Effective executives know the value of building trust among colleagues, customers, and shareholders. But a recent article in the Wall Street Journal adds a new twist, finding the most trustworthy bosses are, well, humble. As the article notes, “Humble people tend to be aware of their own weaknesses, eager to improve themselves, appreciative of others’ strengths and focused on goals beyond their own self-interest.” But is this so surprising? I don’t think so. The best [...]

Most sales managers, not to mention C-suite executives, know the “A”, “B”, and “C” sale reps on their teams. The question this usually prompts is: Do we focus on our “A’s”, “B’s” or “C’s” to improve sales? Here’s a strategy that is the most effective way to improve sales performance. We call it “Moving the Middle.” Sales managers often spend most of their time helping their “C” reps perform better. The logic may make sense [...]

I was talking with a colleague recently about why so many small and medium-sized companies have expensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, but then fail to use them to their full potential (or even 50% of full potential). Well, there are three reasons companies underutilize their CRMs: Poor Planning, Poor Communication, and Poor Execution. Let’s take these one by one. Poor Planning: Whether you’re installing a new CRM for your sales team or have one [...]

Click here to see video of the tallest mountain in the continental United States: Mt. Whitney Ridge The first of my three-part blog argued Transparency comes first when building a high performing sales organization. The fastest way of creating Transparency and a sense of urgency in your sales organization is to periodically distribute a sales dashboard with the results of every rep. Next is Accountability. While Accountability is a two-way street, sales leaders from top performing [...]

The first of my three-part blog argued Transparency is the first step in building a high performing sales organization. The fastest way of creating Transparency (and urgency) in your sales organization is to distribute periodically a sales dashboard with the results of every rep. Step 2 is Accountability. While Accountability is a two-way street among top performing sales organizations, effective sales leaders know it starts with them. And they know it’s more what they do [...]