Colleen’s Blog

Sales leaders spend a great deal of time talking to managers on how to be effective coaches. However, it’s important for salespeople to realize that they need to be coachable as well.

As a seller or a sales leader, are you using the wrong approach to a sales presentation?

As we’re rounding out any month, quarter, or year—depending on how your fiscal year is created—I always like salespeople to think about accelerating their sales in the next period. The easiest way to start this process is by looking at your current sales velocity. 

I’ve recently been involved in a pilot coaching project with a large organization where we are teaching their sales managers how to coach. These sales managers have been incredibly effective with their coaching and getting their teams to accelerate results. 

I recently spoke with a couple of high-performing salespeople about the various accounts we were managing. And one of them told me that he had been calling a particular customer for ten years before he finally got the break he needed to win their business. During one of his sales calls, he realized that he wasn’t just calling a single shop. In actuality, they had 120 locations.

We’re approaching the end of first quarter for many salespeople and it’s a good time for us to take stock.

I was interviewed by one of Canada’s national magazines on the University education for sales people, as well as why there weren’t many sales programs offered and what courses should be offered for people who want to pursue sales as a career.

,I know there are a lot of small businesses and startup businesses that pay attention to my site. Often, they come to me and they say, “Colleen, should I build out my sales team? It seems kind of expensive and cumbersome."

It's frustrating. When you see a sales rep struggling month after month, and missing target after target, it's enough to make any sales leader uneasy. The problem is most leaders handle poor performers the wrong way. There's a tendency to have "tough conversations" or attempt to punish them into higher performance. Some leaders even give poor performers the "cold shoulder" and allow a rep's professional performance to seep into their personal behavior towards them. These are all things that are extremely counterproductive and more often than not, contribute to more negativity and even worse performance. Luckily, there are strategies you can put into place to help improve their results.