Far too often, I see or experience salespeople that behave as though they are “less than” our customer. They put the customer on a pedestal, because the mindset is that they're depending on the customer to do business with them. This “less than” mindset comes across in how the subservient seller carries themselves. How they talk. How they write.

Networking events. Do those two words make you shiver? So many business owners and salespeople can't stand going to these events, or go because they think they should but don’t really know how to get the most out of them. While there may be other things you’d rather be doing at 6pm on a Thursday, when approached the right way, networking events can be a great way to learn something new, make new connections, and generate leads.

As your career grows, you’ll learn that top performance is more about working with others to achieve results as opposed to being a “hero” all on your own.

I grew up playing competitive golf - in middle school, high school, and then in college where we were the #3 ranked Division III team in the country. I loved the game and everything about it. Over breaks in school, I worked at a retail store selling golf equipment - I was completely in my element, and sold a whole lot of equipment as a result. It was my first taste of earning a commission check, and I liked it.

I just love watching my 13-year old daughter play basketball. At this age, there’s a wide variety of skills that you see on the court but all the girls have really taken an interest in the game after playing for many years. It’s remarkable the skill gap between players - there’s a handful who are stand out and have an unselfish (usually) way of controlling the court. They’re confident. They watch what’s happening and predict what’s going to happen next. They’re on their toes and they LEAD where the game is going.

Wow what an honor... just learned that I was selected as a "Top 25 Sales Executives to Learn From in 2023" by Demandbase! As someone who is so focused on helping others be more successful, this really means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue sharing my thoughts and stories I hear from others.

As we fully shift into the post-pandemic world of work, businesses are facing a new set of customer expectations. For the majority of those businesses - customer expectations of the buying process are changing much faster than their sales teams are adapting. The concept of “surrounding” customers with a more immersive experience is more important than ever.

When we look meek, disheveled, or don’t look people in the eye, we don’t instill confidence in others. Compare this with someone who stands tall, shoulders back, dressed like a professional, looks you in the eye, and communications with conviction. It changes how you feel about yourself, and it changes how others feel about you.

Finding great talent is a critical part of any sales leaders role. It’s what drives culture, and directly correlates to your growth - or your decline. When I interview salespeople, my goal is to uncover natural sales acumen. The main ones for me are a persons willingness to take control, their self-confidence, how genuine and easy they are to talk with, if they are humble and curious, and how they guide towards next steps.

I was talking to a top salesperson recently, Jennifer, who works at one of the nations leading digital marketing firms as the account lead on some of her companies biggest clients. Jennifer is one of those people who is intensely organized, wants to get everything right, communicates with clarity, and is just a generally driven person - professionally and personally. Jennifer is rigorous about working out at least 5-days a week, usually for long runs in the morning.

I’m thrilled to share that I was just selected as CRO of the Year by Selling Power Magazine. It was quite a process to be nominated and then vetted for this, including video testimonials from folks that I work with, a review of growth data from my company, and several other factors. There’s a remarkable group of folks who won this award in various categories.

I have to say… I’m thrilled to finally get this post published. After years of contemplating, and months of coaching, mentorship and preparation, I’m officially announcing of the launch of my professional speaking business. Those receiving this email are folks I deeply respect and think would be interested in the topics I’ll cover related to sales, leadership, and general growth.

A key part of transparency in the workplace is being clear on company goals, and making sure those are know. Here is a piece from Forbes that I contributed to where I discuss the importance of having measurable goals, and how to create them in a collaborative way to increase buy-in and execution.

Over the last few years, we have learned first-hand the many benefits of working remotely. But there are downsides as well: Namely, the way we communicate between departments and teams in remote and hybrid environments has built bigger silos.

I recently joined the Sunny Side Up business podcast hosted by Demandbase where we discussed a big topic… The Future of Sales. Great discussion!

Andy Grove, the legendary CEO of Intel wrote a best selling book called Only the Paranoid Survive. And the core concept of the book is that people need to constantly prepare themselves for moments of crisis. The book calls these Strategic Inflection Points - and that by following his ideas, companies can not only overcome these moments, but also exploit them to create wild success.

In late 2021, McKinsey did a study to find out how customers felt about the current state of their interactions with salespeople. We just went through over a year of what we thought was a radically altered buyer/seller relationship, but it turns out maybe it wasn’t as radical as we thought.

Some people want to get into management to have power. Others want to get into management to give other people power.

The art of the in-person meeting has been discussed and refined for years, but video calls are relatively new and most of us spent 2020 and 2021 sitting in on hundreds (even thousands) of them - many of which were a terrible experience. Salespeople in particular need to be sharp for any client meeting - it plays a big role in their livelihood.

As we’ve transitioned to do more work from home, many of us our missing these “microbreaks” which is a significant contributor to the burnout that many of us our feeling. I know I’ve felt it, and I’m sure you have too.