Attention Sales Leaders - Sales Performance Management Made Easy

Sales Managers! Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you’re not perfect.
Do you consider yourself to be an excellent sales manager?  I imagine you do, it’s difficult to imagine that any manager would continue to perform any task in a way that wasn’t working well. But if you’re ever lucky enough to experience a formal upward feedback process fasten your seatbelt because you’re going to get some shocking results. In my first sales manager roll I was ready to become that perfect manager.  I tried my hardest to be fair, treat everyone similarly, give clear direction and begin to build a high performance culture.  When I got my first feedback I got a lot of compliments, great scores compared to my peers…bu

Sales Team Effectiveness Assessments
“I need your opinion of my sales organization overall with a development plan…oh yeah…I need it next week.” I have heard this before…and it spells trouble.  Four out of five times it means trouble for me.  Can I assess a sales organization in a week?  Yes, but your satisfaction with the output will be in doubt…and that’s how I can get into trouble. I always work from a copyrighted formula; Sales Results = (Sales Skill + Sales Will) X (Execution + Leadership) Each of these variables has 8 drivers. Sales Skills (primarily B2B) Prospecting Skills Presenting Skills Prob

Today is 9/11.
I remember exactly where I was…I bet you do too. I was in my home office, getting my to do list ready for the day…watching the news as I usually do.  I was shocked, weren’t you?  Having lived in NJ and officing in the World Financial Center I wondered just how many people I knew that were lost to their loved ones.  How many lives were changed forever. I am taking a few minutes today to reflect…to appreciate what we have and mourn what we lost.  I’m going to give my wife a little warmer hug, and call my son. What are you doing today? Posted in Field Leadership

When Sales Promotions Don’t Work Out
So often you hear of sales people failing to make the grade after being promoted.  Why is this?  Are sales people simply not cut out for more senior positions?  Are the skills that make a sales rep. shine no longer valid as the promotions come? Over the years I have witnessed sales people struggle mightily after promotions.  Usually they don’t fail, but they are not able to make the same outstanding contributions as a manager as they did as a sole contributor.  To understand this you should first think through how the roles change from sales rep. to field sales manager, to regional Director/VP. Sales Representatives – The core them of any sales