Sales Training Archives - Braveheart Sales Performance

Some Gloomy, But Fixable, Selling Stats

We have known for years that the percentage of salespeople who hit quota is pathetically low. Regardless of what statistics you check, all entities that track and report on it show the quota achievement around or below 50%.

In 2018, CSO Insights reported that 54% of all sales reps met their quota. And for the same year, Forbes stated that 57% missed their quota.

Regardless of which information you believe, the fact remains that quota attainment is low. If given a letter grade, it would equate to an “F.”

What’s causing it to happen?

Are leaders setting quotas too high? Or are […]

Four Reasons Your Sales Training Fails

Have you spent money on sales training without seeing rewards? Are its promises of increased revenue and the vision of stress-free management evaporating? Well, you are not alone. And here are four reasons why:

1. Methodology Only

Many sales training organizations focus on tactics and strategies only. They teach a repeatable process which in and of itself is fine. In fact, getting everyone to use a repeatable process is essential and it absolutely will increase revenue some. Mapping out who the stakeholders are is also important. And establishing a sequential flow to any sales conversation is critical. These all make complete sense […]

The Harder the Questions; The Easier the Sale

Have you ever left a sales appointment and wished you had said something else? Or have you ever debriefed a sales rep’s call and find they didn’t ask the next logical question, and now critical information is missing?

Unfortunately, it’s a common problem. Most salespeople don’t ask enough questions.

Let’s examine some statistics. Only 11%* of salespeople ask the next, most important question when necessary. Further, the typical questions most salespeople ask are garden-variety ones; surface questions that are easily answered. Salespeople tend to accept too much at face value.

When the prospect says something like “This sounds great. Send me a proposal […]

Sales Effectiveness: Nature or Nurture?

There are no perfect salespeople born into this world. At least I haven’t met any.

Sure, there are numerous “natural born” salespeople. You know the type. They had a paper route growing up and by age thirteen had numerous other kids doing the route for them while they slept in and counted their profits. Or they were the cub scout or girl scout that sold the most popcorn or the most cookies (unaided by their parents).

The Benefits of Getting Help

I tend to believe that one’s natural behavior type or personality is not an indicator of success in sales. Sure, nature has […]

When to Set the Sales Hot Seat Heater to Burn?

Football season is here again and with it comes the inevitable placement of some coaches on the proverbial hot seat. Expectations are high for certain colleges, as usual, and a couple of those schools’ seasons have not started well. But just how much time should these teams’ coaches be given to turn a program around?

I heard a sports talk show debating this topic the other day and it got me thinking about the same situation in sales. How long should a seller be given to hit their goals? How long should a manager be given to turn their team around? […]

Technicians as Sellers????

I just moderated a panel where the topic of hiring industry experienced technical people for sales positions came up. I also recently had the same discussion with several clients.

Why are many sales organizations interested in moving technicians into sales jobs? I suspect it is because the job market is so tight that it is difficult to find and attract quality salespeople.

Key Question: Do you think it is easier to hire a great salesperson and teach them your products and services? Or is it easier to hire a great technician and teach them to sell?

I am always going to come down […]

Key Takeaways from Smart (and Successful) Leaders

I just moderated a panel discussion at the ESX conference entitled “How to Drive Performance with the Sales Team and Weed Out Underperformers.” The panel featured some very successful sales leaders and I learned some great things from them. It was also an opportunity to review principles that have been around a while but are easily forgotten.

Quick Reminders

The following list is not earth-shattering, nor likely new information. However, it is predictive of success.

Use a predictive and repeatable process to hire sales talent.
Have set expectations when the new hire starts as to what they are to achieve and by when.
Focus on […]

10 Sales Leadership Tips for 10 Years

This month, March 2019, marks Braveheart’s 10th year in business. We’ve reached this milestone because of all our wonderful clients, those that have referred us clients, those that have supported our efforts and those that we have learned from. Thank you all!

To Lori Richardson (@scoremoresales) and Jill Konrath (@jillkonrath), along with all the Women Sales Pros (@WomenSalesPros) that I have come to know, I appreciate you.

And to Dave Kurlan (@KurlanAssoc) and Objective Management Group (@ObjectiveMGMT), thank you for providing the science and data that enables us to help so many sales organizations around the globe.

10 for 10 Sales Leadership Tips

In […]

Most Recent Motivation Data Revealed

If sales managers have a perceived weakness, it’s most likely their ability to motivate everyone on their team. This key competency requires that individuals need to be inspired individually.

Instead, many managers and leaders have a one-size-fits-all approach. One that’s not entirely their fault.

Does Money Motivate?

The common belief is that salespeople are in sales because they are money-motivated. So, managers naturally default to using the compensation plan to motivate behaviors. But the most recent data revealed by Objective Management group on 493,000 salespeople tells a different story. Below is a chart that shows where these salespeople fall on the motivation spectrum.

The […]

Four Components to Optimize Your Sales Organization

I recently gave a presentation at the ESA Leadership Summit
on ways to optimize a sales organization. The four components and main points I
discussed are applicable to sales organizations in every kind of industry, so I
want to share them.

As you read, keep this in mind. Focus on what is possible, not what doesn’t apply. Don’t say to yourself, “Yeah, but my company is different.” Rather come at it from the standpoint of, “How can we implement that to make us better?”

First, what do I mean by optimize? The word, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “to make as perfect, […]

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