Building the Best Sports Teams...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Wed, Nov 28, 2012

With a long weekend of maxed-out football from Thanksgiving Day high school to the Pats, I realize that I'm constantly comparing professional sports teams to professional sales organizations on the basis of....

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales jobs

No such thing as 5 minutes...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Tue, Nov 20, 2012

How many times a week do you hear that request for "just five minutes" of your time?  Maybe it's from your boss or a co-worker, or maybe it's a non-business friend or your spouse as in... "Can you help me for just five minutes?" (spouse translation: "Can you go to the drug store/shopping/cleaning out the closet for me?")

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales training, sales listening, sales jobs

Coming Together...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Thu, Nov 15, 2012

Brought in the last of the wood from up on the ridge last weekend.  Now, if Tom the Wood Guy shows up next week, four cords should do the trick for what is being forecasted as a heavy winta’.  Last Saturday, I asked the Boys on the Bench (all of whom were dressed out in various shades of camo given huntin’ season) down at the general store, and they’re all predicting a long season of tough storms.  Actually, I’m not really sure that I got a very accurate forecast since everyone, including the Chief of Police of our town (population 647), was embroiled in a hot and heavy debate regarding whether it was a good thing or not that the combination Mobil station/gun store down in Bennington was now selling modified AK47s.   Vermonters… you gotta love ‘em. 

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Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, sales management training, sales training, sales listening

Trains...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Mon, Nov 12, 2012

On my way to NYC on the Acela this morning.  Door to door, three hours, and I’m then plunked into the heart of Manhattan after working in an uninterrupted environment, having a not-so-bad breakfast and doing some quiet soul searching.  A perfect trip.

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Tags: sales management effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, sales management training, Sales quota, sales training, sales listening

Turning up the Sales & Marketing Dial...and Sales

Posted by Jack Derby, Head Coach on Tue, Nov 06, 2012

First and most importantly, my thoughts and prayers to everyone dealing with the aftermath of Sandy. 

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Tags: Sales Optimization, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning