The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

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"Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.”

- Martin Luther King Jr.

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As a sales manager, how much better would your life be if you had access to better forecast accuracy and improved sales performance?

In this episode of the Improving Sales Performance series, Trey Morris, VP / Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, discussed how sales leaders can make an impact on their sales performance through effective pipeline management.

Imagine this scenario: You’re managing a seller who is excellent at developing close relationships with their clients, but you’ve noticed they've been running late to several prospecting meetings in recent weeks. You want them to be on time for their meetings and are preparing to give them feedback on this issue. 

Which style of feedback do you think would motivate them to be more punctual? 

Option 1: “You are so good at connecting; I bet you could utilize the 5-10 minutes before your meeting starts to get to know your clients on a more personal level. What do you think?” 

Option 2: “Don’t be late for meetings; it’s unprofessional.” 

Most of us can agree that Option 1 is likely to feel better for both the manager and the seller, but will using this style of positive feedback lead to more on-time meetings?  

The answer? Yes, absolutely.

Driving, maintaining, and developing consistent revenue growth is a top concern in every organization.

Taking care of employees, meeting goals, trying to exceed goals, and keeping your business afloat during challenging times is a lot to manage. If your revenue growth remains stagnant — or worse, slows down — it's easy to lose focus and start panicking.

If you're struggling to develop consistent revenue, this article is for you.

Recruiting top-performing sales leadership for your organization is harder than ever. The quality of the sales organization is directly associated with the quality of sales leadership.

When looking for top-performing sales leaders, you can’t just look for great salespeople. You need someone who can coach, go in the field, watch, and understand the sales process. Here are nine qualities to consider when you’re evaluating sales management talent. 

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"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

- Winston Churchill

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The Improving Sales Performance Series focuses on helping sales leaders make an impact on their sales performance through insight on four key areas: people, process, planning, and performance.

Each week, host Matt Sunshine speaks with guests on essential resources and tools that sales leaders should use to improve sales performance. In this episode, Victor Giacomelli, Managing Director, Ads + Research at SoCast Digital, discusses how sales leaders can make an impact on their sales planning with sales calendars.

Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

Have you ever heard music that was so brilliant, you couldn’t even carry on a conversation while listening? 

I had a friend in college who played like that. Her audiences would be nearly silent as she played, mesmerized by the sound, until her last note when they would go nuts!

She practiced both the piano and the guitar often, simply because she loved it, and she often played for us upon request. I’m not much of a musician myself, and I don’t know a lot about the business, but those who did were certain that she could be one of the few who actually made a career for herself in music. 

First, it was a phone call.

Then an email.

Finally, a text message.

Was my wife trying to get a hold of me? No, it was my doctor's office.  

It was that time of the year — time for my annual check-up. Ugh! Does anyone get excited to have a physical done by your doctor? It's uncomfortable, a bit invasive, and he's going to tell me all of the things that I've done wrong in the last year that I already know, but I don't want to admit to myself.

You have a salesperson who has a great, positive attitude. The clients love them and they do a great job at getting that first appointment and building a relationship with clients. 

BUT they tend to use the same few solutions over and over.

And when clients or coworkers come to this person with an issue, it ruins their day — it gets them completely off track, and they just can’t seem to find the way back. What’s the problem?! 

Is the individual's positivity not as high as it should be? Is discipline the issue? Actually, what you're witnessing may be their lack of ability to problem solve.