Somehow I've created a career where I spend a lot of time giving advice and feedback. Whether it's coaching, consulting, writing, speaking, or training, a big part of what people pay me for is guidance. Which means that the last year has been quite a different experience for me as I've been on the other side of the advice pipeline. Because when you have a new baby, you get a lot of advice. From everybody. All Advice Isn't Equal Whether they are your best friend or the person in front of you in the grocery store line, you'll get stories and suggestions about what worked and didn't work for them in the parenting … [Read more...]
3 Questions That Will Make You a Better Sales Coach
These days you can find a coach to help you with everything from your golf swing to your marriage to your life. That's because we've realized that we get better faster when there is a detached and knowledgeable observer helping us along. That certainly applies to sales skills. If you are a sales manager, director, or VP, it's important to realize that sales coaching is key to getting better results. This is especially crucial if you are tasked with getting bigger numbers from a sales team that's not going to get any bigger, Unfortunately, though, many sales leaders are horrible at coaching. But with just a simple shift in approach, … [Read more...]
3 Things You Need to Do to Improve Your Sales Meetings
Have you ever sat in a sales meeting and thought, "What is the point of this meeting?" Even worse, have you ever been running a sales meeting and half-way through thought, "What is the point of this meeting?" Weekly sales meetings often turn into a "zombie activity". We put it on the calendar without thinking, it's just there because it's there every week. And then we go through the motions until the meeting is over and we don't have to think about it until the next one. No one seems to know the purpose, and no one gets anything of value from attending or leading the meeting. Eventually, they drop out of the schedule due to lack of … [Read more...]
How to be Your Own Sales Manager in the Hyper-Connected World
A version of this article originally appeared on the Salesforce Sales Blog. When you think “sales manager”, do you think of Alec Baldwin in Glengarry, Glenross or Ben Affleck in Boiler Room. Do you think of someone pushing you and exhorting you to sell more and more? It’s time to take the power back. Be Your Own Sales Manager The best sales manager you are ever going to have is yourself. No one is going to care about your career success as much as you will. And the one person who you can’t lie to, or inflate your numbers for, is you. But it can be challenging to decide how to manage your activities in a sales world that’s in … [Read more...]
How to Find Unexpected Business Solutions Through Couples Counseling
You might not think of your business partner as your life partner. But in many ways they are as close, if not closer, than a romantic partner. Money, time, visions of the future...these are just a few of the topics that you'll have to navigate when you go into business with someone. Starting and running a new business is often an overwhelming endeavor. There are so many tasks to get to and goals to achieve, it can be too much for one person. That's why so many people dive into entrepreneurship with a partner to two. You can share the load, and everyone will bring different strengths and skills to party. But Are Partnerships Always … [Read more...]
How to Help Your People Fail
When I was a young sales manager, one of the most challenging parts of my job was having 1-on-1 meeting with my sales reps to assess their performance. It was easy to do when they were rockin'. I'd give them a few pointers and some words of motivation and send them back out. But when they weren't doing well it was another story. It can be really hard to fail. It can be even harder to watch someone fail. It's the worst when you have to watch people fail... and you're their boss and the one who is supposed to address that failure. Manage Through Failure I think this is why so many competent individuals are such struggle as managers and … [Read more...]