The thing with underperformers is that because of their failures to hit quota, they start to have a hard time picturing themselves on top. They know they’re performing way below their peers and like a baseball slugger in a slump, they start to lose confidence.

The real challenge for the sales manager is to help underperforming salespeople stop this destructive thought process. Not easy. But a salesperson whose lost confidence in their abilities cannot possibly perform at the level that’s expected of them.

And this is where the third rule comes in. (more…)

The best, high-performing sales managers are a different breed.

They notice stuff.

They notice what their salespeople are good at…as well as what they’re not so good at. They then leverage the stuff they are good at to coax even greater performance out of their salespeople. They largely minimize the weaknesses.

The average sales managers sees those same weaknesses and thinks that he can fix them. He spends all his time doing just that.

That’s why he’s an average sales manager.

Let’s show an example… (more…)

The third and final myth in this series of blog posts is also one of the most important topics in sales management. It concerns performance. But it is also about change, about trying to move away from an established routine in hopes of discovering something even better. Alas…

Myth #3 – Results must be reinforced for performance to change. (more…)

This is the second part of the article The #1 Myth to Sales Coaching Is…

In the first article, we discussed the difference between teaching and reaching out. As we discussed, the top sales manager studies and figures out their sales reps’ individual strengths and weaknesses, and adjusts strategy accordingly. Sales coaching as teaching is a myth because sales reps rarely learn anything from that method.

Which leads to…

Myth #2 – Most sales reps can assess their own strengths and weaknesses. (more…)

Top sales managers agree that solid sales coaching makes a huge difference between a good and a bad sales quarter. Spending time coaching your sales people is worthwhile, it’s time well-spent, and if your sales managers are spending more time poring over spreadsheets and not coaching their reps, then you need to change your priorities.

What the real top sales managers don’t agree about, however—is how to best go about doing it. It seems everyone has their own opinion of sales coaching.

This difference in opinion and coaching styles has led to a number of useless tips floating around the industry – what top sales managers like to call “sales coaching myths”. Over the next couple of articles we’ll be discussing the different sales coaching myths – so your sales managers can avoid sales coaching mistakes that have the reverse and sometimes debilitating effects.

So without further ado, let’s get on with the show… (more…)