Too few managers have thought through the expectations they have for their team, and too many of those who have given care to setting expectations have failed to communicated them to their employees. When setting expectations, be sure to do the following. First, be exact and detailed. Second, be able to explain your reasoning. Third,…
Just because you have been an outstanding sales professional and successful manager doesn’t automatically mean that you’re ready to coach a team. Coaching, like selling, takes a developed skill set. Unfortunately, companies too commonly fail to teach their leaders to be coaches. They might make ideal managers, but they don’t create smart coaches. If you…
Every business culture needs a belief system, and everybody in that business needs to be on board. Think about it. Imagine a team in which the employees bought into an idea, but the leadership did not. Would that idea fuel the team’s energy and passion? For a time, perhaps, but not for long, not without…
While I’ve often said that sales is a profession to be proud of, the ego is an expensive liability, so get rid of it and start right now investing in getting better. Selling is a skill, and as such, improving it requires practice. You’re either improving it or losing it. Practice allows you to focus on…
As a leader, you’re job is to help your team members reach their goals, and to an extent this involves helping them formulate their goals, but you must not define and set their goals for them. Not all of them, in any case. By asking members of your team to develop their own specific goals…
Are you nervous about an approaching meeting with an employee who has been performing well below your expectations? Do you need to make sure you’re at your best for this meeting? That you hit all the right notes? That you accomplish all you need to accomplish to give this employee the best chance for improvement…
In old school business-to-business selling, we were taught to find something in our prospect’s office to relate to and use to spark a conversation. Could be a picture or a poster or even a style of furniture. In theory the lesson was simple and wise. In the field, though, it proves to be ill advised…
When I think of “old school” selling techniques, I’m often reminded of the 1980 movie Used Cars. The comedy features Kurt Russell as a hotshot used car salesman named Rudy Russo. Russo and his crew are getting piece-of-junk cars ready to sell, and they willing try anything to make a buck. Doesn’t this capture how…