Professional Development
Posts about Professional Development
Sales Techniques
The Importance of Questions
Just as salespeople can easily get wrapped around the gears of talking about features and benefits,...Sales Techniques
Coaching to Reach Decision Makers
It is obvious that more sales will happen if your team starts the conversation with people who have...Sales Techniques
Psyched to Sell
How excited is your sales team? How passionate are they about your product or service? There's...Prospecting
Remote Selling In Era of 'Social Distancing'
Here are two videos I posted on LinkedIn as the coronavirus forced salespeople to work remotely....Sales Hiring
Is the MVP of Your Sales Team like Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Who is the MVP of your sales team? Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where our office is headquartered, happens...Sales Process
Goals-Based Coaching
Do your sales leaders keep it simple when it comes to setting goals for their team? One of the...Sales Techniques
Living in the Land of Ahs
One of the things that absolutely destroys sales is when the buyer perceives a lack of confidence...Sales Techniques
What Makes Your Sales Team Likable, Knowledgeable, and Memorable
Salespeople and sales leaders often ask us: "What can I do to stand out?" This is particularly...Sales Hiring
Creating a Healthy Coaching Environment in Sales
One of the barriers sales leaders encounter when trying to establish a consistent coaching rhythm...Sales Hiring
Wanted – Humble Sales People
One of the challenges when you're hiring salespeople (or coaching them) is the dichotomy between...Sales Techniques
Two Great Sales Lessons From the Film Free Solo
A few weeks ago I was flying across the country, and was able to watch the Oscar-winning film Free...Sales Hiring
Leveraging Sales Enablement Practices that Drive Performance
How much focus do your sales managers put on conversation speed and tonality when they coach their...Sales Hiring
How to Retain High Performing Sales People
Over the years you may have noticed a difficulty in keeping your highest performing sales people on...Professional Development
How Many All-Stars Do You Have on Your Sales Team?
The NBA All-Star game is upon us and it should be a great display of athleticism. Some argue that...Professional Development
5 Old School Sales Habits of High Performers
I have the privilege every week of coaching and working with high performing sales people. I also...Professional Development
Everything you want to know about sales compensation, but were afraid to ask
For companies who operate on a calendar year, now is the time when sales leaders are asked to...Professional Development
It’s Sales, There Are No Participation Medals
New data from Objective Management Group (OMG) suggests that while the top 10% of millennials are...Sales Hiring
Building Your Virtual Bench
As we head into the fourth quarter you should have a pretty clear line of sight on how things are...Professional Development
10 Activities Sales Managers Should Focus On
When I talk with CEOs, I often hear them complaining about how their sales managers are always...Sales Hiring
Top 5 Mistakes New Sales Managers Make
Is it time to provide some “adult supervision” for your sales people? Has your revenue grown to the...Professional Development
Are Your Sales Managers Having the Right Coaching Conversations?
Most sales managers believe they’re already having coaching conversations, but when we dig a little...Sales Hiring
Why Hiring Only for Skill Leads to High Turnover
When we talk with hiring managers, the number one thing they tell us they are looking for is...Prospecting
Dog Days of Summer
Are you accepting excuses from your sales team during the dog days of summer? When the weather...Sales Hiring
Is Your Hiring Process Stuck in 2014?
Two years ago there were more candidates available than positions available. It was fun! Hiring...Professional Development
Questions Your Sales Leaders Should Ask Halfway Through the Year
Yesterday marked the end of June, which means if your company runs on a calendar year you've hit...Professional Development
Driving Growth through Goals-Based Coaching
How much do your managers know about the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of every member on their...Sales Process
Is This Sales Blind Spot Impacting Your High Performers?
Busy, highly-productive sales people move at a different pace. They generate more activity. They...Sales Hiring
What UNC Coach Dean Smith Taught Us About Sales Metrics
Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died on Saturday. Sales managers...Sales Hiring
Wisconsin CEOs: Lessons Your Sales Team Should Learn from the Packer’s Stunning Defeat
I’m still shocked. The collapse I witnessed during the NFC Championship Game on Sunday is going to...Sales Hiring
What Can CEOs and Sales Leaders Learn from Barry Alvarez?
Many of you may not be following the recent developments on the University of Wisconsin football...Sales Techniques
Looking Back to Look Forward – Six Exercises to Help Develop Your 2015 Sales Plan
This is usually the time of year when I write a “Year End Sales Strategies” blog post outlining...Sales Hiring
Coaching Rhythm and Texting While Driving
My last post talked about the challenges of teaching my middle daughter, who recently got her...Sales Hiring
Qualities Of An Over-Achieving Sales Team
With so many business issues and challenges beyond your control, Presidents, CEOs, and business...Professional Development
Right Revenue vs. Wrong Revenue - Do Your Sales People Know The Difference?
Not all revenue is created equal. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as “bad revenue” and it...Professional Development
How to Get Sustained Sales Growth Over Time
Ask anyone in your sales departments if they’d rather have 10 appointments they booked themselves...Professional Development
How To Get Sales And Operations To Get Along
How many “customer facing” team members do you have in your company?Professional Development
A-Player Only Strategy: When Improving Sales Impacts Other Areas Of Your Business
What happens when you hire and develop A-player sales people and sales leaders? Your company grows...Professional Development
Improve Results By Investing A Day To Plan
This week the Intelligent Conversations team is taking a full day out of the office to evaluate our...Sales Techniques
When Sales People Give Up Too Early or Celebrate Too Soon
The beauty of having an effective sales process is that it creates a level of consistency and...Sales Hiring
High Performing Sales People - How to Identify And Keep Them
High performing sales people are customer centric and have the ability to execute and produce...Prospecting
Prospecting for Sales Appointments Is Not Dead
Inbound marketing is a wonderful tool. We have added material regarding how to handle inbound leads...Sales Techniques
Ask Questions to Ensure Your Sales Team is Slowing Down
Last week we took a look at how you and your sales teams can improve on their effective listening...Professional Development
Slowing Down May Help Increase Revenue and Deal Velocity
In this fast paced world, a lot of sales teams have a high-speed mentality. But it turns out that...Sales Techniques
A Practical Story About Effective Sales Listening
I’d like to share a personal sales story to illustrate an issue we often see in our coaching...Sales Techniques
Why Your Sales People Fail to Listen Effectively
I love this cartoon because it is so true. The more you listen the more you sell. How effective are...Sales Techniques
Are Your Sales People Selling Beyond Their Comfort Zone?
In our consulting practice, we’ve been running a lot of “must win” deal workshops with our clients....Professional Development
Coaching Drives Greater "Sales-Awareness" and Stronger Results
"What would happen to your revenue and profit margin if your sales organization became a...Sales Techniques
Building a Profitable Sales Process – Client Onboarding
In our previous article in this series on Building a Profitable Sales Process, we discussed the...Qualification & Discovery
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Qualify the Opportunity
Here's a radical idea - let's have your sales team qualify opportunities before you prepare a...Sales Techniques
Building a Profitable Sales Process - Know Your Target
The first step in building a profitable sales process is to decide where to focus the prospecting...Sales Techniques
Four Ideas to Shorten Your Sales Cycles and Keep Things on Track
One of the more common frustrations I hear when talking with Presidents, CEOs and Business Owners...Prospecting
Are Your Boring Sales Meetings Driving Growth and Change?
How effective are your sales managers at running a good sales meeting? How engaged are your top...Professional Development
Creating a Culture of Accountability for Your Sales Team
Are your sales managers doing everything they can to create a culture of accountability for your...Sales Hiring
What is the Most Important Step in the Sales Hiring Process?
The most important step in the sales hiring process is not writing the perfect ad so you attract...Sales Techniques
Is Selling More Difficult Today?
If you’re like many of the CEOs, Business Owners and Presidents we work with, one of your key...Sales Hiring
Free Sales Seminar - The Ultimate Sales Call
There are only a few seats remaining for our upcoming free seminar, "The Ultimate Sales Call, Five...Sales Hiring
Harvard Study Explains Why Sales People Talk Too Much
An article in today's Wall Street Journal caught my eye, "Science Reveals Why We Brag So Much." It...Qualification & Discovery
Top 5 Mistakes Your VP of Sales Makes at Trade Shows
If you are the person who signs the checks (the President, CEO or business owner) for all of the...Sales Hiring
Sales Leap Every Year!
What would your revenue look like if your sales team had one extra day to sell every year? This...Sales Techniques
Sales Vision - Gap Between What Is/hat Could Be
Here's another excellent Ted Talk with an important lesson for your sales team. In this 18-minute...Qualification & Discovery
Sales Focus - The $2,000 Cup of Coffee
My friend and client Bob Scherer took an exercise I had given to his sales team one step further...Sales Process
Focus on Sales Activity
I enjoyed reading another great post by Anthony Iannarino last week, The Case for Activity Goals...Sales Hiring
The 10 Keys to an Effective Sales Hiring Process
Our friend and mentor Dave Kurlan - a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader...Qualification & Discovery
Effective Sales Listening
The first thing a sales person needs to do to listen more effectively is to stop talking. We've all...Sales Hiring
Growing Your Sales Team On Purpose
Change is inevitable. Growth is intentional.Sales Techniques
Sales Winners and Sales Losers
Top producing sales people understand that every sales win - just like every sales loss - is...Qualification & Discovery
Are You Selling Price or Building the Case for Value?
Many sales people struggle with how to handle pricing objections because they fail to build the...Qualification & Discovery
Customer 2.0 - Death of Your Sales Team?
When Dave Kurlan spoke to a group of Milwaukee CEO's a few weeks ago, one of the key points many...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Relentless Prospecting
As a general rule I tell our sales force development clients that a new sales person should spend...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Outlook & Attitude
Take a moment to write down the last time you made a major purchase from someone you didn't like....Qualification & Discovery
Sales Advice From Mr. Spock - Use Emotion Not Logic
Sales people who use logic to convince their prospects make selling a lot harder than it needs to...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Responsibility
Your ability to build an over-achieving sales team at your company is directly proportional to the...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Commitment
How committed is your sales team? Are they willing to go the extra mile? Will they do whatever it...Prospecting
Increase Sales By Focusing Your Prospecting Efforts
When a sales person is struggling one of the first questions we ask is "how many people are on your...Prospecting
Sales Systems and Super Bowl Champions
What a great Super Bowl game last night! As a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan it was especially...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team - Passion for Sales
With so many business issues and challenges beyond your control, Presidents, CEOs, and business...Sales Hiring
Building An Over-Achieving Sales Team
When it comes to growing your company, the list of business issues and challenges you cannot...Prospecting
Does Your Attitude Support Sales?
"Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines...Sales Hiring
Will Increasing Sales Increase Company Value?
What is your company worth? If you wanted to sell your company in 2011, what could you reasonably...Sales Techniques
Talk Less to Increase Sales
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looked at which NFL announcers are the chattiest. They...Sales Hiring
Proven Sales Growth Strategy for 2011
Hiring superior sales people is a proven sales strategy that can put your company on an entirely...Prospecting
Cold Call Strategies – How to Overcome Your Sales Call Reluctance
Believe it or not, there are sales people who absolutely thrive on making cold calls. But for most...Professional Development
Sales Accountability Plan for 2011
In working with sales professionals for the past 21 years – as a business consultant and sales...Prospecting
Year End Sales Focus – Mad Dash or Building Relationships?
Is your sales manager frantic this week or relaxed? Is your sales team focused on a final year-end...Qualification & Discovery
Keeping Your Sales Role Balanced
Do you remember the last time you closed a big deal? Or maybe you closed two or three in a row, on...Sales Hiring
Optimizing Your Strategic Alignment for Massive Growth in 2011
Ensuring your sales force is aligned with your strategies is imperative for massive growth. Start...Sales Hiring
Optimizing Your Sales Management for Massive Growth in 2011
Your sales management team is critical to massive growth within your company. Now is the time to...Sales Hiring
Optimize Your Sales Force by Mapping Your Sales Process
A clear sales process is key to optimizing your sales force in 2011. By mapping your sales process...Sales Hiring
Optimizing your Sales Team for 2011
When optimizing your salesforce you must first look at your team to ensure that you have the right...Sales Hiring
How Much Should We Budget for Sales Training?
If you’re on a calendar year your VP of Sales is probably in the initial research phase of...Professional Development
CEO Views on Sales
According to a recent study by SpencerStuart, the most common path executives take before becoming...Professional Development
Catch Them Being Good
My wife is a pre-school teacher and is always taking classes and reading articles on early...Sales Hiring
Keep It Simple
I'm currently reading Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, a best-selling business book looking at...Sales Techniques
Cold Calling all Brian's and Kevin's
Yesterday, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, my new sales person sorted his prospect list to...Professional Development