I used to work for a company that tried to change me into someone I just was not. In an interview, the HR manager said, “This company will help you overcome your weaknesses by thrusting you into different kinds of situations. We will help you grow to become a completely different person.”

Here is the thing. There’s nothing wrong with “overcoming your weaknesses“. But to turn me into a “completely different person,” that’s something else.

Back then I didn’t realize the repercussions of that statement. Now that I’ve got years of experience as a sales manager, I know better than to try and change my sales reps into something they’re not.

My sales reps are themselves. They are not their colleagues. They are not their friends. They are not me. (more…)

There are two kinds of sales managers. The first one, a more focused type, concentrates on improving his sales reps’ strengths while downplaying their weaknesses. The second type of sales manager is one who shapes his sales reps to become all around regular jack-of-all-trades.

Which sales manager is more effective? 

Imagine a clear glass ceiling over the heads of your salespeople. The height of the ceiling represents the amount of talent each salesperson possesses—some high, some low. The question is: can a person who lacks certain core talents for the job ever be successful in his or her line of work? The answer is NO.

Every person is unique, and therefore every salesperson is unique as well. And all this uniqueness add up to vastly different potentials. If you try to make them something they are not…its one of the worst things you could do as a sales manager. (more…)

A sales manager has to be popular – in fact, he has to be so popular that he needs to be even more popular than Howard Stern.

You need to be cooler than Opie and Anthony, Rush Limbaugh (pick your radio personality here) as well as all the other ones out there together.

Why? Because being on your sales reps “pre-sets” on their own personal radio stations is absolutely essential to your crusade in getting to know your sales people so you could effectively communicate with them and expect better sales performance.

But here is the thing. Did you know there’s only one radio station your sales people tune in to all day long every day of the week…and that station is WIFM. (You might say WIIFM, but let’s not get too technical here). (more…)

The Law of Reciprocity states, “If you do something nice for someone, human nature dictates that the recipient will feel compelled to do something nice for you in return.”

The philosopher Confucius simplified it when he said, “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you.” This second definition is very important.

Selling is a two-way relationship. The same applies to managing a sales team. If the team wants to be able to grow beyond what it started out with, it needs to surrender under the guidance of its sales manager. If the sales manager wants to earn the respect of the team, he needs to work hard and earn his sales people’s trust one brick at a time.

I know this much is true: that the Law of Reciprocity is essential to a career in sales. (more…)

I was thinking the other day…it seems like there are a lot of struggling sales managers out there right now.

With the economy the way it is, it doesn’t really matter what industry you’re in – chances are that you and your sales team are feeling the pinch.

So I was thinking…what if I could just write out five big concepts that really helped to shape my success as a sales leader?

I figured if I could do it using these concepts, then a lot of other people could do it as well…

The truth is…I didn’t start off my sales management career doing too well…in fact, I really didn’t know what I was doing until my first full year.

But I think I was smart enough to realize that I didn’t know much…so I studied how to be great almost non-stop for an entire year.

Also, I was lucky enough to have a really good boss and access to other leadership mentors…their ideas really shaped my thought process as a sales leader.

In my first full year as a sales manager, I began to use some of these ideas and to my suprise, I had my best money year ever, up to that point in time.

I included those five things here.

Here they are:

1. Trust: Get your salespeople to trust you so that they can in turn, produce great results for both themselves and for you.
2. Empowerment: Learn how to empower your salespeople so they don’t have to come to you for every little thing. Learn the key concepts that train your reps to take responsible, correct, consistent action without your intervention needed.
3. Accountability: Set the bar higher and keep raising it! Bring your sales team along by making them fully accountable (this means no excuses, by the way) for their actions and results…whether those results are stupid or stellar.
4. Release of Control: Release your own self limiting/time intensive/hours-sucking control complex, while pushing your sales reps to produce even bigger sales when you’re not with them!
5. Hire great (not just merely good) sales people, coach them, support them then unleash them…and let them be themselves.

These five concepts have made all the difference…and still do to this day.

Ill keep passing on what has helped me so that maybe it’ll help you too.

In the meantime…if you haven’t already, get my free tips be signing up on the signup form on the right side of this post.

Or click here

Then, post a comment below and tell me what great secrets you learned form some of your mentors in the past that have helped you to trigger explosive sales results with your sales reps?