The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Things you can control around you are countable within the parameters of a single digit.

Did that line stress you out?

It's true, though. In a perfect world, you're in charge of every action that affects your life. However, the reality is strikingly different. So what is your contingency plan when things are not mirroring that vision board you have built so passionately?

It’s not enough to just have talent. You have to practice and use your talents in order to improve and make a positive impact on the people around you.

Professional athletes spend countless hours practicing and training in order to improve their performance. What if you could spend more time on your talents?

Continuous improvement is dependent on feedback, and in most situations, we feel confident in the feedback we are giving and receiving.

However, sometimes people will tell you what they think you want to hear, and the feedback is not very useful or effective. In order to garner authentic feedback from your employees, and return the favor, the stage needs to be set for open two-way communication.

If you’re in sales, you spend a lot of your time asking other people to buy what you sell. What about the last time you purchased something? Coffee on the way to work, an app on your phone, or maybe a new home appliance?

Why did you buy it now, instead of later? I find my tipping point is often based on my experience during the purchase process.

As a sales manager, your time is valuable, and managing your sales team tops the list of priorities. How much time and with whom you spend your time is critical to achieving sales goals.

But where to start? Most of us spend time with those we think need the most attention, those not meeting goals. Our instincts are to “fix” people. But take a minute to consider if this is a good use of your time.

What if you spent time with your top performers instead? Focusing on people development is a key to employee engagement and retention, which leads to bottom-line growth.

Before choosing which prospects to target, it’s best to generate a long list of leads so you can narrow down to the best leads. Using the categories you’ve identified as a good fit your business, decide which sources on this list are right for you to generate your own list of leads.

Every career has challenges, and that’s certainly true for sales professionals who often experience selling highs and lows.

Sales pros face numerous obstacles in their quest for success. They might have a difficult sales territory that requires lots of travel away from home. They might face a selling slump because of factors beyond their control such as an economic downturn or even a pandemic like COVID-19.

Sales managers can support their teams by motivating them to weather the rough times and inspiring them to keep growing in their careers and persevering even when their goals seem difficult–even impossible–to attain.

Here, we’ve created a resource to help managers motivate their sales professionals to keep striving and building their careers day after day.

Hiring and coaching salespeople would be a lot easier if people had their own manuals or care instructions that listed their top strengths and included advice for helping them reach their full potential.

Wouldn’t that help you select and retain more top performers?

One of the most difficult things in leadership, and in life, is to recognize and admit when we have made mistakes or might have done things differently.

As we develop more skills in leadership, we begin to see mistakes as opportunities for growth, improvement, and innovation when we can look at them through a lens without judgment or blame.