Episode 79 was unplanned but Mike felt compelled to describe his recent encounter with a bold, hungry 19-year-old. 

Stuart was so impressive that Mike took a few minutes to record his impromptu reaction and also deliver a rant to salespeople who still (falsely) believe/proclaim that the telephone isn't an effective way to secure a conversation with strategic target prospects.

Not only will you be blown away by what this young man Stuart accomplished with a few dials of the phone and high EQ, you'll likely want to share this story with members of your sales team – particularly the ones sitting around waiting for leads or who continue their futile and pathetic efforts "bumping" their lame, spammy emails to the top of prospects' inboxes – hoping beyond hope that someone will respond!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Episode 26:  Why the Phone Is Sexier than Ever and Puts a Person Behind the Prospecting

The Next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event (with available seats)

New Sales. Simplified. (the book)

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This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

Episode 78 features Kristie Jones, author the fabulous new book, Selling Your Way In, which Mike describes in the foreword as one of the most unique and powerful resources he has consumed in his 34-year career.

Mike met Kristie years ago at a client they were both helping, and he's had the privilege of watching Kristie's business and influence in the sales community rapidly expand over the past decade. When asked why Kristie has been so successful Mike's answer is simple and direct: She is a master at making others successful!  And that was her motivation for writing Selling Your Way In – the desire to provide readers/listeners with a behind-the-scenes peek at the makeup, mindset, disciplines, approaches, and actions of the top-ten percent of sales pros, the real sales rockstars who absolutely crush it, year after year – so they can become sales rockstars too!   

________________________________

JUST ANNOUNCED:

The October Supercharge Your Sales Leadership event at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta filled so quickly that Mike and team just added a new date in November.

If you'd benefit from a full-day intensive with 50 sales leaders and Mike focused on radically ramping-up sales management effectiveness, check out the packed agenda, premium venue and powerful outcomes you can expect from attending: mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024

________________________________

This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

In this episode Mike tackles a critical sales management topic that does not receive enough attention. 

Too many sales managers allow underperformance to go unaddressed for way too long!  

Episode 69 is granular and prescriptive as Mike shares exactly how to start the conversation with a struggling salesperson and begin the all-important process of coaching that seller up, or if necessary, out.

RESOURCES MIKE REFERENCED IN EPISODE 69:

The First-Time Manager: Sales  book (Chapter 8)

The free guide on increasing accountability and creating a high-performance sales culture: Mikeweinberg.com  at the top of the page.

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership October Event: The April event sold out very quickly so we just secured The Porsche Experience Center for our next sales leadership event on October 8th (& 9th for the VIP option). Check out all the details, the packed agenda, and the powerful outcomes here:  www.mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024

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This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions.  If you looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at  pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

During Week 1 of the 2024 Sales Kickoff Meeting Season, one of Mike's clients included a live Q&A to conclude a virtual session. The questions from the salespeople and sales leaders were so good, and so different from what Mike is typically asked, he decided to share them (along with his answers) in this episode.

You'll want to share this episode with your sales team! 

Take a listen for Mike's answers to these eight great questions:

1. At what point do you move on to the next opportunity? How many NO's do you need to get before giving up, or how long do you continue to pursue a prospect who has stopped responding?
2. How do we get your training to stick? What would you tell salespeople and managers to ensure that what you're teaching gets implemented…and makes an impact?
3. How does using the business plan help the salesperson and manager set short-term and long-term goals, and also help to achieve those goals?
4. How can your training (and approach) help our ecosystem develop both a better sales culture and also help us deliver a better customer experience?
5. What is necessary for us to be successful going "upmarket" (selling solutions instead of hardware) and getting into higher-level customer contacts?
6. After winning a deal and handing it off cleanly, how can we get salespeople back to selling instead of having them continuing to come back to make sure the project is moving and/or installed?
7. What do you think is the number one sales sin of the Ugly 8 Reasons Sellers Get Viewed as Amateurs, Relegated to "Vendor" Status and Commoditized?
8. Can you speak about the most resistant sales organization you have dealt with? Were you able to get them to change, and through that change, what was the outcome?

Resources Referenced by Mike in Episode 68:

The New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series

Ugly 8 Reasons Sellers Get Viewed as Amateurs, Relegated to "Vendor" Status and Commoditized (PDF)

Mike's wife's irrational, but wonderful, response to her gorgeous new putter (blog post)

A Foolproof Framework to Guarantee Consistent Deal Flow and a Full, Healthy Pipeline (podcast episode) 

9 Powerful Reasons to Have Salespeople Write Individual Business Plans (podcast episode)

5 Fundamental Focus Areas for a Successful Sales Attack (podcast episode)

 

This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

 

Mike kicks off the year with 20 powerful sales tips to help you (and your salespeople) absolutely crush 2024!   He initially shared this list with his email subscribers and the feedback was so positive that he felt obligated to turn these tips into Episode 67.   Take a listen, share this episode with your sales team, and make sure to grab the free PDF with Mike's 20 tips from HERE.   This episode is brought to you by Mike's friends at Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you're looking to acquire A-player sales talent for your team, Pursuit can help!   RESOURCE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   The Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite one-day intensive (8 spots remain for February 21 and there are 24 spots open for the May 1 session in Atlanta)   Mike's book Sales Truth   Mike's book New Sales. Simplified.    Article:  Lessons for Managers and Salespeople from Jordan Spieth's Caddie    

In this powerful episode, Mike puts the wrap on an amazing year. Episode 66 combines straight talk from two of Mike's highly-rated, trusted advisors – his golf coach, Brian Fogt, and his financial advisor, Jacob Turner – along with his own Year-End/New Year's Sales and Sales Management "Fundamentals Checklists."

Enjoy listening to Mike interact with two true professionals – people he turns to (and pays) for advice! Be amused at the similarities between investors, golfers, salespeople, and sales leaders – most of whom suffer from FOMO, tend to bore easily, and are quick to chase sexy quick fixes and shiny new objects instead of doing the mundane work to shore-up the fundamentals.

And don't miss Mike sharing exactly what he'd be focusing on right now if he was a sales leader looking to maximize results in 2024.

Thank you for your incredible support of the Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast in 2023.

As Mike concludes every episode, wishing you great sales leadership, and to your team, tons of NEW SALES in the year ahead!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The February 2024 Supercharge Your Sales Leadership event in Atlanta.

The Fastest Way to Increase Accountability, Reduce Complacency, and Create a High-performance Sales Culture guide (near the top on the right at mikeweinberg.com)

Chapter 20 in Sales Management. Simplified.

Chapters 3 and 8 in The First-Time Manager: Sales 

After a few week break, Mike is back with Episode 65 inspired by this pithy and powerful line from Taylor Swift's interview after being named Time Magazine Person of the Year:

"Trash itself out every single time."

While not a "Swiftie" and admitting he can't name three of her songs, Mike shares his high respect for Taylor and applies her wisdom to what he has seen time and time again over the past decade in world of sales. 

He also mentions that, simply by coincidence, four different people released their interviews of Mike in the past week, and he encourages you to check out these interesting and valuable conversations about sales and sales management effectiveness:

Mike with Jason Bay – Outbound Squad Podcast

Mike with Jeb Blount – Sales Gravy Podcast (Part One Audio) and Part Two Video

Mike with John Barrows – Make It Happen Podcast, Video here or listen on Apple Podcasts

Mike with Fred Diamond – Sales Game Changers Podcast (accompanied by Mike's friend, sales leader extraordinaire, Joe Tarulli)

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite one-day intensive is February 21 at The Porsche Experience Center right next to the Atlanta Airport. Info and registration HERE.

How to Lead Sales Team Meetings That Energize and Equip Your Salespeople (previous episode) or see Chapter 21 in Sales Management. Simplified.

 

Episode 64 is not just for sales leaders! This is one you will want to share with your sales teams as Mike hosts a special guest, the brilliant Carole Mahoney.

Mike declares that Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling is the best-written book he's read this year and is convinced that you and your sellers will enjoy and greatly benefit from this enlightening conversation as Carole shares the science behind the success experienced by those who sell collaboratively. Along with nodding, smiling, and shouting "Amen!" as Carole and Mike exchange #notaboutme sales philosophies, you will also learn…

• Why buyers experience a dopamine hit when you make them part of the process
• How managers often reinforce anti-collaborative sales approaches and behaviors
• From Carole's experience as a sales coach for the Harvard Entrepreneurial MBA Program

Links in this Episode:

The Fast Foundations Virtual Workshop Series for sales managers 

Buyer First on Amazon

Carole Mahoney's site 

Carole's LinkedIn profile

Episode 63 was inspired by Mike's guest appearance on the Social Selling 2.0 Podcast and a 40-minute session he held with executive MBA students just before recoding this podcast.

Carson Heady (featured in Episode 52) requested Mike's take on the current state of "Social Selling" and how it has evolved since its inception. A fascinating dialogue ensued including Mike's rant about the "founders" of the movement — none of which are still teaching/promoting social selling — and their absolutely false proclamation that "EVERYTHING in sales has changed!" 

In the second half of the episode Mike recaps the sales management horror story faced by a group of executive MBA students who sought out his input on the situation at the real-life client they have been charged with helping. Enjoy hearing this classic case of senior leadership dysfunction and the effect on the sales team and results.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

The once-per-year special offer on the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series (mikeweinberg.com/morenewsales)

The FAST FOUNDATIONS live virtual workshop series which kicks off December 18th  (mikeweinberg.com/fastfoundations)

The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite event sessions in February and April (mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024)

Social Selling Simplified Episode on the Social Selling 2.0 Podcast featuring Mike Weinberg

Episode 52 of this podcast featuring Carson Heady

It's that time of year, and in Episode 62 Mike makes a strong case for having each of our salespeople draft an individual business plan for the coming year. Referring to the most popular article he's ever published, Mike offers nine compelling benefits (for both the salesperson and the manager) resulting from having sellers write and present their plans, and he also outlines a simple template you can adapt and use.

RESOURCES TO HELP WITH BUSINESS PLANS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Blog Article - Why Salespeople Should Write and Present Individual Business Plans

Chapter 26 in Sales Management. Simplified.

Chapter 14 in New Sales. Simplified.

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JUST ANNOUNCED – NEW DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR SALES MANAGERS

A series of virtual workshops and office hours sessions led by Mike for managers looking to master the best practices and key takeaways from his sales management books. Over three months, benefit from four workshops and three office hours sessions covering critical topics from increasing accountability, maximizing the impact from developmental coaching, becoming smart talent managers who drive more results from their best sellers while quickly addressing underperformance and artfully coaching-up (or coaching-out) struggling sellers.

Limited to 25 participants per group to maximize interaction and ensure everyone gets their challenges and questions addressed! The first virtual workshop is December 18th.

More info and register at mikeweinberg.com/fastfoundations

Isn't conducting professional, effective sales calls one of the main responsibilities of a being a salesperson? After all, the word sales is in the job title. If there's one thing a "salesperson" should be able to do well, it's to conduct a sales call! Therefore, isn't it then incumbent upon sales managers to ensure that their people are indeed proficient at this essential skill?

In Episode 61 Mike shares the most prevalent sins he regularly sees salespeople committing – whether it's the "show up and throw up / spray and pray" approach entering the meeting in pitch mode, talking first, talking too much, not sharing an agenda and getting the customer's buy-in, weak probing and discovery, or not fleshing out obstacles and objections and not securing and scheduling next steps – and challenges managers to raise their own game when it comes to coaching sellers to better prepare for sales calls.

Mike makes the case that if managers would be more rigorous/focused/specific/intentional when helping salespeople prepare for sales calls, that much of that rigor would stick and that many sellers would continue to prepare better for meetings even when the manager is not assisting or coaching them.

Take a listen for Mike's basic best practices on prepping salespeople for sales calls and be sure to grab the free Pre-Call Planning Checklist (one of the bonus resources from the new book, The First-Time Manager: Sales) that he offered to podcast listeners.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Episode 18: Ineffective Sales Calls, Premature Presentations/Demos, and Selling Like Everyone Else Gets You Commoditized

New Sales. Simplified. (the book)

The New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series

Pre-Call Planning Checklist

 

JUST ANNOUNCED: 

We have secured dates for the next two Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta! Get more info on the packed agenda, premium venue, and powerful outcomes at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024.  Limited to 50 sales leaders. All prior 13 events have sold out so reserve your spot now for the February or April sessions!

While preparing to kick off a new engagement to help selling-sales leaders (player/coaches who are both producers and team leaders) increase sales management effectiveness, it hit Mike that the challenges these leaders face on a daily basis are almost identical to what new managers face when transitioning from individual contributor roles into team leaders.

In this episode, Mike unpacks three big adjustments that first-time managers must successfully navigate…

• Shifting from being "responsible for one to being responsible for many"
• Learning to "win through others vs. winning on your own"
• Moving from a "selfish/individual mentality to a selfless/leader mindset"

…and how those who are charged with driving both their own production/sales numbers AND leading the team must learn how to artfully bounce back and forth between these two very different (and sometimes competing) responsibilities.

Mike also offers an enormous THANK YOU to podcast listeners for helping to make the launch of his new book, The First-Time Manager: Sales, even more successful than he even dared hope as it achieved Amazon #1 Best Seller status in three categories!

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Read or download your free copy of Chapter 2, Your New Job (as Manager) Is Nothing Like Your Old Job (in Sales) 

Fast Foundations Virtual Workshop Series - A new offering to help new sales managers (or experienced managers seeking a powerful refresher on the fundamentals) quickly master the critical key concepts from The First-Time Manager: Sales - accountability, coaching, smart talent management, and NOT playing sales team hero! This three-month fast-track series is limited to 25 participants and will include live virtual workshop and office hours sessions with Mike. Contact our team for more info.

In Episode 77 Mike can barely contain his excitement as he announces a new addition to the team!  

Dennis Sorenson, often described as the most driven and most strategic sales leader with whom Mike has worked, has not only joined our team but he joins us for this value-packed episode. 

Listen in as Mike has Dennis unpack three of the powerful approaches (philosophies) that have made him such a successful sales executive…

1. The concept of AMBITION

2. The compelling reasons these first three P's (Plan, Prepare, and Practice) come before the fourth (Play)

3. The prioritization of EXECUTION

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This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

This is an episode like no other. It's launch day for Mike's new book and you can hear the excitement in his voice!

Proclaiming with a smile that this book took 34 years to write, he remarks how odd it sounded hearing these words come out of his mouth in a recent interview:

"This is my very best book."

Unprepared for the interviewer's follow-up asking why he felt this way, Mike gave this unrehearsed, honest answer:

"With no disrespect to Sales Management. Simplified. (because that's the book that positioned me to do all of this work helping sales executives and front-line sales managers), the reality is I've basically worked nonstop for eight years and have had the opportunity to speak with, coach, and consult countless sales leaders on five continents. I learned a ton and with this new book I was able to distill my writing down to the bare essentials and include only what is absolutely necessary for sales management success. The First-Time Manager: Sales is my best book because all of this experience provided absolute proof of what works and what doesn't when it comes to leading sales teams, creating healthy, high-performance cultures, and driving sales results."

While the publisher asked Mike to write The First-Time Manager: Sales for newer and first-time leaders as part of a series, the truth is that according to executives who have read it, this book is the perfect resource whether…

you lead a sales team...

you lead managers who lead sales teams...

you're a senior executive over sales executives...

you support sales leaders...

you are an individual contributor salesperson considering or aspiring to a management role...

 

Tune in for more of the backstory of why Mike wrote the book, why it's his shortest and favorite book yet, and what you can expect reading/listening to it.

Grab your printed, Kindle, or Audible copy HERE.

For a sneak peek at what your sales leader colleague's had to say after reading an advance copy, and for the contents, introduction and a sample chapter, click HERE.

Episode 58 kicks off an exciting series around the launch of Mike's newest book!  

While the publisher asked Mike to write The First-Time Manager: Sales specifically for newer (and aspiring) managers, every. single. executive. who read an advance copy commented that it's a must-read for experienced leaders too… Fresh perspectives and fresh stories from the field, along with simplified frameworks and uber-practical tips for everything from coaching, to addressing underperformance, connecting on a heart-level with your people, and even interviewing best practices.

This new series features respected sales leaders whose best practices and wisdom were featured in the book. Mike will share more of the backstory along with an overview and why he agreed to write this particular book in the next episode, but in today's show, he hosts sales leader extraordinaire Drew Ellis who highlights the need for the mental, physical, calendar, and (even) financial discipline required to win big as a sales leader. 

The wide-ranging conversation offers invaluable insights for both individuals transitioning into management roles and seasoned managers seeking to refresh and upgrade their effectiveness as a leader.

 Drew and Mike tackle critical topics including:

• The importance of focus and prioritization
• The benefit of a calendar that looks like a coloring book
• The power of the word "no"
• The reality check when stress (all by itself) puts you in the hospital
• The need to check your ego when moving into management
• The danger (and lack of scalability and sustainability) when managers play sales team hero

Listen closely as Drew, in no uncertain terms, strongly reminds managers that there are no awards or bonus points for being a good corporate citizen and checking all the boxes if your sales team misses its number. And please allow his story of ending up in ER (solely from stress) and what a wise doctor told him to help you not only reconsider your priorities but also to refocus your energy on the precious few management activities that truly move the needle.

Resources:

Get a sneak peek at the reaction to Mike's new book, the contents, introduction, and a sample chapter HERE.

The Sales Management. Simplified. Video Coaching Series

The October 3rd Supercharge Your Sales Leadership full-day intensive at The Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta.

Drew Ellis on LinkedIn

 

Please don't forget to rate the show, leave a review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

As promised, in Episode 57 Mike wraps up the series on the Common Sales Leadership Sins Damaging Culture and Diminishing Results with a giant exclamation mark!

Tune-in for the #1 reason salespeople and sales teams are not bringing in more new business and Mike's strong words of warning for sales leaders who "allow" sellers to lose sight of their primary job (and some executives who actually "encourage" it).

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Reminder: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event takes place October 3rd at The Porsche Experience Center adjacent to the Atlanta Airport. All previous eleven events have sold out. We are down to our last 6 tickets. Get more info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 to join Mike and 50 driven sales leaders for this powerful experience!

 

As we near the conclusion of this series covering common sales leadership sins, Mike tackles two biggies in Episode 56:  Anti-Sales Cultures and Searching for the Secret Sauce.

Years ago, Mike asked the CEO of the company with the healthiest sales culture he'd ever observed for his secret. This CEO replied, "Everything flows from culture" and went on to declare that their sales culture was, in fact, the company's secret sauce.

In this episode Mike reminds listeners that culture, particularly sales culture, can be an unstoppable force (either for good or for bad!). He describes what it was like working in two incredibly healthy, positive, pro-sales cultures, and he also shares horror stories from two of the worst anti-sales cultures he's come across – one where he worked and one where he consulted. Buckle up as Mike reads the no-holds-barred letter he sent to an executive team calling out their disdain for the sales organization and the inappropriate ways they blamed salespeople when things went wrong and categorically denied them credit when things were good.

Mike also tackles how too many sales leaders live with constant FOMO, fearful that they're missing out on some new secret sauce, shortcut, or hack for driving more sales and offers a not-so-subtle reminder that he's never seen a sales leader or sales team struggle or fail because they didn't have the latest and greatest cool, new tool.

Resources and Links Mentioned in Episode 56:

Mike's viral LinkedIn post about the release of his newest book

Fall Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort info

The New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series (course)

October 3rd Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event (only 8 seats remaining)

 

Continuing this series tackling common sales leadership sins, Mike challenges us to pull back the covers and take a hard look at ALL the things we are asking our salespeople to do. He also makes the strong case that it's really hard to win big in sales management when you have the wrong people in the wrong roles.

Beware: Mike does not hold back putting HR people and executives on the stand asking difficult questions about their flowery, feel-good job descriptions and what feels like an insatiable desire to put kind, gentle, collaborative team-players in sales roles… Even sales roles that require developing significant new business…Roles where just about every highly successful top producing seller exhibits these two characteristics:

1. They Are Intensely Competitive

2. They Are Not Conflict Averse (they don't shy away from a fight)

Take a listen as Mike debunks the myth of the highly relational, collaborative sales superstar, makes the case that SALES MANAGERS' LIVES AND JOBS WILL BE MUCH EASIER WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON THEIR TEAMS, and challenges us to consider whether we are overloading our salespeople with so many tasks and responsibilities that we are actually hindering their ability to sell and bring in the new business we need!

 

 Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

 Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Full-Day Intensive (mikeweinberg.com/events)

Six-Month Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort (mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort)

Episode 12: Ask Candidates These 7 Intriguing Questions to Upgrade Your Interviews

In Episode 54 Mike continues the series on Common Sales Leadership Sins, and this time he touches the "third rail" — compensation!   If you have complacent salespeople, Mike argues that the very first place to look is at the compensation plan... And he claims to be the very first person to discover and publicly declare that the words COMPensation and COMPlacency start with the same four letters!   As the sales leader, you may be the very best at selecting and developing talent, arming, equipping, and enabling your team, coaching on sales skills and deals, and even at holding people accountable, BUT if your sales comp plan is incentivizing the wrong behaviors and is not driving the desired results, then you have a massive problem.   Mike unpacks his three big pet peeves when it comes to comp plans:   1. Plans that are too flat (not enough difference between what top and bottom-performers "earn")   2. "Commission Annuities" (commission in name only, commission that really isn't variable, or paying people in perpetuity to service/renew accounts for deals that were sold years ago)   3. Not rewarding New Sales (paying the same rate/percentage in variable comp for renewing/servicing existing business as for the heavy lifting to develop true new business - major cross-sell/up-sell victories or acquiring net new customers)   Resources mentioned in this episode:   Mike's Article:  4 Very Common Causes for Lack of New Opportunity Creation    Supercharge Your Sales Leadership, October Event in Atlanta. Only 2 VIP and 21 full-day intensive spots remain available  

In Episode 53 Mike resumes the series on Common Sales Leadership Sins by tackling two biggies:

1. Desk (and CRM/screen) Jockey Sales Management

2. Not coaching and mentoring salespeople

Prepare to be challenged about your priorities as Mike asks you to open your calendars for a time (and gut) check on whether there is enough evidence to convict you of being a people-development-focused sales leader.  

Too many frontline sales leaders are cheating themselves of what should be one of the most satisfying and results-driving parts of their job — helping their people get better  at doing their own jobs! Buckle up for a dose of blunt sales management truth that you cannot effectively lead a team staring at analytics, dashboards, or CRM screens. Salespeople win by connecting with other humans. What makes us think we can lead and develop them with our heads buried in data or via email?

From the Heart: After concluding the episode Mike took a few minutes to share personally about two losses he just experienced with the passing of his step grandmother and a meaningful spiritual influence in his life, Tim Keller.

 

Resources, Posts, Events mentioned in this episode:

JUST ANNOUNCED: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership event:  October 3rd, Atlanta. More info at mikeweinberg.com/events

Mike's article from the 2020 World Series: This MLB Manager Blew It Relying on Analytics Rather Than His Eyes 

Episode 13: Game Changing Lessons from My World-Class Golf Coach  

In Episode 52 Mike takes a break from the current series on sales leadership sins to host fellow St. Louisan and sales rockstar, Carson Heady. Carson is a managing director in Microsoft's US Health Solutions business and was a highly decorated, multi-year award winning salesperson and Microsoft's Social Selling Lead prior to taking on his current leadership assignment. 

Carson self-describes as perpetual optimist, resourceful problem eliminator and an outcome driver! He's also a podcast host and author of two Amazon bestsellers, Birth of Salesman and Salesman on Fire.

Mike invited him on the show after an enlightening lunch conversation where Carson shared what it's been like leading his team through recent turbulent times in the world of tech. Enjoy this wide-ranging conversation that pivots from leading through uncertainty and "controlling what you can control" to mastering social selling. And prepare for your mouth to drop when Carson shares how many different contacts he engaged enroute to closing the biggest enterprise deal of his career.

Carson Heady on Linkedin

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Last Call:  Take advantage of this once-per-year special on Mike's most focused course to help sharpen your most critical sales weapon – YOUR SALES STORY. 40% OFF through May 3rd at mikeweinberg.com/your-sales-story/

This fun episode combines management takeaways from Mike's first visit to Augusta National and the continuation of the current series covering sales leadership sins that damage culture and diminish results.

Mike happily declares that the Masters lived up to all the hype and he shares a few observations processed through a sales and sales management lens…

• Overdeliver. Go the extra mile and give customers/prospects/patrons more than they expect
• Professionals prepare and practice – like professionals
• Don't count out the old guy as a worthy competitor
• Winners don't whine about circumstances or the "luck of the draw"
• EQ and likability matter

While tackling Common Sales Leadership Sin #4 (Lack of Accountability), sales managers are reminded in a not-so-subtle fashion that their single most important job is ensuring that their people do their jobs!  Mike unpacks a handful of reasons that managers struggle to hold sellers accountable and goes further declaring that ignoring underperformance is akin to sales management malpractice.

Resources to help upgrade accountability mentioned in this episode:

1. Download the free guide, "The Fastest Way to Increase Accountability, Reduce Complacency, and Create a High-Performance Culture" from mikeweinberg.com and link to a 15-minute video from that free PDF
2. Read Chapter 20 in Sales Management. Simplified. (buy on Amazon here)
3. Listen to Episode 9  

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This episode is sponsored by Mike's least expensive, shortest, and most focused online course—YOUR SALES STORY.  Sharpening your sales story is the fastest way increase a salesperson's or sales team's confidence and effectiveness and this week only (through May 3rd) the course is 40% of the regular price. Learn more at mikeweinberg.com/your-sales-story/

In Episode 50, Mike vents his frustration about senior executives who have lost sight of the sales manager's primary job as he continues this series tackling The Unlucky 13 Sales Leadership Sins That Damage Culture and Diminish Results.

Sin #3:  IT'S REALLY HARD TO LEAD THE SALES TEAM WHEN YOU'RE BURIED IN CRAP!

Too many sales leaders are losing too much of their valuable time getting dragged into meetings, digging out from under an obscene amount of email, and being diverted and distracted from their primary job — and the consequences for sales are devastating.

Listen in as Mike addresses this common challenge and offers practical tips to help sales leaders unbury themselves (and redeploy that time on the precious few highest-payoff activities that truly move the needle on culture and results).

In Episode 76 Mike returns from his sabbatical with a reminder for sales leaders that they are STILL the key to driving the culture and results. As goes the leader, so goes their team! He also makes the case that regardless of the current business stresses or cycles, truth is still truth, best practices remain best practices, and solid execution of the fundamentals is the key to victory.

Mike wraps the episode spending a few minutes sharing takeaways from his time away from work, email, and social media, and announces key adjustments he is making in his business going forward.

_______________________________________

This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

Mike begins Episode 49 sharing the pain from a recent lost deal that he really wanted along with the lessons learned from the experience. He takes this opportunity to remind listeners of the importance of doing a post-mortem analysis and that winners take ownership of the outcome (exhibiting internal locus of control) instead of playing the victim and blaming others and circumstances when they lose. 

This episode also kicks off a new series reviewing The Unlucky 13 Sales Leadership Sins That Damage Culture and Diminish Results and Mike unpacks the first two of these common challenges:

1. Poor Goals and Results Focus
2. Unclear Strategy and Direction
3. Managers Buried in Crap
4. Lack of Accountability
5. Desk/CRM Jockey Sales Management and "Leading" via Email
6. Not Coaching and Mentoring Salespeople
7. Sales Leader Playing Sales Team Hero
8. Unhelpful Compensation Plans
9. Wrong People in the Wrong Roles
10. Painful, Unproductive Sales Team Meetings
11. Allowing Salespeople to Live in Reactive Mode and Forget Their Primary Job
12. An Anti-Sales Culture
13. Searching for Shortcuts or the Secret Sauce=

As Mike suggests, put your defense shield down, check your ego, and take a look in the mirror to see which of these very common sales leadership sins may be getting in the way of you having the culture and results you desire for your sales team.

______________________________

Reminder: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event takes place May 3rd at The Porsche Experience Center adjacent to the Atlanta Airport. All previous ten events have sold out. Get more info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 to join Mike and 50 driven sales leaders for this powerful experience!

Mike recorded Episode 48 from a hotel during a crazy travel streak between sales kickoff meetings and the most recent Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event.    In this long overdue episode, Mike pokes fun at the "bandwagon jumpers" in the sales improvement space who are once again (looking for "likes" and "clicks") predicting the death of sales, this time due to ChatGBT. He references this LinkedIn post where he expresses his skepticism and reminds sellers and sales leaders that these very same people were proclaiming that AI would kill our profession five years ago!   Inspired by his preparation for a workshop he was leading for a favorite client's kickoff meeting, Mike also shares his take on why so many sales calls and presentations fall flat and offers up his favorite trick to help salespeople radically power-up their presentations. Learn how the magic in "Slide 4" can transform the dynamic in the room, and how your seller, solution, and company are all perceived.   ________________________________________________   Reminder: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event takes place May 3rd at The Porsche Experience Center adjacent to the Atlanta Airport. All previous ten events have sold out. Get more info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 to join Mike and 50 driven sales leaders for this powerful experience!

Mike is concerned that one month into the new year too many sales teams have not nailed down their strategic, finite target account lists. Too many supposed sales hunters are operating on autopilot while an abundance of account managers are simply doing the "milk run" in territory caretaker and maintenance mode!

In Episode 47 Mike shares why Selecting Targets is the very first piece of his New Sales Driver Framework and he challenges sellers and sales leaders to declare  which target accounts (growable existing customers and ideal profile prospects) they are committed to proactively pursuing to develop new business.

Listen as Mike unpacks the four characteristics of a great target list:

1. Strategic
2. Finite
3. Focused
4. Written (yes, written or printed!)

 

To WIN MORE NEW SALES, sales leaders must get salespeople out of reactive mode waiting for leads and opportunities to chase and get them PROACTIVELY pursuing named target customers and prospects!

Posts mentioned in this episode:

Where Is Your Strategic, Finite Target Account List?

Mike's post honoring his step-grandfather, Ed Davidheiser

Unpacking the 5 Foundational Keys to Winning More New Sales

 

NEW EVENT DATE ANNOUNCED:

With the February 28th session now sold out, we are excited to announce the next SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES LEADERSHIP dates:

The next one-day intensive will be Wednesday, May 3rd with May 4th as the VIP Day that includes VIP Q&A, private lunch with Mike and the Porsche Driving Experience on the track!

More info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023

Episode 46 features one of Mike's all-time favorite senior sales executives. 

Dennis Sorenson is a seasoned global sales leader with a reputation for building high-performance teams. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Revenue and Sales at Alegeus and Mike claims that no client has stretched or challenged him more than Dennis.

Listen as Dennis drops gem after gem offering…

• His sales management secret for effectively "managing up" and how to keep your executive boss from distracting and derailing you 
• That consistency is one of the most underrated characteristics of great leaders
• His 4 P's when it comes to coaching sellers for big sales calls and presentations (Plan, Prepare, Practice, Play)
• 3 F's for leading the team through tough times (Filter negativity, Focus on what you can control, and stick to the Fundamentals) 

Dennis and Mike also address the move from individual contributor into sales management and point out…

• The positives and pitfalls when a salesperson gets promoted to lead the team they were a part of
• How (counterintuitively) new managers must slow down to speed up their ramp up!
• The transition from winning on your own to winning through your people

Mike's favorite response came when he asked how Dennis found/made time for so many 1:1 conversations with individuals at every level of the sales organization:

"The number one thing on my list as a sales leader is talent. If I don't make time to find, attract, and bring in great talent, and take the talent that I have and develop that talent, then I'm not doing my job."

Links:

February 28th, Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event:  mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023

Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort:  mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

Previous Episode featuring Dennis Sorenson: https://mikeweinberg.com/podcast/episode8

In Episode 45 Mike puts the wraps on 2022, shares highlights, stats, reflections, and frustrations from a fantastic year, while challenging sales leaders to…

• Celebrate significant victories 
• Identify the time and energy "draculas" sucking the life out of them and stealing their passion and productivity
• Articulate two BIG business goals for 2023 and tie significant rewards to achieving those goals
• Become more selfishly productive by better time-blocking high-payoff sales management activities
• Provide better support to drive even more production from their A-Players
• Quickly coach-up (or coach-out) underperformers

  Mike offers leaders two powerful opportunities to maximize sales management effectiveness for 2023 — one is lower cost, lower commitment (mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023) and the other is longer-term and includes ongoing support (mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort)   Thank you for making the Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast a success in 2022. Here's to GREAT SALES LEADERSHIP and your team winning MORE NEW SALES in the new year!

Mike tackles two topics in Episode 44 inspired by sessions he led this past week.

 

1. Your Sellers' "Why" and Motivation to Sell Matter — a lot

Mike shares his dad's powerful advice that has served as the foundation for his successful sales career. He also addresses the significant mental and emotional baggage that hinders hesitant sellers from proactively pursuing prospects, pushing past resistance, and persistently following-up. When we understand "why" we sell and view ourselves as professional problem solvers instead of as pests, everything changes! Hear the strong message Mike delivered to help get a sales teams' heads and heart in the right place so their motivation to sell is pure and honorable!

2. Reflect, Reset, Refocus to End & Start the Year Right

During a session with the sales leadership cohort, Mike and the members discussed the importance of "seasons" in life and the unique opportunity that year-end/new year presents for leaders with their teams. Let's not miss the chance celebrate major accomplishments, personal growth, and for some, even just surviving a crazy year. It's also the perfect time to ask thoughtful questions about what worked well this past year that your people should repeat, and alternatively, what strategies and approaches didn't work so we don't live out the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result! Take advantage of this season to help your team (and yourself) reset and refocus to begin the new year with energy, excitement, and a plan to win.

Get more info on the sales leadership coaching cohort here:  mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

___________________________________

TWO EARLY 2023 DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SALES LEADERS

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events are back and the first one is scheduled for February 28 at the Porsche Experience Center adjacent to Atlanta Airport. Join 50 driven sales leader colleagues and Mike for this powerful 1-day intensive or 2-day VIP experience. INFO & REGISTER at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 

The first Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort of 2023 will start in late January. This comprehensive 6-month program is limited to 12 sales leaders. If you are ready to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader and your team's results, and would benefit from coaching, community, care, and proven, powerful content, get more info and schedule an exploratory conversation at mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

Sales team meetings don't have to be drudgery for the sales leader or salespeople, and they shouldn't be painful and unproductive either!

In Episode 43, Mike…

• Reminds leaders of the purpose and impact of great team meetings 
• Rants about the most common sales meeting sins
• Challenges sales managers that if you cannot answer this question with an emphatic "yes" then something needs to change quickly:  Do your salespeople leave sales team meetings with more energy and better equipped to sell than when the meeting began?
•  
• Unpacks several suggested agenda topics that will radically increase the impact of your team meetings
• Reveals the secret to turn "role play" from something awkward and cringeworthy into the important practice session it should be

Take a listen and learn to "give the work away," create more interaction and more value for your salespeople so they leave team meetings more energized and better equipped to sell than ever.

_________________________________________________________

JUST ANNOUNCED – TWO EARLY 2023 DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SALES LEADERS

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events are back and the first one is scheduled for February 28 at the Porsche Experience Center adjacent to Atlanta Airport. Join 50 driven sales leader colleagues and Mike for this powerful 1-day intensive or 2-day VIP experience. INFO & REGISTER at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 

 

The first Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort of 2023 will start in late January. This comprehensive 6-month program is limited to 12 sales leaders. If you are ready to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader and your team's results, and would benefit from coaching, community, care, and proven, powerful content, get more info and schedule an exploratory conversation at mikeweinberg.com/cohortinfo  

The feedback and appreciation for Mike's recent special web session: "Boom Times or Bust - The 5 Keys to Winning More New Sales" has been so positive, it prompted him to share the full recording with podcast listeners.

In this audio recording, Mike…

• Explains what he is seeing that prompted him to offer this session
• Cautions sellers and sales leaders to beware of fads and bandwagon jumpers in the sales improvement space
• Shares his confusion about a giant company that asked him to propose a virtual selling training program 
• Unpacks five foundational keys for a successful new business development focused sales attack (regardless of economic conditions)
• Announces the once-per-year limited offer for the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series

If you prefer to watch the video recording (which incorporates the slides Mike used for the special web session), visit the episode page:  mikeweinberg.com/episode42 

And if you would like to set yourself or your sales team up to maximize sales in 2023, take advantage of the limited-time offer on the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series (including special packages for sales leaders who purchase access for their teams).

While waiting for a connecting flight at Chicago O'Hare last week, Mike dialed in for an impromptu Q&A session with a sales team going through the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series. That Q&A evolved into an impactful coaching conversation around overcoming a prospect's resistance to meeting in-person.

In this episode, Mike recaps three powerful tips for securing the meeting after the contact resists the salesperson's initial request to meet. He also spends a few minutes thanking the sales community for supporting New Sales. Simplified. and celebrating its 10 years as a bestseller.

Most importantly, Mike invites listeners to a special free web session on November 10th.  Join him for…

BOOM OR BUST, THE 5 KEYS TO WINNING MORE NEW SALES

Register at mikeweinberg.com/5keys

Amidst all the confusion and concern around the changing business climate… Mike wants to remind sellers and sales leaders of the five simple keys for a successful new business development focused sales attack. Regardless of whether we're panicking from a pandemic, struggling with supply chain shortages, or now facing headwinds as we potentially head into a recession, the fundamentals for WINNING MORE NEW SALES remain the same. 

Links:

Register for the free web session

New Sales. Simplified.

Selling in a Crisis

While observing the launch of Jeb Blount's brand new bestseller, Mike sensed something different. Just seeing the fun Jeb was having promoting Selling in a Crisis, and enjoying the excited reaction from so many sellers and sales influencers, Mike texted Jeb with a crazy question:  

"Jeb, I'm seeing the reaction to the book from sellers and influencers.  The timing is absolutely perfect as my client sales teams are preparing to sell into strong headwinds next year. The community needs this book. Do you think it's possible that Selling in a Crisis could be even bigger than Fanatical Prospecting?"

That text led to a phone call which led to this wide ranging conversation. In Episode 40, Mike has Jeb share his take on the "State of Sales," what we learned selling through the pandemic, dealing with supply chain challenges and passing along price increases, and now how we must prepare to sell in a very different business climate than we've experienced in the past fifteen years.

 

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Selling in a Crisis

Selling the Price Increase

New Sales. Simplified.

Episode 75 continues the string of recent shows where Mike shares real-life examples from what he's observing with sales and sales management teams.

In this case, Mike was blown away leading a follow-up workshop with a large team that had done the heavy lifting to sharpen their "sales story." Rep after rep testified to the difference in how customers were perceiving them and positively responding to their new customer issue and outcome-focused messaging.

Listen in for a quick refresher on the amazing benefits a compelling, differentiating, issue and outcome-focused "sales story" delivers and a few tips to help you upgrade yours (and how your team will be perceived)!

Mike wraps the episode with a few predictions about changes he'll be making following his current sabbatical.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Sales Management Foundations Virtual Workshop Series

LinkedIn Post announcing Mike's sabbatical  

Chapters 7 and 8 in New Sales. Simplified.

Chapter 10 in Sales Truth

Your Sales Story online course

______________________________

This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you are looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike's friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg

Mike provoked the sales leaders gathered at the Sales Execution Simplified event in London with this statement that generated a healthy dialogue in the room: 

Struggling salespeople (who are neither hitting their sales numbers nor maintaining a healthy pipeline) should have a feeling of discomfort as they leave their 1:1 accountability meeting!

In this short episode recorded in Belfast, Mike shares highlights from his trip to the UK during the historic week following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, and regarding the all important 1:1 regular manager-salesperson accountability meeting, he reminds sales leaders that…

- this meeting is most effective when kept short and focused on thing - accountability

- should be completely fact/data-based and not based on feelings

- the impact of these critical sessions gets diluted when managers pivot from accountability to coaching

- we actually seek to create discomfort for underperforming salespeople

-  if sellers are falling short of their sales goals and their pipelines are weak (not enough total coverage, not enough new opportunities being created, not enough existing opportunities being advanced) then we do not want them walking away thinking everything is fine

- while we should be coaching and encouraging our struggling salespeople, we should NOT be doing that in our regular, brief accountability meeting

Episode 38 is a must listen for every sales leader - veteran, new, or aspiring. 

Mike continues the powerful conversation with super impressive new sales leader Drew Ellis as they cover Drew's transition from top-producing individual contributor into leadership.

Hear how Drew…

• Built frameworks for leading his team before he even had the job
• Hired for culture, grit, and fit
• Was secure enough to bring people onto his team better than himself
• Implemented disciplines around proactive new business development and sales process
• Stressed the importance of "first dates" and continually filling the top of funnel
• Adapted Mike's "Accountability Framework" (results, pipeline, activity) for his new team
• Stays sharp and motivated

If you missed the first half of Mike's conversation with Drew, listen at mikeweinberg.com/episode37 

Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen) if you were inspired by this dialogue and received value from this episode.

Drew Ellis on Linkedin

In this powerful episode Mike hosts impressive sales leader Drew Ellis, a mid-market vice president for SAP.  Drew is the very first guest whom Mike did not know personally to be invited on the show.  Their new relationship started with a LinkedIn message thanking Mike for Sales Management. Simplified. The online dialogue led to a Zoom meeting where Drew shared the trajectory of his sales, and now sales management, career. Mike was so blown away by Drew's sales acumen and passion for sales leadership and excellence that he asked Drew to come on the podcast.

In Part One of this conversation hear how Drew became a sales rock star during the Great Recession of 2008-2009 which opened new doors and opportunities.  Listen to Drew share how his career progressed and his secret to becoming a true trusted advisor (and "thick as thieves") with your most important customers!

This episode is not just for leaders and is a great dialogue to share with your sales team members as well.

Drew Ellis on Linkedin

___________________________________________

SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES LEADERSHIP - ONLY 4 SPOTS REMAINING!

The upcoming October 11th event at the Porsche Experience Center was sold out but one group had to shift to the November session which opened up four spots. If you are looking to radically increase your sales management effectiveness in a one-day intensive with Mike and 50 hungry, energized sales leaders, get more info here on the premium venue (Porsche Experience Center Atlanta), packed agenda, and powerful outcomes from attending. 

Special guest, former Major League Baseball first round draft pick, Jacob Turner, and Mike talk about the discipline, determination, and desire required to succeed at the highest in level of sports and sales. Hear Jacob's journey from high school standout, to "bonus baby" (signing a $5,000,000+ contract at 18 years old) through the ups, downs, and disappointments of his MLB career to his transformation into a successful, confident sales professional and strategic wealth advisor.

Enjoy Jacob's evolution from an admittedly "anti-sales" person to someone who has embraced the role and profession of selling to become a trusted advisor, value-creator and consultant. Speaking directly, Jacob shares how much he initially hated the word sales, how bad he was when he started, and the process he followed to drastically improve (building on the New Sales. Simplified. framework).

Hear how Jacob has applied Max Scherzer's pitching advice that "confidence is a choice" to selling, and how he has experienced first-hand that owning your sales process breeds confidence and drives success!

 

Links:

Jacob Turner on LinkedIn

JL Strategic Wealth

New Sales. Simplified (book) and (video course)

"Papa Mike" welcomes listeners back from the podcast's unplanned summer break with big personal news, a brief business update, and tips for tackling one of today's biggest sales leadership challenges.

In Episode 35, Mike continues his review of The Four R's of Smart Talent Management…

1. Right People in the Right Roles (hunters and zookeepers - Episode 34)

2. Retain and Maximize the Performance of Top-Producers

3. Remediate or Replace Underperformers (coach-up or coach-out)

4. Recruit

...Diving into the second 'R' - with practical, powerful, and counterintuitive suggestions for how to not only keep your best people in this tough labor market, but how to help them produce at even higher levels.

_____________________________________________

 

Upcoming Live, One-Day Intensive Sales Leadership Events with Mike:

London, September 14: Sales Execution Simplified  

Atlanta, October 11 and November 2: Supercharge Your Sales Leadership

In this episode Mike tackles the first of the Four R's of Smart Sales Talent Management:  Right People in the Right Roles and he introduces the concept of zookeeper-wired sellers.

So many sales leaders live in perpetual frustration that their overly relational, account management minded salespeople will not hunt for new business. These "zookeepers" are wonderful people who live to keep the peace, enhance relationships, put out customer service fires, and service existing accounts, but most absolutely hate the conflict, risk, and rejection that accompanies hunting for new business. 

Prepare to be challenged as Mike asks if it is possible to coerce, coach, and compensate zookeepers to become successful hunters. He also turns conventional wisdom on its head by making the case that even the most successful "account managers" who consistently penetrate and grow revenue within existing accounts actually behave more like proactive hunters than reactive farmers/zookeepers. 

______________________________________________________________________

Join Mike on either July 19th or 21st for a special session where he will offer 4 Practical Fixes for the Biggest Challenges Facing Sales Leaders Right Now. Sign up at https://mikeweinberg.com/4practicalfixes/

In the episode Mike talks about two recent experiences with great relevance for sales leaders.

First, he shares his reaction to what he is calling "business sentiment whiplash." In just a period of a few weeks it feels like business momentum and sentiment has shifted from boom to bust. Mike expresses his bewilderment that we so quickly pivoted from go, go, go, hire, hire, hire, spend, spend, spend to a posture of pessimism as job offers are being rescinded, conferences being postponed, and companies talking about cutting back. There are enormous sales management implications as we work through this whiplash. The strong reaction to this post prompted Mike to unpack his thoughts further in this episode.

Next, Mike reveals a recent painful experience with a large company's procurement department that would be humorous if it wasn't true. The reaction to this LinkedIn post inspired him to share more of the story in this episode. 

Hear Mike's reaction to receiving a 36-page guide to help his team navigate this company's procurement portal. That's right. A 36-page guide on how to get set up as a "vendor."  If you're familiar with Sales Truth, you can imagine that this did not end well. Quoting Chapter 13, he offers a strong reminder on why we need to own our rules of engagement, and that it's imperative to maintain a full pipeline of opportunities so we can sell from an abundance mentality.

"…we decided a few years ago that 100 percent of my effort goes into creating value for clients; I promised myself and my clients that all of our energy will be focused solely on creating and delivering the best speaking/workshop/coaching/consulting engagement possible. Due to that commitment to my clients, I refuse to put even one ounce of energy jumping through procurement hoops…"

Books mentioned in Episode 33:

• Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play by Mahan Khalsa
• Baseline Selling by Dave Kurlan

Finally, Mike wraps the episode with an announcement about a new offering, The Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort. You can hear the "why" and the "what" behind this coaching cohort in this short video.

 

Upcoming Opportunities for Sales Leaders:

September 14th, London, UK  – Mike is co-hosting SALES EXECUTION SIMPLIFIED, a special one-day event for sales execs, leaders and managers. More info here:  https://event.growthmattersintl.com/ses22/

 

October 11th, Atlanta, GA – Supercharge Your Sales Leadership, one-day intensive at The Porsche Experience Center. Just 6 spots (of 50) are still available. More info here: https://mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2022/

This may be Mike's all-time favorite sales management conversation as he hosts his favorite international sales management experts, Tony Cross and Alan Versteeg.

If you believe in the fundamentals and appreciate the blunt truth about sales, this episode is for you! 

Tony and Alan's specialty is sales management execution, and triggered by Mike's questions, they hold nothing back and provide more tweetable one-liners than you'll be able to capture.

Buckle up as these three make the strong case that executing the fundamentals well (particularly accountability and coaching) drives exponentially more sales results than anything else, and specifically more than simply "enabling" sellers. 

Take a listen as Mike and his guests address…

• How it feels like the lunatics are running the asylum as sales leaders have been blinded by shiny, new, fancy toys and ignoring the fundamentals 
• Why sales managers were often more effective decades ago when they were "in-field" and laser-focused on coaching sellers
• That after all the hype and major investment in enablement, there has not been a proportional increase in sales effectiveness; in fact, the opposite has occurred
• The problem with "execution" often lies with senior executives who have lost sight of the sales leader's primary job and highest-value activities

Mike and his guests also preview a special one-day event they are co-hosting in London on September 14. Sales leaders in UK, be sure to check out Sales Execution Simplified. All of Mike's previous trips to Europe have been private events hosted by his clients. This is the first time he is doing a session with public availability for sales leaders!

More info here: https://event.growthmattersintl.com/ses22/

For Episode 31 Mike brings back sales superstar Dominic Testo for a command performance. Dominic was featured in the wildly popular Episode 3: How a Top Producer Prospects, Owns Sales Process, Beats Procurement & Drives Profit. 

Much has transpired in the past 18 months and Mike wanted sales leaders and salespeople alike to hear how Dominic has not only survived, but thrived through the pandemic, massive supply chain challenges, and passing on what feels like perpetual price increases.

Hear how this top-producer took advantage of challenging times to elevate his already strong sales game to become…

• More patient
• More strategic
• More consultative
• More proactive
• Even more successful
• And more valuable to his customers

As Dominic told Mike during pre-show prep, "There's a tremendous amount of opportunity in hard times. The best of the best will not let it slip by."

 

Two Unique 1-Day Opportunities for Execs, Sales Leaders, and Sales Managers

 

Just announced:  SALES EXECUTION SIMPLIFIED – London, September 14, 2022. Mike is co-hosting this full-day session in his favorite city with sales management guru friends from South Africa, Tony Cross and Alan Versteeg.  More info here: https://event.growthmattersintl.com/ses22/

 

SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES LEADERSHIP – Atlanta, October 11, 2022 at Mike's happy place - The Porsche Experience Center. Only 13 (of 50) seats remaining. More info here:  mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2022

These 12 minutes will very likely expose exactly why you (or your sales team's) pipeline is not sufficiently full and why you (they) are not creating more new opportunities at the top of the funnel.

Mike recorded this short, unscripted, unplanned episode immediately after wrapping up a 3-hour Sales Management. Simplified. workshop for a group of sales leaders who were sharing their frustration around pipeline health, and particularly about lack of new sales opportunities being created.

Take a listen and use this brief episode as an 'Opportunity Creation Checklist' as Mike quickly unpacks four causes/reasons that the top of your pipeline (and your sales results) may not be as healthy as you'd like.

As Mike shares starting off this power-packed episode, every once in a while, a client challenges him to create something new. In this case, a passionate enablement leader requested something quite specific: How can sales managers take what they are learning from conducting excellent 1:1 accountability meetings to coach their people more effectively? 

In Episode 74 Mike overlays his three favorite sales verbs (Create. Advance. Close.) on top of the Sales Management Accountability Progression (Results. Pipeline. Activity). The result is a powerful, prescriptive guide to help managers ask exactly the rights questions and provide more effective coaching to salespeople based on specific gaps/shortfalls uncovered during accountability meetings, depending on whether the salesperson…

• Lacks sufficient total pipeline coverage (not enough deals or dollars in the funnel), typically because they are not CREATING enough NEW OPPORTUNITIES
• Is not ADVANCING existing OPPORTUNITIES
• Is NOT CLOSING

 

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

The Sales Management Foundations Virtual Workshop Series (get more info and register now for the June 24 launch)

Episode 39: Underperformers Should Leave the 1:1 Manager-Salesperson Accountability Meeting with an Uncomfortable Feeling

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership – October and November event info and register

In this unique episode, leaders are confronted with the weighty reality that they take up way more emotional and mental space in their people's minds and hearts than they often recognize or appreciate.

There is nothing mutually exclusive about maintaining a results-focused, kickass sales culture and simultaneously creating a community that cares for, supports, encourages, and values salespeople. In fact, the very best sales cultures and sales leaders balance accountability and empathy exceedingly well!

Buckle up as Mike rails against the devolution of sales management into a desk/CRM jockey job (and the dangers of faux leadership via email) and forcefully reminds leaders that they are managing human beings with emotions, not drones. 

Prepare to be challenged about your own self-awareness regarding the head and heart space you occupy in your team members and learn four simple, practical tips to help you become better stewards of this awesome responsibility.

In episode 28 Mike hosts Anthony Iannarino, the man he often refers to as the smartest person in the sales improvement business and Mike's #1 go-to sales guru.

Anthony is on a mission to elevate the sales profession and is laser focused on helping sellers become truly consultative. His brand-new book, Elite Sales Strategies, show salespeople how to put themselves in a "One-Up" position where they approach prospects and clients from a position of authority and strength.

In this powerful interview, expect to be challenged about everything from your mindset, to how you're upgrading your (or your team's) business acumen, to how you (or your team) prepare for and conduct sales calls. And buckle up because Anthony makes the argument that the traditional method of conducting discovery sales calls actually contributes to salespeople getting commoditized.

Within the first few minutes of this conversation, you'll understand Mike's affection and respect for Anthony and also be hungry to elevate your sales game and become a "One-Up" Sales Pro!

Links:

Elite Sales Strategies on Amazon

Anthony Iannarino on LinkedIn

 

Mike's Episode 18: Ineffective Sales Calls, Premature Presentations/Demos, and Selling Like Everyone Else Gets You Commoditized 

Sales is simple. And so is the process of developing new business. Regardless how complex your business or marketplace, the fundamentals for executing a successful sales attack are not!

With golf season around the corner, Mike, in his quest to improve his game, went old school and has been reading the classic book published in 1957, Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. He was blown away by two realties from this priceless book. First, how absolutely clear, basic, and simple these fundamentals are. And second, the fact that the "modern" lessons from 65 years ago are still very much applicable and true today, despite the "changes" in the golf world and advances in technology! Sound familiar, sales leaders?

Studying Ben Hogan's Five Lessons inspired this episode and prompted Mike to list and briefly unpack his five fundamental focus areas that he helps sales teams master:

1.  A Strategic, Finite, Workable Target List

2. Compelling Messaging (a customer issue and outcome-focused "Sales Story")

3. Proactive Pursuit and Prospecting (ability to secure a meeting)

4. Effective Consultative/Discovery/Early Stage Sales Calls

5. The Calendar, Personal Productivity, Pipeline Accountability

 

If you're looking to up your (or your team's) new business development sales game, this episode is for you. The five fundamental focus areas are a great checklist and the table stakes for executing a successful sales attack, creating more new opportunities, filling the pipeline, and WINNING MORE NEW SALES.

 

8 (of the 50) spots are left for the upcoming Supercharge Your Sales Leadership 1-Day Intensive in Atlanta on May 3rd. 

Ready to radically increase sales management effectiveness, create a healthy, high-performance sales culture, and tackle today's biggest sales leadership challenges? Join Mike and 50 hungry, driven sales leaders at The Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta! 

If you or your team are charged with initiating sales conversations, creating new sales opportunities, and bringing in new business, then this cross-continent conversation is for you.

This episode is like no other! Mike was actually the guest on the Deal Podcast hosted by Jiri Siklar, a top-producing senior account executive for AWS based in Europe. Mike was so blown away with his Jiri's sales brilliance and his philosophy on prospecting that he turned the interview around, started asking questions of Jiri, and received his permission to use excerpts of this powerful conversation in this episode.

 

Enjoy this power-packed dialogue as Jiri and Mike…

• Discuss the #SalesTruth that everyone is sick of the LinkedIn "connect and pitch" approach and the constant cold outreach and spammy messages
• Confront the nonsense from the #SocialSelling charlatans that everything in sales has changed, nothing that used to work is still effective, and the lie that the phone is dead or only deployed by dinosaurs 
• Reveal the reality that the telephone is sexier (and in many cases, more effective) than ever, and offers an amazing opportunity for sales hunters to stand out simply because so few sellers use it
• Make the case that the most successful  salespeople use ALL effective, ethical, and appropriate methods to prospect for new opportunities, and that newer tools and approaches are wonderful supplements to, not replacements for, traditional methods like the phone
• Provide practical tips for picking up the phone and using voicemail effectively

 

More About Mike's new friend:

Jiri Siklar was born in the Czech Republic, and currently lives near Vienna, Austria. He's made quota 52 consecutive months and was the #1 salesperson is his region of Europe four straight years. His Deal Podcast (most episodes in German) has 10,000 listeners. Jiri will be joining Mike as a guest on The Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast in the near future.

Mike referred listeners to Episode 25: A Foolproof Framework to Guarantee Consistent Deal Flow and a Full, Healthy Pipeline

Dates and Details are now available for the May and October Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Events! If you're ready to radically increase sales management effectiveness, these elite experience events are for you.