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?

From time to time, I help clients recruit for key roles. Unlike recruiters, I don't work on a contingency because I take responsibility for the entire recruiting process from soup to nuts and then the client makes the decisions on who to hire. They pay a fee for services. I specify the requirements, write the job postings, attract and source candidates, take the initial application, get them through Objective Management Group's (OMG) accurate and predictive candidate assessments, review resumes, conduct the first interview and then recommend candidates who are perfect fits for the roles.

According to our 2020-21 Sales Performance Study, only 53% of salespeople are achieving their quota. The reason it’s so tough to sell? It’s harder than ever for sellers to please buyers. And most sellers aren’t approaching buyers in the right way, which means they’re facing more challenges than ever as they try to make a sale.

With the last 18 months changing the sales landscape in ways no-one could have predicted, it’s time to pause and think about the future. A successful sales organisation needs a defined vision, a skilled team, and an obsession with the customer.

Pre-pandemic sales people used personal contact (a firm handshake, wining and dining, etc.) to build customer relationships. Now that it looks likely we'll be living with some form of Covid for the next few years (and maybe forever), a winning face-to-face personality will get you absolutely nowhere. Ditto with the "I'm successful so you should buy from me" personal semiotics, like the tailored suit and the Rolex.

One of the biggest challenges for a sales organization is moving upmarket. For example, if an organization targets the small- and medium-sized business market (SMB) and now want to target enterprise customers — that’s where the money is — they need to rethink how their representatives sell.

Recent transformations in the market have put power squarely in the hands of buyers. As a result, the world revolves around buyers and their needs.

That means sellers have to work harder than ever to attract buyers and convince them to purchase — not just once but every time. To forge these lasting customer relationships, sellers must create a world-class customer experience that engages customers and keeps them coming back.

Before I became a business school professor, I worked as a management consultant. One engagement in particular had a profound influence on my career. The project involved working with the Asia-based sales force of a global consumer products company. This company practiced “route sales,” which meant reps spent their days visiting mom-and-pop convenience stores, servicing accounts.

Is your LinkedIn social selling strategy based on FOMO (the fear of missing out)? FOMO is rarely a good reason to do anything in business. Especially if we are talking about social selling on LinkedIn. We all agree exposure on LinkedIn is important, but there can be a negative impact without a clear social selling strategy.

The pandemic has ratcheted up the level of uncertainty for almost every aspect of business including staffing levels, budgets, buyer engagement, supply chain management and more. Many companies are also operating in a hybrid situation, with employees working both remotely and in the office.

From kids to adults, there is something exciting about fear. For many, it’s the unknown. For others, it’s the loss of control. Either way, the exhilaration of fear increases our heart rates, stimulates our senses, and tingles the tiny hairs on our necks and arms. No doubt, this accounts for the popularity of ghost stories, the proliferation of true-crime podcasts, and the endless sequels and remakes of classic horror films. It’s also why the anticipation of Halloween starts in late August.

Many sales organizations have become overly reliant on their top sales performers to achieve their goals. While it is convenient to say that we “hit our number” at the end of the quarter, the fact that a few top performers carried the team presents numerous challenges.

One thing is certain: To every business on the planet, cash is the equivalent of oxygen. Without cash, your company will suffocate and go out of business. As with oxygen, if you don’t have enough cash, your business will limp around in a zombie-like state, struggling to take advantage of opportunities to fuel growth.

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.

Understanding others, how they process information, how they like to receive information, how they like to interact, allows us to build a good working relationship which is critical to persuasion. It is important to note that building a good working relationship is an ongoing process. It means you continue to understand each other so you can communicate well.

Communication is a critically important part of doing business, but not everyone comes equipped with flawless communication skills. In fact, many professionals struggle when it comes to effectively interacting with business leaders, other employees and prospective customers. Unfortunately, the cost of bad communication habits could be the loss of career opportunities, potential clients or business deals.

In today’s incredibly digital world, there’s still no substitute for the personal touch that great customer service can offer — whether in person or online. However, companies and brands need to bring their A-game these days.

The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly finite. If you’re lucky and you live to 80, you will have lived about four thousand weeks. This truth, which most of us ignore most of the time, is something to wrestle with if we want to spend our limited time on this earth well.

We live in a world buzzing and flashing with distractions: Slack messages sidle onto screens, phones vibrate with breaking news and chats from the group chat, and worries about COVID and other threats break our concentration. No wonder staying focused can be a challenge.

Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) have been a mainstay for key account management for some time. But just a few years ago they—and for that matter, the whole customer success function—were the new kid on the block. And they were difficult to pull off. It was hard to get the right data, hard to build a case for value, hard to predict success and alter implementations.