The feedback a sales manager provides can either propel a salesperson to new heights or stunt their growth.
Yet, too often, managers fail to give the right feedback at the right times, missing critical opportunities to develop their team's talents.
The feedback a sales manager provides can either propel a salesperson to new heights or stunt their growth.
Yet, too often, managers fail to give the right feedback at the right times, missing critical opportunities to develop their team's talents.
Beth Sunshine, on April 20, 2023
Ask any top seller who has been around for a while, and they’ll tell you that most people are not born and built for sales. It’s a tough field, and it requires a very specific set of talents.
Think of your talents as your hardwiring.
Your innate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are set at a very young age, and once they are hard-wired, your knee-jerk responses remain pretty consistent over time. If you were highly competitive as a kid, you’re probably still highly competitive.
In other words, if you couldn’t resist rising to a challenge on the playground (“I bet you can’t jump high enough to touch the top of the fence”), you are probably just as likely to do the same today (“I bet you can’t increase your new business development by 10% this year.”)
Deborah Fulghum, on January 5, 2023
At our company, our employees crave growth and development. One way we add to this focus is through our quarterly book club. Our business book club is different from most, as we all read a book we are interested in, not one we all read together.
Having a book club where we all read different business books exposes us to a huge library to explore that we may not have thought of before. It also allows us to grow in areas that appeal to us.
Reading is one of the major habits successful people have in common. For instance, Bill Gates reads 50 books per year, Warrant Buffett reads 500 pages every day, and Mark Cuban reads 3+ hours a day.
Creating an environment where employees can develop is important to both their personal and career growth.
When you create a work environment that fosters a culture of learning for you and your employees, you will reap many positive returns.
Mindy Murphy, on January 27, 2022
With the current talent shortage, it's difficult to recruit, select, and develop top talent.
Hiring and developing superstars can be really hard, but there are a few steps you can take to bring the right people on board and develop their talents, so they stay with your organization.
The best managers follow three important steps when identifying and developing top talent. These are not the only steps, but these are three crucial steps.
Whether you’re a veteran in your career or just starting out, one of the most helpful things you can do is continue your professional growth. Our team enjoys many forms of professional development, and we find one of the quickest ways to grow is by reading. At The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS), you’ll find a book in our hands most of the time.
Reading helps you develop empathy, gain valuable exposure to other perspectives, and increases verbal intelligence—all of which make you a better leader. Some of the most influential leaders make reading a top priority and understand the importance reading has on their success. Bill Gates reads at least 50 books a year! He is instrumental in getting other business leaders to jump on the “reading bandwagon.” If you’re ready to broaden your mind and expand your professional development, take a look at these books that our team recommends.
The Center for Sales Strategy, on March 11, 2020
The job of a sales manager is a challenging one. One of the biggest challenges they face is how to keep their salespeople motivated and producing quality results.
Some of the best ways to help salespeople become more productive doesn't include spending a fortune or sending them through another training class. A few of the best ideas are ones that help to reduce administrative burdens and increase time in the field or on the phone.
Deborah Fulghum, on January 9, 2019
Setting your New Year’s Resolutions? Did you add exercise more frequently to your list? We are here to help you!
Many studies show that exercising your brain is a key to professional development. One of the best ways to do this is to read a good book. In this age of podcasts and blogs, it is still a good idea to set aside time to go deeper than surface information and picking up a good book gives you more in-depth insight and provides ideas for your personal growth.
Beth Sunshine, on December 19, 2018
Coaching is a hot topic! Makes sense... people who use their strengths every day are 12.5% more productive in their work. Any strong manager knows they need to coach their people to maximize their strengths, so they can benefit from that natural lift in performance.
Mindy Murphy, on October 3, 2018
This is the fourth and final post in a four-part series on how managers can set new hires up for success. You can click to view the previous posts on providing detailed feedback, building relationships that will lead to stronger sales performance and maximizing strengths and working around weaknesses.
Ongoing coaching and strength development are key factors in retaining people long-term, yet statistics show employees often feel as though they don’t have a specific development plan. According to a Saba survey, 60% of leaders believe they provide employees with a clear career path, but only 36% of employees agree. The very best managers spend time coaching their people and have an individualized development plan for each person.
