With everything going on around us…the pressures of the end of the year sales, the craziness of December in general, the senseless tragedy in Connecticut, and the continued stupidity of the party-entrenched Washington politicians carrying on ivory tower debates over what will determine the economic stability of our country for years to come, it’s hard sometimes to maintain focus on the things that really count.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales plans
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....
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
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?")
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
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.
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
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.
Tags: sales management effectiveness, sales enablement, sales tools, sales management training, Sales quota, sales training, sales listening
Off to the woods this morning to bring in the last of the wood before this incoming storm on Monday. The Boys on the Bench having coffee this morning down at the general store are predicting heavy snow here in our little valley, so I know that unless the two cords that are still piled on the upper ridge come in right now, it's highly likely that the next time I'll be able to get the tractor and cart up there will be next April. Just the same time 9 months ago, that I stacked the same pieces of wood up there...one stick at a time, after one stick at a time, after one stick at a time.
Tags: sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, improved sales management, sales jobs
With snowboarding just around the corner…in 35 days (but who’s counting?), I happened to take a trip to 1 Derby Lane in Waterbury, Vermont to see the boys at the best snowboard company in America, Rome Snowboards. I’ve been riding Rome gear for 10+ years now, and it’s far superior to those other guys who also make a couple of boards in Vermont. Having said that, I also need to mention that I do have a very strong bias toward Rome since I'm on their board of directors, and greatly enjoy working with co-founders, Josh and Paul. Great company, great product and great management! Come ride with me this winter at Stratton, and I'll show you.
Tags: sales coaching, sales, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales training, sales plans, how to close sales
Most days, I commute back and forth from the NH beach on the left to our sales office in Boston. For most of the year, the commute is not an issue since I leave early and can usually squeeze in a quick walk on the sand at dusk. For the rest of the year, I come and go in the dark, but since that particular seasonal shift also marks the snowboarding season, I know I'm headed to the mountains at the end of the week anyway, which takes the edge off the commute.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales enablment, sales jobs
With the big Vermont “Cut Down Day” behind me last weekend and a refrigerator list of only 14 items to complete before the end of the month and the first of the November snows, the daunting tasks of getting ready for another Vermont winta’ seem to be relatively contained. But then, this is Vermont, and just like my perfectly-planned schedules at the beginning of every month always look, well… “perfect”, shortly into the fall season or into every business quarter, there’s always reshuffles and “squeeze-me-ins”, and the only thing that I can really control is how many hours I can work.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales jobs
Every good sales organization is charged with tension...especially right now. Here we are only a couple of days away from closing Q3. Friday night will define the tale of the tape against which we measure both our company's objectives and our own personal quotas. Then, just to punch the tension up a notch, next Monday morning, at the crack of dawn, with a turn of the page and a click of the mouse, we're immediately thrust into the super-critical 63 selling days of Q4.
Tags: sales productivity, sales coaching, Sales Optimization, sales, sales management, sales management effectiveness, sales plan process, sales coach, sales management coach, sales effectiveness, sales enablement, sales planning, sales tools, selling, sales management training, selling skills, sales optomization, Sales quota, sales training, sales plans, sales jobs
