Episodes

Confucius said “The person who chases 2 rabbits, catches neither”. This is so applicable to sales and sales leadership – are you & your team guilty of chasing too many rabbits at once? Perhaps it is pressure from senior executives to deliver the numbers in the short term that can lead to this behaviour. And we can get caught up in the busyness of chasing that we end up burning energy for not much return. Intuitively we know that focused action and attention on the right customer can deliver res...

When we look across the vast majority of organisations in the B2B space that run sales teams, they all tend to follow the same formula – attract sales people with incentives of large OTE’s, with unlimited earning potential, sales incentive trips, trinkets and awards. Full confession – I have been an integral part of this environment for many years. Whilst these organisations will verbalise their commitment and focus on customer excellence and customer success, the structure of their organisation...

One of my core beliefs around sales is that it is the ultimate form of service, and that if we are able to provide a valuable and tangible solution to a problem for a customer, then a sale is inevitable. Presupposing of course that the customer actually wants and needs to solve the problem. In working with sales teams over the last 9 years, I have been intrigued by the number of sales people who perhaps do not share the same belief around sales, and rely almost entirely on inbound interest to g...

I firmly believe that sales is one of the greatest professions on the planet, not just because of the impact we can have on others, but also based on the rewards that are available in the profession. It is one of the most lucrative careers available which doesn’t have a definitive pre-requisite of a degree or specific background, with unlimited earning potential in many organisations. What’s interesting though is many sales people, as well as sales leaders, don’t have a clearly defined wealth ma...

When it comes to creating success, in any endeavour, many people focus their attention on the technical aspects of the task at hand – refining their technique, improving a skill, or following an outlined process. Whilst this may create a level of competency, there is a critical ingredient that is often overlooked, or moved to the side – the power of belief. When we can tap into belief, either the belief we have in ourselves, or often the belief that someone we trust has in us, it can amplify our...

Major confession – I love Border Collies and I’m absolutely obsessed with mine – Millie. In observing her and other Border Collies over the last 18 months, I have realised they can teach us Sales Leaders some valuable lessons. In this episode, I discuss 10 key lessons that we, as Sales Leaders, can learn, and apply from Border Collies. Would love your thoughts.

You may have heard the term, ‘Your net worth is determined by your network’, along with ‘it is not so much what you know, as to who you know’. Both of these sayings carry weight, especially when you consider people who are successful and seemingly the beneficiary of opportunities. It can be easy to look at some people and simply think they are lucky or they know the right people, but in the vast majority of cases, these ‘successful’ people didn’t start out with a powerful and diverse network – t...

Some in the marketing game subscribe to the belief that any publicity is good publicity. In the B2B world of 2024, with expectations and competition at an all time high, I don’t think this approach is a recipe for success. Companies need to be more intentional and more strategic with the messaging they put out in the marketplace, especially if they are looking to make 2024 a year of growth and improved profitability. In this episode, I enjoy a terrific conversation with Mike Maynard, Managing Di...

The great thing about sales is that it really doesn’t matter what your background is or what your education level is, you can be successful, as long as you follow certain guiding principles and surround yourself with quality, supportive & encouraging people. It is why I think sales is one of the greatest careers on the planet. This episode’s guest is no exception. From spending some of his formative years in Bermuda, to completing high school in Virginia, USA, then university in Queensland, Barr...

Over the last 12 months in particular, the developments in artificial intelligence have been phenomenal. So much so, that many people are seriously concerned about its impact on business. One thing is for sure, AI will continue to develop, and businesses, sales leaders and sales people who can adopt it effectively and ethically, can turbo charge their speed to market, and potentially enhance their ability to drive exceptional results. In this episode, I chat with Ryan Staley, the Founder & CEO o...

If there is one constant in business, it is change, and with change can come various degrees of uncertainty, both for leaders and members of the team, as well as customers. One of the key challenges, and opportunities for leaders, especially in 2024, is to look at the change that is happening, along with any associated uncertainty, and reframe it, to look more optimistically at the change, thereby providing the opportunity for the team and business to thrive. In this episode, I have the absolute...

Words have power. Despite what we may have been told when growing up, that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me‘; the fact is, words have impact. And in sales, as in life, it is incredibly important to understand that our language will have a huge impact on our ability to solve problems, and to influence others. Our ability to leverage the power of language in an ethical way will provide the opportunity to differentiate against competitors, and ultimately, become e...

Happy New Year. With a new year comes new hopes, new ambitions and new levels of energy. The slate is clean and we can create whatever we want. Use 2023 as a platform for exponential growth in 2024 and decide to make this year your most exceptional year yet. For that to happen, we know we must think differently, behave differently and lead differently. If we expect a different result in 2024 without making some changes from what we did in 2023, then we know the outcome – same same. The first ...

It is very rare that success in sales comes by accident – there may be the very odd occasion where a sales person catches lightning in a bottle and achieves their sales target, but this tends to be a one off. People who build a long term successful sales career are intentional with their approach and they certainly understand that they cannot be successful alone. They understand the value of mentorship. In today’s episode, I enjoyed a fabulous conversation with Andy Audate, Founder of Progreda.c...

As we approach the final days of 2023, it is the perfect time to dedicate intentional & quality time to reflection and recovery. When we study elite performers, whether they be individuals or teams, we will discover that they dedicate specific time to reflection & recovery. Analysing their performance across 2023 – looking at what they did well so they can identify positive habits & build higher levels of performance around those habits. They also identify gaps & areas that are not yet elite, b...

When it comes to success, especially in sales, many coaches and trainers will point to technique or methodology as the elixir to create the ultimate outcome. Whilst methodology and technique are definitely key to exceptional performance, it is the habits of highly successful people that is often the missing link that separates the good performers from exceptional. And these habits are often unconscious, which is one of the key reasons why simply following a methodology will not guarantee the sam...

If you have been in sales for a while, you know and understand that buyers today, more than ever, are significantly more educated and in many cases, more demanding. No longer can a sales person or sales leader ask questions such as ‘tell me about your business?’ or ‘what keeps you up at night?’, unless of course they would like to be booted out of the meeting and black-banned. If we are to be successful in sales in the modern world, we must adopt a buyers perspective, and work to get inside the ...

Sales as a career is not easy, and not for the faint hearted – it is however a very rewarding and fulfilling career for those who dedicate themselves to constant improvement, and constant growth, despite the challenges that will be presented. In this episode, I enjoyed a terrific conversation with Scott Smith, Owner at You 1st Realty Infinity, about overcoming challenges, learning key lessons, and staying the course to deliver exceptional results. To connect with Scott and to learn more about w...

For years, I have believed that not only is sales the ultimate form of service, it is also, at its core, strategic problem solving. And as a sales person and sales leader, if we can identify and then articulate a clear problem for a potential customer, then they will unconsciously and many times, consciously, attribute us as having a solution to the problem. When done well, the outcome should then be a business transaction and hopefully, the start of many. If only the vast majority of sales lead...

We know that sales is the lifeblood of any business – without sales, the business will become extinct very very quickly. Many businesses though flounder when it comes to generating sales on a consistent basis, many of them chasing the next ‘shiny’ customer attraction strategy, hoping that the strategy will give them a jump on their competition. When this doesn’t work, they look to the next strategy, and so the cycle continues. Sustainably successful businesses have a robust and high quality lead...

With under 2 weeks left until Christmas, the pressure cooker will be ramping up left, right and centre to get as many deals closed off as possible. Senior executives conducting daily cadence reviews to lock in committed forecasts. Sales Executive’s doing whatever they can to bring forward deals into this quarter. To say this time of year can be a stressful time would be an understatement. For many sales leaders, this pressure can only lengthen the items on the ‘to do list’, as they scramble to ...

For many sales leaders, sales is purely a numbers game, and they continue to strongly encourage their sales team to make more calls, book more demos, attend more meetings, in the hope that the numbers will eventually start rolling in. Whilst this can generate some level of result, it is only once the sales leader and the sales team become better educated on sales, will the numbers begin to ramp up. Sales is the ultimate form of service, and in this episode, I have the privilege of speaking with ...

How do you feel when you read the title of this post? Is there a level of anxiety which bubbles to the surface, or does this create some excitement? It is fascinating the varied responses I get from leaders when I ask them what they consider to be the ultimate objective of an exceptional sales leader. Very few actually respond with ‘to become redundant’ and yet that is exactly what exceptional sales leaders’ ultimate objective is. This is the topic of today’s episode.

Although sales is the oldest profession on the planet, it continues to evolve and develop. Organisations are constantly looking for more innovative ways to interact & engage with their customers, to deliver more tangible value and build trusting, long term business relationships. In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with David Kreiger, the Founder & President of SalesRoads, a sales outsourcing and appointment setting firm which has been delivering significant sales value to the marke...