If you knew you would be 100% successful at getting an appointment with your ideal customer, what would that do for you? One meeting can change everything. What if you could to that 100 times, with 100% effectiveness? How long would it take for your business to be where you want it to be? If I told you that there […]
“When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four.” Those are the words of a children’s song, sung by Daniel Tiger. He’s the main character in a show produced by the Fred Rogers Corporation. Mr. Rogers believed that if we teach children what to do with their feelings—in other words, how […]
If you tell yourself, “Accountability is really uncomfortable for me. I just don’t like doing it,” then you probably don’t understand what accountability is. Many sales managers they think that accountability is synonymous with confrontation. They think that what it means to hold someone accountable is to get in that person’s grill, to call them out about something, or to […]
The following question was recently asked of me: “How do you move from ‘personal chit-chat’ into your sales presentation?” That’s a good question. My advice: don’t start a sales meeting with “personal chit-chat.” What? Have I lost my mind?!? This is how everyone does it! Yes, but is everyone a Top Producer? Here is how the Top Producers do it: […]
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you win big? One small victory at a time. Jim Stryker, who is in the elite club as far as production and leadership, breaks down high achievement into a mindset and small “base hits” that add up to big results. Jim says that victory begins with the bed—it’s […]
After we had been coaching together for a few months, Ted (a managing director in the insurance business) told me: “Before working together, I was guilty of drive-by management.” Ted, like so many managers, would do his rounds in the morning. He would pop his head in the door and ask: “How are you? Anything I can help with?” That was […]
Sometimes people don’t do what they say they will do. Sometimes the people that we lead are clearly acting out of bounds. These are times when they need to be confronted. As leaders, we may want to run from these conversations, but we need to run face first into these situations. The longer we put off having these tough conversations, […]
Salespeople are less proficient than they think they are. They are also less proficient than their sales manager thinks they are. A salesperson might say: “Oh, I don’t need help. I’ve been doing this for 20 years.” And, the sales manager thinks so too. The truth of the matter is that while they may be doing a lot of stuff […]
One of my favorite pieces of leadership advice when running a 1,000+ team was: “You can’t do for one what you can’t do for 100.” Think about that. Think about your business and what you are doing for your team members today. Write out that list and now put on your thinking cap. What can you do to systematize this […]
Often, we as leaders, feel that we get our value from doing everything for our team members. Oh! I’ll go to that meeting and close that sale for you. Oh! Ask me any question you have about how to do something and I’ll answer it right away. I know how it is. We feel that this is the reason we […]
When I was a little girl, my dad was in the military, so we moved several times. My dad got a new role as Chief of Surgery at Fort Leonard Wood, so we packed up and left San Francisco and moved to Waynesville, Missouri. Back then, Waynesville was a backwoods town; so much so, that when a farmer shot my […]
Have you ever been at a point in your business or your personal life where you weren’t quite satisfied with how things were going, so you started complaining about issues within your company/relationship, and started looking around for where the grass might be greener? Yeah, a lot of people get there. Many of us stay there for months, years, and […]
Today, I get to bring you Chad Blanton with Simplicity Financial Marketing. I believe he is a top leader in the world of sales. I have enjoyed watching him succeed at a high level no matter what role he is in, whether sales or leadership. I asked Chad what he can attribute his success to and to give me his […]
Your squad is your small group of people. They are the ones you trust and choose to hang with. They are the people in your inner circle who are loyal to you despite your failings. However, there needs to be some kind of quality control within the squad. Who you pick for your squad should have some bare minimums. Remember: […]
Are you killing your momentum during your “Golden Hours” of recruiting by allowing distractions? While sometimes we want to celebrate a sales victory or take a call from an outside source, we want to make the most out of our scheduled recruiting hours. We are rounding out the series today on the four things that you can be doing as […]
To elevate your energy level during your prospecting phone calls, STAND UP! I have done both a standard sitting desk and then also one that stands, and the difference in energy levels is astronomical. Today is my third out of four tips for maximizing your golden hours. If you’re a sales manager and you are making recruiting calls, and you […]
Do you know how some people are natural born storytellers? You know the people. When they tell a story, it’s like E.F. Hutton, everyone is listening? I have always been jealous of those people! Maybe you are more like me in that you rush through the story or you say the point of the story before you really get into […]
My final tip in my series of income producing activities for sales leaders is to self-generate potential recruiting leads every single month. If you want to build your “Dream Team” you need to always be on the lookout for people with the “it” factor! These are people that you come across in everyday life and in business settings. Make a […]
Do you implement and enforce your performance recovery plan (PRP)? The 11th income producing activity of sales managers is to have a solid PRP in your arsenal when you have a team member get off track. Many times, we find that managers either do not have one or it is filed away and is not used. With regards to a […]
Shadow your team members on a REGULAR basis. A day in the field is worth a hundred personal conferences or meetings. Today, the 10th income-producing activity is to shadow each of your team members in the field on a regular basis. At Southwestern Consulting we believe that spending some shoulder to shoulder quality time in the area with your team […]
God made us all capable, but are we really available? We were made to be ambassadors though service to His Kingdom and communication of His message. As such, we are all capable. I wonder though… where are the many who are called but do not answer? To be capable is the ability to achieve. It’s the competency and proficiency […]
