that your most potent customer-facing asset, your sales team, is trained and coached on [...]
What comes to mind when you define "coach?" Some guy with a whistle, maybe a memory of someone you played for on a team, or people on the sideline directing their team to play better? Most of us have the context of the sports-type coach. But, unfortunately, this is where the pitfalls of do-it-yourself [...]
Things are very exciting in New England! The Patriots are in the playoffs! I know; not a huge surprise, given the team's talent and coaching. But, one of the things they do well is executing their plan. For you, it's a new year. There is a new sales plan and new goals. But, despite [...]
Employee engagement numbers remain pretty bleak. The Gallup State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report noted that only 21% of all employees are engaged. The engagement level in 2022 is well below the 32.5% engagement we first reported in 2016. While these numbers refer to people across organizations, it does beg the question...what about sales [...]
The ugly truth is that we, as humans, lie. We do it all the time for various reasons. A study by the University of Massachusetts found that in a 60-minute conversation, most of us lie at least once! Add time pressure and self-interest to every sales situation, and you have a recipe for disaster. [...]
There's a lot of talk about how coaching makes all the difference in sales team performance. But do you really know the power of performance coaching? Most sales managers don't. The most typical scenario looks like this - the sales manager knows what numbers need to be met so he/she talks to the team [...]
In negotiations, our previous discussions emphasized the significance of "who speaks first." However, recent groundbreaking research in negotiation science has shed light on a new aspect: the divergent impact of pre-negotiation "small talk" on men and women negotiators. Brooke A. Shaughnessy, Alexandra A. Mislin, and Tanja Hentschel, esteemed researchers in this field, delve into [...]
Working with our client sales teams, the topic of selling "style" is typically something we encounter. "That's my style," "what I am comfortable with," or "I am just that kind of person"….is usually part of the description. Influence style "Selling style," or Influence Style, is critical to successful sales outcomes. It is that mix [...]
