#sales management Tag

Have you ever worked on a prospect who did everything right? They showed genuine interest. They gave you access to decision-makers. They confirmed they had the budget. They returned your calls promptly. On paper, they were the perfect opportunity. They checked every box of a “qualified prospect.” They even matched your ideal customer profile. And yet… they never bought. Each time you follow up, they tell you they’re “still considering” your proposal. No objections. No pushback on price. No budget concerns. Just polite delay. Meanwhile, your sales manager is asking the uncomfortable question: Is this ever going to close? Early in my sales career,...

17 February, 2026

The first—and most important—piece of good news is this: you recognize that you are a Quota Sloth. Self-awareness is the starting point for improvement. A Quota Sloth is not lazy. In fact, most Quota Sloths are very busy. They spend their time working deals that are already in motion, responding to emails, attending internal meetings, and trying to close enough business to keep their manager satisfied and the commission checks coming. Some even ease off the gas because they are ahead of quota—for now. The problem is not effort. The problem is focus. You already know the law of the mathematics of the sales...

20 January, 2026

The Beginning The conversation with your contact, Ted, begins like this: “We appreciate all the time you spent with us explaining your product and answering our questions—and you did a great job—but we regret to inform you that we selected another supplier.” The call opens with a compliment. You did a great job. You built rapport with the evaluation team. You answered their questions thoroughly and conducted yourself professionally. For a moment, it feels reassuring—almost validating. Then comes the gut punch. They chose another solution. Shock sets in. Disbelief follows. You weren’t expecting this. You thought things were going well. How did you not see this...

22 December, 2025

Understanding the Buyer's Perspective Many sales pros lack insight into what truly happens on the buyer’s side during the sales process. They often wonder what the buyer is thinking, what steps they are taking, and what their overall process looks like. Questions arise about who else the buyer is considering, when a decision will be made, and where their own proposal stands in the evaluation. Without clarity on these critical aspects, salespeople may find themselves navigating in the dark, unsure of how to effectively position their offering or address the buyer’s needs and timeline. Adapting to the Buyer’s Process: How Sales Pros Can...

27 October, 2025

The Unsung Heroes of Sales Success: Why Support Staff and Product Managers Deserve Recognition In business literature, sales success is often attributed almost exclusively to the charisma, persistence, and skill of quota-carrying sales professionals. Yet in my decades of experience—spanning selling solutions from accounting, human resource and payroll, manufacturing, electronic medical records, electronic payments software to anti-money laundering compliance systems—I’ve learned a fundamental truth: no high-performing salesperson closes complex B2B deals alone. Behind every signed contract are the tireless efforts of product managers and sales support staff. Their technical expertise, market insight, and ability to engage with client challenges are often the...

30 September, 2025

Nature versus Nurture? The debate on whether excellent sales pros are born or made is a classic nature versus nurture argument. After extensive experience in hiring, coaching, and managing over a thousand sales pros, the author concludes that most (not all) high-performing sales pros are born with innate skills, which they further develop. While some mediocre sales pros can improve with training, they are a minority. The author disagrees with best-selling author Daniel Pink's view that everyone is naturally a salesperson, citing statistics and personal experience to support the idea that natural-born sales pros have a significant advantage. I had the opposite view! When...

22 May, 2025