Ready to transform how you use AI tools? Learn how to refine your prompts, avoid common pitfalls, and maximize the potential of generative AI tools. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot can be powerful. Even though generative AI is a fairly new technology, a powerful limitation on its use dates back to the 1950s or earlier: GIGO. GIGO means "garbage in, garbage out." If you ask AIs the wrong questions or don't ask them correctly, you're pretty much guaranteed to get nonhelpful answers.

More than ever, adversity is a hot topic right now. In our current economic, political, and social landscape, adversity is being felt to degrees we really haven’t witnessed before. And while the majority of people might see that as a negative, I see it as a launching pad to developing a missing ingredient in today’s leadership culture—resilience. Not only do leaders need to possess resilience for themselves, but they need to demonstrate it for their teams.

Transitioning from a top salesperson to an effective sales leader is more than just a promotion—it's a significant step up that demands new skills and perspectives. And it’s risky. Elevating top sales performers into sales leadership roles doesn’t naturally make them effective sales coaches. They may not possess the skills or desire to transition into leadership roles, potentially leading to misalignment and dissatisfaction.

While Kurlan & Associates has successfully helped thousands of companies optimize their sales functions, performance and maximize revenue generation, there have been a number of companies which, instead of getting our help, or the help of another sales consultancy, decided to do nothing. In most cases it was because they either didn’t want to upset anyone, thought they could do it themselves, or thought their mediocre growth didn’t need improvement. In other cases the fear of change was simply too paralyzing for the decision makers and they “couldn’t commit” to making the necessary changes.

There’s a lot of talk in business today about the importance of demonstrating leadership at every level. Yet, many organizations still play it safe, earmarking far more leadership development opportunities for designated “high potentials.”  This strategy might seem efficient, but if you want your team to win a race, wouldn’t you want every runner to have a shot at being first?

What do sales leaders look for when hiring a salesperson? To find out, we asked sales leaders at some of the most innovative companies in the world – Gong, LinkedIn, IBM, Salesforce, Equifax, and others – that exact question via our How I Sell newsletter. And interestingly, there was a lot of overlap in their answers. Many of the respondents used the same words over and over again.

Many companies focus their sales training on the nuts and bolts, such as technical skills and selling strategies, often overlooking what could be the most crucial aspect of sales development: empathy. Empathy is an important skill for all levels of the sales organization. It is particularly important in helping front-line sellers in relationship-building. For sales leaders, empathy is critical in their effort to lead and inspire. But can empathy really be learned?

It’s not uncommon for talented leaders to find collaboration unnatural. After all, rugged individualism set them apart and propelled their careers. And for many, that same focus on distinguishing themselves later becomes their demise. Most of an enterprise’s competitive value is created and delivered at organizational “seams,” where functions come together to form capabilities (think marketing, consumer analytics, and R&D, together developing innovation capability). That requires leaders of those functions to collaborate across the siloes to deliver that value. If you’re a leader who struggles to collaborate with your peers, you first need to understand why that is, then work to develop that skill

Ask any communication professional or skilled speaker and they will tell you that the first step in getting results through your communication is knowing and connecting with your audience. But that’s easier said than done. Often we fall into the trap of trying to impress our audience rather than making sure what (and how) we’re communicating is what will resonate with them.

A sales process is consultative when the stages and actions align with the customer’s buying experience and are defined in terms of the customer relationship. It's only successful when sales leadership and the sales force execute with dedication and competence. That's why a true consultative sales framework has both a process component and a human component. Let's dig into each.

After all of the years that I’ve worked in leadership, there is one question that resurfaces again and again: Are leaders born or made?

While you can’t ignore that everyone is born with certain traits that will affect leadership abilities, this is not the end of the journey. Part of the challenge as leaders is to understand what those traits are and how to further develop them.

Your sales team is the backbone of your business. I can imagine that you’d like to increase their sales revenue consistently month by month. With sales coaching you can tangibly improve your sales team’s output with focused goals you’d like to achieve. At Predictable Revenue, we believe it’s one of the most valuable investments you can make in your business.

There is no doubt that coaching is an effective tool for developing people and teams. Research shows that training and coaching can lead to an 88% increase in productivity, versus 23% from training alone, and an organization’s return on investment (ROI) in training increases from 22% to 88% when supported with coaching. The question is, how do you use coaching in your organization to really make a difference?

A Cognitive Scientist at Seattle University, Therese Huston’s passion is straightforward, “I try to help smart people be smarter at work. It’s that simple.”

Huston is also a public speaker, consultant, and author, having just published her latest book Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower in early 2021.

As a leader, developing and coaching others is a necessary skill in my arsenal. Supporting professional growth in others, to me, feels like finding hidden treasure. I can know you have potential, but to help you, I need to discover what exactly it is and what the best pathway for you develop that potential.

The Millennials are a generation who experienced an up-economy during their childhood but a declining one as they came of age. Generation Z is a population that endured a down economy during childhood but are hopeful it will be up as they come of age. The last twenty years have been tumultuous. Over time, culture has evolved. Commerce changed rapidly, and information has increased each year.

Has the Great Resignation caused you to re-think your sales team hiring practices? If so, you are not alone. In the last 18 months, millions of employees have voluntarily quit their jobs for other opportunities. And the sales department is not immune to this phenomenon. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics*, 4 million Americans left their jobs in July 2021.

The ability to strategically negotiate with others drastically impacts the success of your training organization and business at large, both in closing individual deals and sustaining long-term business relationships. One of the most fundamental elements of a successful negotiation is understanding the client’s needs. Often, the easiest tactics are overlooked while negotiating. This includes relating to the other party, gauging emotions and/or choosing the right time and place to talk business.

Since the pandemic began, there’s been a call for managers to be understanding and lenient with employees as they navigate the stressors the global crisis has brought on. Now that restrictions are lifting in many parts of the world, some managers are wondering how to continue to balance compassion for the people on their team and accountability for getting work done.

What do you believe you are capable of when you feel confident? If you’re like most people, your world of possibilities is greatly expanded when you feel sure of yourself.