Category: Sales Leadership

Get Out of Your Bubble

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to travel to Bucharest, Romania to visit a client I’ve been working with for 6 months. I didn’t have expectations beyond strengthening the relationship with my client, by spending time together, and wanting to better understand the country and culture. Since I set the bar fairly low the trip far exceeded my expectations. It has been over 30 years since I’d been to ...

August 23, 2021

Sales Reps are professional interviewees – Don’t be fooled.

There are few things as frustrating to me then when I discover a new client, who’s hired me to come in figure out why they are missing their revenue targets, has mis-hired. This is because most of my clients are small privately-owned startups that have either taken VC money or are bootstrapping, and regardless of how they are financing their startup, they can’t afford to waste the limited financial resources ...

May 17, 2021

The Mis-hire Mistake

Sales leaders and founders, are you sure you can identify the type of sales role your candidate is best suited for and will be most successful at? 2 to 3 times a month someone I know will come to me and say, “Hey, I’ve got a friend looking to find a new sale job, would you mind talking to her to see if you can help.” To which I always ...

January 13, 2021

Doing the Right Thing Requires #Discipline

“Do the right things and the right things will happen.” – Kristie Jones I share this with founders, sales leaders, and reps on a regular basis. I truly believe that if each and every person does what they know to be the right thing then the universe will conspire to make sure the right things will happen. Things like financial security, success, promotions, work/life balance, and much more. What’s the ...

October 19, 2020

Your Funnel is a Fantasy

It appears that there were enough deals in the pipeline and yet here you are again, a few days left in the quarter and you’re only at 52% of your Q3 goal. The quarter started out as it usually does; a “full” pipeline, reps confident they will hit quota this month, and you reporting the good news to the board. But with only a few days left neither you nor ...

September 17, 2020

Accountability – Understandably Uncomfortable… Still Necessary

“Chose Discomfort Over Resentment” – Brené Brown These are awkward times. You and your sales reps are still working from home. You’re being asked to think about equality and how that might change your leadership style. You and your team are under a lot of pressure to hit the revised (or not) revenue targets you’ve been given. AND the end of the quarter is just days away. It’s a lot. ...

June 24, 2020

Interim Sales Leadership: Why it Makes Sense Now

Like every company out there, start-ups and privately-owned companies are worried about the impact of the current economic situation. The #1 priority is figuring out how to keep the business afloat with limited people and financial resources. Most owners or founders have not ever led a sales team during a crisis – and are unsure how to lead, motivate, and drive the activities necessary to capture new revenue. What made ...

May 19, 2020

You Need a Rock Star to Help You “Sell Your Way Out”

You were happy with your sales team. Most of your reps were hitting at least 62% of quota. They loved working for you and the company. Who wouldn’t? Free lunch on Fridays, beer in the fridge, and you weren’t really holding them accountable to performance metrics. Life and the economy were good; until they weren’t. As you are finding out, what worked then, won’t work now and this might include ...

May 19, 2020