Raising others up is a hallmark of a great leader. Beyond simply being a kind thing to do, developing talent is paramount in achieving notable scale as a global organization. This article will outline nine principles that I think about as a sales leader. Feel free to lean on this list or develop one that aligns with your core organizational values.

Sellers have got to work harder than ever. That’s because buyers are more informed than ever before. Buyers conduct a lot of their own research, which means they’re more than 50% along the sales journey before us sellers get in touch. The challenge for us is helping buyers make sense of what they’ve read online, but without knowing what they’ve been reading up on.

When salespeople lose a deal, most prefer to move on rather than linger over the specifics of the loss. Similarly, when they win a deal, most are quick to celebrate. But very few take the time to assess why they won the business. In the authors’ experience leading and coaching sales teams, they see evidence that a brief, well-pointed sales retrospective, where you unpack the reasons behind a win or a loss, can significantly improve a team’s future win rate.

If you want to perform at a high level, you’ll need to be resilient. The way to build this mental skill is by overcoming unexpected challenges that come your way. While we all experience roadblocks, you don’t have to wait for one to happen. “Being mentally resilient is the ability to endure pain for long periods of time,” she says. “The highest performers use mental frameworks that fundamentally change the way they see the world.”

“I think I am a pretty good coach,” the executive across the desk said to us. Impressed with his positive attitude about himself, we asked, “How do you know?”. He said he had attended a coaching course and learned many of the techniques of good coaching. That triggered a question for us. How many leaders believe they are better coaches than they really are?

When I was a youngster, my uncle was director of a national laboratory, overseeing several thousand research scientists. As a scientist himself, he loved his work. But the part of his job he hated, he told me, was laying off employees. Firing people no doubt ranks among the least favorite tasks of any leader. Yet executives, driven by the downturn in the economy, are firing thousands these days. But there are better and worse ways to let someone go.

As my regular readers know, my son is a baseball player – a rising college senior (as of the summer of 2023) – and I still coach him in the batting cage when he’s home for the summer. I started coaching him when he was old enough to hold a wiffle bat. By the time he was thirteen years old, he responded to every piece of hitting advice with, “I know Dad!” He was no longer coachable (by me), thus beginning a stretch of six years during which we hired various coaches to work with him.

Problem-solving has become an integral part of our lives. Whether it's in our personal endeavors or professional pursuits, our ability to overcome challenges directly impacts our success and well-being. Traditionally, we tend to emphasize the features of a solution, often overlooking the crucial aspect of focusing on the desired output or the problem statement itself.

Whether you’re going into a job interview or trying to strike a deal with a new client, negotiating better terms can feel intimidating. While some people are good at asking for more, many are not. For example, recent data from the Pew Research Center found that 60% of U.S. adults don’t ask for higher pay when offered a position.

When companies are creating profiles of possible target customers, there is a dimension they often overlook: the urgency of the need for the offering. This article provides a process for segmenting prospective customers in this fashion and creating a sales strategy.

As the world rapidly evolves, HR leaders find themselves at the forefront of driving organizational success through talent management and development. To stay ahead, HR leaders are increasingly recognizing the need to acquire new skills beyond traditional HR competencies. From leadership and language proficiency to "hard" skills relevant to the digital age, the quest to enhance both work and personal lives has led HR professionals to embrace continuous learning and upskilling.

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, defined by unprecedented technological advancements, shifting climates, geopolitical changes, and evolving work models, there’s one quality that stands out as a make-or-break asset: psychological resilience. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a newcomer to the workforce, resilience—the ability to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to change, and transform adversity into opportunity—is crucial for thriving in our complex and unpredictable job market.

Here's a scenario that may look familiar. The product development team designs a wonderful new app. The client is positively stoked about rolling it out, and the PR team is building the campaign for its launch. And then this happens: The manager or executive in charge of the project steals the spotlight and takes all the credit for the work. No praise for the team, no celebration of everyone's success, no recognition of team members' contributions.

Years ago, I (MG) was on a small plane flying from L.A. to Santa Barbara. As we approached the runway, a very bad thing happened. The landing gear didn’t work! After it failed on a second and third attempt, our pilot finally gave up. The pilot then announced that we were going to fly around in circles until the gas tank was empty to reduce the chance of an explosion when we landed.

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?

Over the last two decades, technology developers have utilized the agile methodology to work more effectively. As sales teams are stretched thin and face change initiatives and strategy shifts, using the sprints made popular by agile can help them focus on priorities that will drive results. At the heart of this is a cadence of structured, weekly meetings between the manager and the salesperson.

By the time we hit the age of 18, we have years of buying decisions behind us and generally feel like we’re too smart to be “sold” anything. Instead, we’re looking to be inspired to buy. Inspiring is the new selling. If you’re in sales or business development, one of the easiest ways to inspire customers is to show enthusiasm for your product. Arguably, there is nothing more contagious than enthusiasm, at least nothing that is still good for you.

Back in November 2017, Collin Sexton and his college basketball team at Alabama were forced to play 3-on-5 for more than 10 minutes against the University of Minnesota. Due to injuries, ejections, and disqualifications, Alabama could only put three players on the court. The crazy part, behind 40 points from Sexton, Alabama almost won the game, ultimately losing 89-84.

Back in 1957, two engineers invented a textured wallpaper they were sure would become a big hit. Instead, it flopped. After some modest success repurposing it as an insulation for greenhouses, their failures became blessings in disguise, forever altering the history of packing and shipping worldwide, while de-stressing millions.

It’s an open secret that Americans work more days of the year than many other workers around the world. When we do go on vacation, we often fail to maximize the benefits by either cutting our vacations short or trying to do too much while on vacation.