Archive for January 2019
You Need To Know How To Diagnose A Revenue Gap
In his book, “When Breath Becomes Air” neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi discusses an informal diagnostic practice he developed with a fellow surgeon in the stress of the trauma room. They would use the size of a state’s population to summarize the severity of a head injury. For example, one patient may be a “Wyoming” and another…
Read MoreIs Your B2B Sales Process Changing To Meet Buyer Needs?
Recently, I had the honor of attending the 2018 Miller Heiman Group Global Sales Conference in Cancun. As an Independent Sales Consultant for Miller Heiman Group for many years, this is by far the most exciting time in the company’s history. I’d like to share a few highlights for my fellow sales, service and leadership…
Read MoreHow Sales Can Give Women A Bright Professional Future
As a 20-year-old college graduate (many years ago), my first job was as an account representative in the advertising industry. My father had a very successful career in sales that led to senior leadership positions, and he encouraged me to stay on the sales path, emphasizing the appeal of a flexible schedule, lots of variety…
Read MoreHow To Launch A Sales Enablement Effort With Tips From The Field
Sales enablement is one of the hottest topics in the industry today, but this strategic discipline is often new territory for many organizations. As a result, building a sales enablement function can come with more questions than answers. Where should this department sit—in sales, marketing, or operations? How will it interact with other departments and…
Read More4 Powerful Life Lessons From Abby Wambach’s Inspiring Speech
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Abby Wambach’s now famous commencement speech to the Barnard College 2018 graduating class moved me. (You can read it here or watch it here–it’s worth the 25 minutes.) My passion for developing and supporting leaders and helping sales organizations improve is matched by my passion…
Read MoreThis Is The First Book You Need To Read On Sales Enablement
What you sell, whom you sell it to, how you sell it, and even who sells it, will all undergo a massive transformation in the coming years. There are changes underway in the world of buying and selling that will only multiply. When I talk to organizations about their current sales challenges, I am amazed…
Read MoreWhy Coaching Salespeople Doesn’t Always Deliver Results
Coaching is a hot topic at the moment, particularly coaching salespeople. It’s one of the many levers that leadership can pull to improve performance and influence revenue. And, it works. According to CSO Insights, organizations with a formal or dynamic sales coaching approach see win rates improve by more than 27 percent and rep quota…
Read MoreSales Coaching: What and When To Coach For Better Results
In my last blog, I addressed the underlying psychological aspects of coaching: personal acceptance of – or resistance to – change. In this blog, I will review the 5 different topics critical for sales managers to coach to and provide some questions for sales managers and coaches to use. A 2017 CSO Insights Sales Enablement…
Read MoreGet Better At Feedback And Watch Your Career Advance
The state of coaching and mentoring in the business world—particularly in the sales world where I do the majority of my consulting work—is pretty lame. Researcher Brene Brown observes that a lack of meaningful feedback is the #1 reason that talented people leave their firms. If feedback is so critical to employee engagement and commitment,…
Read MoreHow to Stay Focused and Productive During Change
When I work with sales leaders and sales professionals in large organizations, I see a trend of massive changes, re-organizations, new leadership, new strategies, and new processes. Many people try to hunker down and wait out the changes, but, the changes aren’t going to stop. Unfortunately, by waiting, these people pull back on the activities…
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