23 Apr

My latest book, Above Quota Sales Management, has been published by Armin Lear Press and is available on Amazom.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Above-Quota-Sales-Management-Techniques/dp/196327105X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H3YJCJUCYJ78&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.K_4_4T0BF1S7HRvC6pufcqmtuy_tgN8ieKomqmfZPcVzKTXUkoyezqjeoVXsc_UdHCQRZlFV My first book, Above Quota Performance , was targeted at sales professionals with the goal of improving their performance by following the hundreds of tips and techniques that were covered in the book. It has been well received by readers, many of whom have given it a perfect 5-star review on Amazon so far. Above Quota Sales Management follows a style similar to my previous book but targets sales managers. The book covers many critical...

11 Mar

It’s my observation that sales is a career that offers excellent opportunities for women and is primarily egalitarian.  I say it’s almost egalitarian mainly because the company must hire a woman before she can take advantage of her sales career, and that may still be challenging, especially for women just starting out in her career or for those women who took time off to raise a family and have returned to the workforce. Prejudices still exist that may result in ill-informed managers not hiring some very capable women in sales.  Those existing prejudice challenges still prevent some women from being hired...

06 Mar

Early in my sales career, I called on a very large well-known furniture manufacturer that was headquartered in Western Michigan. They were looking for solutions to automate their in-house built general ledger accounting functions. After several telephone conversations with both accounting and information technology (IT) people, they invited me to present our solution. They also invited our major competitor as well. There were about fifteen people in the room who were very engaged and had a lot of questions, especially from the IT people, when I presented. I felt that the sales presentation went reasonably well. The Manager of Accounting...

08 Feb

Years ago, as an accountant, I reported to a manager named Bob.  One day, I excused myself and went to the restroom, and when I returned, Bob said, “Steve, you took too long.” My response was, “What?” Then he said, “You took 8 minutes.  I can go to the bathroom and back in 4 minutes.”  I responded, “Good for you.”  The conversation was very insulting and degrading. Should I hurry my time in the restroom to keep my manager happy?  Did the 4 minutes matter? What about proper hygiene? There were other similar incidents where Bob watched over me every...

31 Jan

Singer Paul Simon wrote and recorded a song called “Slip Sliding Away.” Like many of Simon’s songs, the meaning of the lyrics is often obscure.  But he does say that the nearer you are to your destination, “the more you’re slipping and sliding away.”1 Has this ever happened to you in your pursuit of closed deals? Perhaps you have been calling on the prospect for several months, and during this time, the prospect has shown some interest in your solution and was receptive to your proposal.  You have met with the key decision-makers and influencers and have not heard any objections...

31 Jan

The behaviors of some excellent, high-performing salespeople are sometimes like those of typical American teenagers.  This can be considered both positive and negative attributes of salespeople. I first noticed the similarities when managing a group of primarily high-achieving salespeople while helping my wife raise our two then teenagers.  I was confronted with many of the same issues at work and home. For example, top salespeople and teenagers can be obstinate, challenging to manage, and resist direction or supervision, like herding cats.  They want to be left alone, to make their own mistakes.  They do not care that we previously faced many...