Every potential client represents an investment of your most limited resources—time and attention. But not all prospects are created equal. Some will turn into valuable long-term customers, while others will waste your time and never commit. Recognizing early signs of an unreliable client can save you from frustration and ensure you focus your efforts on those who are serious about doing business.

On this episode of the Predictable Revenue Podcast, we’re joined by Debra Senra, a two-time guest and seasoned sales leader, to discuss the changing landscape of sales proposals in 2024. With a rich sales background and a new venture into entrepreneurship, Debra shares her journey from sales leadership to founding her own company, Hyphenate.

More businesses are dealing with longer sales cycles than in the past, piling pressure on Chief Sales Officers (CSOs) to improve team performance. But it’s not just external market forces causing headaches—many sales organizations are struggling internally, too. In fact, Korn Ferry's 2024 Sales Maturity Survey reveals that a quarter of top sales companies say they’re not fully leveraging data to help with decision-making, and this is impacting individual and team outcomes.

The brutal reality is that today, AI is worse than it will ever be. As it improves, the employment picture will grow darker. Goldman Sachs predicts that AI will cause 300 million jobs to vanish by 2030. This includes the full spectrum of human endeavor. At the “greatest risk of task replacement,” in Goldman’s view, is everything from administrative support positions, at 46 percent, followed by legal positions.

Mark Cuban knows what sets successful people apart from the crowd. Cuban, 66, is both a self-made billionaire and a longtime startup investor who’s listened to many business pitches in more than a decade on ABC’s “Shark Tank” and mentored dozens of entrepreneurs he’s helped fund. The core traits and strategies that make people successful haven’t changed since Cuban first got started.

There is a clear and direct connection between effective leadership and team performance. Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report underscores this relationship, revealing that managers account for a staggering 70 percent of the variance in team employee engagement. Yet, with only 23 percent of global employees actively engaged, the statistics paint a picture of poor leadership.

Servant leadership is a bit of a buzzword these days, and at Maxwell Leadership we’re all about it. But before you can truly be a servant leader, it’s essential we grasp what a servant leader mindset is all about. Trying to practice servant leadership without adopting the servant mindset is pointless. But getting it right changes everything! A servant leader approach is, for the most part, the opposite of a traditional leadership model.

The Boston Red Sox had a mediocre team in 2024. They had too many left-handed hitters, not enough starting pitching, an undependable bullpen, and by far, the worst defense in the MLB. Sure, they won half their games, but they lost the other half – many of them games they should have won. Most sales teams win fewer than half their “games,” and while defense can’t be blamed, pitching can! Unlike the Red Sox, most sales teams have too much pitching (demos and presentations)!

I believe today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making any decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and salespeople, but in reality, it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer’s decision process. Every aspect of your business must be about sales.

The corporate world loves buzzwords and slide decks. Words like “synergy” and “alignment” fly around in meetings as if they have some magical power to motivate people. But if you want to inspire people to drive real change, there’s a secret weapon that works every time: storytelling. Yes, good old-fashioned storytelling — the kind that gets people talking, connects teams and, believe it or not, fosters a little healthy competition.

This year marks a historical workplace milestone with six generations in the workforce at one time, from Traditionalists, who still hold many significant leadership positions, to Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and finally Generation Alpha, who are working their first summer jobs. That many generations in one organization can pose a particular set of challenges, specifically when it comes to communication, processes, and preferences.

It was early in my journey as a facilitator, and I was leading a development workshop on navigating your career to a room of seasoned leaders. I had only facilitated a few times before, and if I’m honest, I was more focused on keeping the energy up and making a good impression. I’d nailed a joke, tossed out another, and felt a surge of pride when the whole room burst into laughter.

A few years ago, I conducted a survey to understand the most frequent leadership mistakes that contribute to employee disengagement. Hundreds of global employee responses highlighted key trends, revealing what often causes leaders to lose their teams’ trust and motivation. While not exhaustive, these are the top warning signs identified.

Stories stick in our brains 22 times better than facts and figures. There's a reason why we tell stories to our children at bedtime rather than reading them fact-based reports. The human brain is wired for stories. Partly due to our evolutionary survival, and also due to our emotional limbic system, humans have often used storytelling as a cornerstone of belonging and inclusion.

Top salespeople are successful because they sweat the details. They probe for pain, help their prospects, and run effective sales calls. They listen closely to what their prospects say, effectively determine the right solution, and ask for help when they need it. Top reps are articulate, assertive, and direct. And most importantly, they don’t use “weasel words” — words or phrases that subliminally undermine their credibility.

What will this emerging technology mean for service teams? Here are early thoughts.

Customer service organizations today are fighting an uphill battle. Service agents face record case volumes, and customers are frustrated by growing wait times. Often, to manage the caseload, agents will simultaneously work on multiple customers’ issues at once while waiting for data from legacy systems to load.

I have spent the past two decades on stages around the world as an auctioneer at the world’s top fundraisers and galas. I spend most nights negotiating with audience members to buy things at a higher price than they expect to pay when they walk in the room—it’s how I raise record funds for charities across the globe.

Hiring expenses are on the rise, with even small businesses often shelling out five figures for each new hire. Contributing factors include persistently low unemployment rates, an aging workforce, and a growing preference for freelance work. So when you finally find the right person for the role, it’s essential to onboard them quickly but effectively to make good on your substantial investment.

A few months ago, President Biden announced his plans to decline the Democratic nomination for the 2024 presidential election. Regardless of your political views, he made a decision that went against his interests for the greater good of the country. That, at its core, is transformational leadership.

As a venture investor and founder of Inspired Capital, I spend much of my time contemplating the strength of someone’s leadership.

Workplace culture became a critical business topic a decade ago, with more executives and HR leaders recognizing that shared values and behaviors drive engagement, innovation, and performance. Building a strong culture, however, requires visionary leadership. One framework I’ve been using to develop leaders in my coaching and training practice is based on the seminal research of organizational leadership scholar Dr. Jim Laub.