Sales Management Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Braveheart Sales Performance

Stop the Discounting…Even When Business Has Slowed

We are seeing a selling panic ensue due to the turmoil of the last few months. Salespeople have been doing anything to win business, no matter what the price. This trend obviously isn’t a good one, so I have reviewed some data and contemplated exercises to help salespeople sell value rather than sell based on price,

Yes, we can certainly coach salespeople on what to say and when. But that likely isn’t enough. You see, selling value isn’t just a tactical skill set. It is a combination of skill set and mindset.

There are many factors that go into the […]

Get Lean and Mean, and Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Too

It’s official. We are in a recession, so business leaders need to be lean and mean. Sometimes that means making cuts: Maybe expenses, maybe headcount.

If it’s the latter, be especially aware. When leaders consider reducing headcount in their sales force, too often they hang onto the veterans who manage the largest accounts or who are responsible for the biggest book of business. And, unfortunately, they all too frequently cut the sellers who too new to have proven themselves.

Is It the Best Strategy?

Well, if the business owner only cares about maintaining the existing client base, maybe. But, if they are truly […]

Peddler, Pal or Peer?

Which one of these do your customers think their salespeople from your company are most like: A Peddler, a Pal, or a Peer? Don’t know? Then they probably think they are Peddlers or at best Pals. Here’s how these three categories are defined.

Peddler: The person who hawks his wares. The peddler is basically just a conduit to a product or service. They are focused on “making the sale” not on anything the client cares about. They are concerned more with what they themselves want and need (the sale) and not outwardly on the customer. Peddlers don’t provide much value so […]

10 Tips for “Non-Sucky” Remote Sales Meetings

Even before the virus hit, we witnessed many leaders struggle to have engaging sales meetings that actually improved sales. Now with most sales teams operating remotely, the situation likely hasn’t improved. Working apart, it’s easy to let these meetings slide and not conduct them at all, or just slip into bad habits and have boring, time-wasting ones. So here are ten suggestions to help sales leaders effortlessly conduct better remote sales meetings. And many of these principles can be applied when everyone is back together.

Cameras on. Everyone – no excuses. Since there is no longer “water cooler” conversation it is […]

Recession Proof Your Sales Team

Face it, even before COVID-19, we were long overdue for a recession. Most “experts” predicted one would occur last year, in 2019. So, guess what? We got an extra year of unprecedented expansion.

And guess what else has happened since the last recession? Many salespeople have become complacent. In the pre-virus economy, life was grand. Anybody and everybody were buying. There was so much demand that it didn’t matter if an individual could sell on value and differentiate – they sold. Not because they were good, mind you, but because the buyers were buying.

Those times were so happy that most employers […]

Beliefs Are More Powerful than Skills

I heard author and motivational speaker, Gabby Bernstein, doing a radio interview recently. In it, she made the statement, “Beliefs are just thoughts you keep thinking.” It resonated with me. She was specifically talking about fear and how it becomes not only a habit but an addiction. I, of course, thought about it from the perspective of sales.

Beliefs Limit Success

We know that an overwhelming number of salespeople are sabotaged by their own beliefs. Regardless of an individual’s current success in sales, they can limit that success just based on thoughts they repetitively think. Of the last 100 salespeople we analyzed, […]

The Pros and Cons of Making Remote Work Permanent

Working remotely has suddenly become the new normal, and I suspect many leaders have discovered that this remote work thing can actually work, even once the current crisis is resolved. It could permanently transform the workplace allowing for more flexible working arrangements and work from home options.

But as great and forward-thinking as these changes may seem, they won’t work for everyone. For example, not every salesperson is well-suited to work remotely. The Objective Management Group already has data on it. It indicates only 41% of salespeople are suited to work remotely. Uh-oh!

Remote Work Benefits

As a manager, you might think this […]

Leaders: Don’t Wait to Communicate!

It’s something I cannot stress enough: The importance of communicating with your team now during this crisis. If you don’t have all the answers, don’t worry about it – just don’t hide.

Vulnerability is okay. Absence is not. If you want to lead, be real and communicate. If you want to hide then you are not leading, you aren’t even managing.

Don’t Get Stuck in the Sand

If you are in a leadership position, then by definition you have people you are leading and those individuals are following you. If you aren’t engaging with them then how can they follow? If your head […]

Take Away the Risk of Failure

The Objective Management Group Annual Partners Conference took place this past weekend. It was a memorable event, one, because it was held as a virtual conference for the first time, but more so because of the Kobe Bryant video interview OMG CEO, Dave Kurlan (@KurlanAssoc), presented.

Kobe’s Legacy in a Quote

The interview was powerful for all the reasons you might imagine. My main takeaway, however, explains why his legacy will loom large for a long time. It was Kobe’s statement, “If you aren’t nervous about the risk of failure, you’ll be able to focus on what you need to do.”

Simply put, […]

Crisis Time Equals Leadership Opportunity

Now is the time when leaders’ legacies are formed!

I just participated in a wonderful video conference hosted by Patrick Lencione’s company, The Table Group. Patrick has written or co-written eleven books focused on teamwork, organizational health, and managing people, including “Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” I highly recommend these books and The Table Group’s teachings.

I heard some very powerful concepts on the video conference worth sharing. Since Braveheart Sales Performance focuses very precisely on sales teams and revenue growth, here are ones that can be applied to the sales side of an organization by managers. These concepts are […]

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