I am recalling a conversation I was having as VP of Sales with our CFO who also wore the Human Resource hat with a young, venture capital backed, market development oriented, start up organization. We were discussing the need to hire the best sales talent, or “A” talent, that we possibly could. This conversation begged […]
As we close out the month of October, many organizations are making final sales force decisions to set their company up for revenue growth in 2023. With the unemployment rate at a 40-year low of 3.5%, as sales leaders explore their recruiting options they are finding it very difficult to find talented, experienced sales people. […]
I have been a sales leader for over 30 years with the goal of hiring the best, most talented sales people. It has become apparent to me that a key must-have skill that determines high performance is self-awareness. A quote from a 2014 Harvard Business Review article by Muriel Wilkens really captures the essence of […]
We all have heard the phrase “Listen to Learn.” Your best persuaders have very good listening skills. The question is: What do we listen for? If we are selling a product, we listen for opportunities for our product benefits to be a solution for the client. If we work in an organizational function other than […]
Landing a job in sales is one thing, but being successful in sales can prove to be a much more challenging and stressful task. There are a couple of reasons job boards are always flooded with open sales positions: Working in sales isn’t for everyone. If the stress of quotas and performance-based job security is […]
Mickey Mouse and Disney’s successful ventures are known worldwide. Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, said “I went to Bali, and I was in a small village, and somebody who was with me showed a woman a little figurine of Bart and asked: ‘Do you know who this is?’ And she said: ‘Mickey Mouse.’” That’s […]
Now that we’re a few months into 2015, it’s a good time to follow up on those New Year’s resolutions you made before the ball dropped and you went back to business as usual. Maybe your resolutions were personal in nature such as exercise more or stop smoking. If you had aspirations to improve your […]
The answer to this question is simple: what customers want is a product or service. It’s inherent in the very nature of the definition of “customer”—“one that purchases a commodity or service.” So it’s a perfect set-up, right? You have a product, so you must have customers. No? You say you don’t have customers? Well, […]
“Stop selling. Start helping.” – Zig Ziglar Sales representatives are the people who represent a company and sell the products or services that the organization offers. The job of a sales rep can vary greatly depending on the organization and types of products and services they sell; however, sales reps are often considered some of the […]