Category Archives: Sales management

Increasing the profitable sales revenue generation of the sales team A few months ago I consulted with a guy who is the national sales and marketing manager for a multi-million home services business. Their business was doing really well up to this year, but the competition has stiffened considerably. His sales revenues were down and his margins were at an all-time low. His sales people were having to offer massive discounts just to keep in the game and he had just lost 2 of his best people to his biggest competitor. He had been given until Easter to turn this … Read more

Sales Management Needs to Understand How to Motivate the Sales Team What if the way we motivate our sales people was completely arse-about-face? What would you say if you were told that it has been proven that the greater the incentive the lower the performance? In this very powerful video you will learn why we in business have “motivation” all wrong. Watch this video of a powerful TED talk by Dan Pink. In this video career analyst Dan Pink, examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always … Read more

Last week whilst conducting a sales strategy and planning workshop to teach selling skills for a multinational chemical company, George, the National Sales Manager asked me a question that I am often asked in my role as a sales strategist. “Ian,” he asked me during a coffee break,” In your experience in working with a vast range of selling organizations, why is it that most people fail at selling?” This is a question that plagues many a thinking sales leader. Is it a question of fit (product or company)? Is it that some people are just not cut out for … Read more

What Sales Management Can Learn From Google I came across this fascinating New York Times article mid last month all about Google’s quest to build a better boss. In early 2009, statisticians inside the Google embarked on a plan code-named Project Oxygen. Their mission was to devise something far more important to the future of Google Inc. than its next search algorithm or app. They wanted to build better bosses.

In this powerful podcast interview,  I interview Kristen Hansen. Kristen coaches business leaders and business owners. She assists them to discover and operate at their peak performance levels.