Having a Full Pipeline is a Lifesaver

I had a conversation with a friend the other day that bothered me on so many levels. Okay, I can be easily bothered occasionally, but this one was a doozy.  It’s something that a lot of us have done. I know I have. But hearing about it from somebody else made every bell in my brain ring at full volume. …

Honesty Goes a Long Way with Prospects

I was talking with a networking contact the other day, and he had recently started his business and was looking for some advice.  We talked about his target market, what his services included, and the product options he offered. I told him it all sounded pretty good to me. Honestly, he was way further down the road than a lot …

Trusting Your Tools: Why Repetition Matters

If you served in the military, you probably had to do some things that didn’t make sense to you at the time.  If you served and you’re anything like me, there were A LOT of things that didn’t make sense.  But you don’t get to ask questions; they tell you to do it and you do it. And that’s how …

Get Your Time Back Through Delegation

Let’s face it, us entrepreneurs are classic time abusers.  We were able to start a company, get it up and running, and (hopefully!) turn a profit. And many of us did it pretty much on our own.  So we just keep doing stuff on our own. But you know what, we waste so much time this way! We get lost …

Commission-only Pay Structures Suck

In my business, I talk to a lot of sales managers and business owners, and a fair amount of salespeople. One of the things I am always interested in is how they, (or the company they work for), hire salespeople and what their expectations are for their sales team.   One of the things that is discussed over and over again …

Hiring Great Salespeople Isn’t Easy

Right now, in the year 2020, sales managers across the country, (maybe the world), are asking the same tired questions to prospective salespeople. How is this possible??? Do you know how many times I’ve been asked something along the lines of “sell me this pen?” The thing is, that doesn’t really prove anything, no matter how good the pitch is. …

What Makes a Great Sales Manager?

While talking to a friend of mine about our usual stuff, (mostly accountability check-ins), we shifted to talking about sales managers.  I don’t even remember how we got on the subject, but it turns out that we had pretty different ideas of how a sales manager becomes successful.   His concern was that his sales manager was always out of the …

Why Personality Assessments Are So Important

When I was younger I worked at a lot of different jobs, most of them sales-oriented. More than once, I developed a bit of a bad reputation for not toeing the line or doing as I was told.  The reason? I asked too many questions. Whether it was because I couldn’t work well until I had all the information I …

The thing to remember about making habits stick

Look, I’m not perfect.  I know I talk a lot about how much I push myself to be better. Better at sales, better in my health and daily habits, better in my relationships. All around better.  But that doesn’t mean that it always works all the time. If you get my Sherpa newsletter, (sign up here if you don’t), you’ll …

What now? Pivoting Through COVID-19

Right now, you may be sitting at home not knowing what to do. You might be one of the thousands furloughed or let go due to COVID-19. And that really sucks. Or maybe you’re one of the essential workers that aren’t getting treated fairly for the hard work and risk you’re putting into just being at your job. That also …