Basketball superstar Larry Bird reminds us of the often forgotten obvious: “the best players will play. That’s the way it will always be.” This is also true of sales professionals. No matter how long you’ve sold, how many successes you’ve earned, or how much money you’ve made, you won’t stay on the top without maintaining…
In an interview with Kristi Hedges, Andrea Howe suggests one way to get beyond the fear of saying the wrong thing and, instead, build trust: Getting curious is a great antidote for high self-orientation, as it requires you to get away from yourself and into the other person’s world. If you can find ways to…
The baseball legend, Nolan Ryan, said, “Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open to change will you have a true opportunity to get the most from your talent.” We often think of the “ability to adapt” and “being open to change” as preconditions for going from bad to good. This is…
On this Mother’s Day, remember to treat your prospects as you would your mother. You don’t try to “sell” your mother, and you don’t just try to find her the best deal; instead, when you’re out shopping with your mother or for your mother, you do your best to find the product or service that…
Mike Myatt highlights the important difference: Engage me, communicate with me, add value to my business, solve my problems, create opportunity for me, educate me, inform me, but don’t try and sell me – it won’t work. An attempt to sell me insults my intelligence and wastes my time. Think about it; do you like to be sold? News…
Coaches of professional athletes demand their players practice far more than they play. This is true whether we’re talking about baseball, basketball, football, and especially if we’re talking about the Olympics. The latter features some of the most talented and skilled athletes imaginable, and yet each of these promising stars spends countless hours over many…
The word “manage” is related to the term “control.” It’s a type of control, specifically operational control. Managers are focused on their control of the organization. Coaches have control as well, of course, as management is part of their job. However, the origin of the verb “coach” tells us something about what coaches do. The…
When you give your team members instruction, tasks, and evaluations, what is your underlying intent? Are you making sure they are worth the money you’re paying them? If so, then you’re a manager. If, on the other hand, you are intent on 1) helping them develop their abilities and skills and 2) guiding them to…
Before going on a sales call, you must be prepared, but “being prepared” means more than having an agenda, the relevant information about your prospect, and whatever items you may need. Be prepared like a football star is prepared for the big game: scrimmage the call with a coach or team member prior to the…
August Turak highlights the traits he’s found it takes. Money quote: I often hear the argument that being coachable is a dangerous trait unless we are “certain” that we have the right coach. But while I am sympathetic, authentic change is a journey into the unknown, and a journey into the unknown is by definition…