Episodes

In exceptional, high performing teams, culture is everything, and every person within the team plays a role in upholding the culture through exceptional standards of excellence. The leader of exceptional teams make it a priority to establish a bedrock of trust, and will do everything within their power to ensure that the team is functional, engaged and empowered. This is the topic of today’s episode.

A couple of weeks ago I was running a group coaching session for a group of talented emerging leaders. Each of them had been handpicked to be part of the program based on their track record of exceptional performance as well as their desire to move into a leadership role. It was a fascinating session. They had a high desire to learn and develop their leadership capabilities but what became evident throughout the session was a reluctance to make decisions. In fact, some of them shared that there...

I love the LinkedIn platform as it provides access to such a wonderful range of people to build connections with, as well as being an incredible source of information and inspiration. It also provides the perfect metaphor for sales and sales leadership, both in what to do, and especially in what not to do. If you have been on the LinkedIn platform for a while, you would have received the general connection request, and based on you accepting it, the follow up message which was highly likely to ...

In life, in business, and especially in sales, success leaves clues, and as leaders, it is critical that we understand what behaviours and thinking patterns we utilise that will lead to the results we are seeking. We can never rest on our laurels, because mediocrity also leaves clues! Even though we may not start the day with the intention of being mediocre, often our thinking patterns and behaviours can result in sub optimum performance, and hence results. Which is why, as exceptional sales lea...

A couple of weeks ago I was facilitating a leadership program for Leaders of an iconic Australian brand. It was an incredible 2 days where we went deep into leadership and what it means to be a leader in 2023 and beyond. Leadership today, more than ever, is not for the faint hearted. It was thrilling though to witness first hand the commitment of these leaders to their craft, and more specifically, to their team. Halfway through day 1 we were exploring our leadership legacy and discussing key l...

When it comes to communicating a message, especially a message that will resonate and be embedded into the audience’s psyche, there is nothing more powerful than storytelling. Blockbuster movies have at their core, powerful stories with impactful messages, as do books, and the same can be said for leaders and salespeople seeking to increase their influence and impact. Why is it then that storytelling is not as widely used in corporate, especially in sales? Telling powerful stories as part of a s...

Whether you are a business owner or a leader within a business, a key objective for you is to create an environment that enables the business to grow. This is especially true of sales leaders, where we are expected to underpin this growth through continuing to deliver the numbers, and often we are heavily reliant on the leads that are generated. In this episode, I enjoyed a great conversation with Jarod Spiewak, Founder and Lead Strategist at Comet Fuel, a successful lead generation agency, arou...

When thinking about sales, many people think of the hard sell, where the salesperson is focused on selling a product or service at all costs, in many cases retrofitting that product into a perceived or created need. It doesn’t work – in today’s episode, I enjoyed a fabulous conversation with Joel Stevenson, who also happens to run a podcast titled ‘The Hard Sell’ – however, it is the complete opposite to what we think. It is a great conversation, and one that I hope you enjoy listening to. To c...

Having been in sales for over 20 years, I believe it to be one of the greatest professions on the planet, where not only can we create significant value in the market place, we can also build an exceptional reputation. Many though do not share the same philosophy, and see sales instead as being pushy, sleazy and unethical. One of the reasons I continue to do what I do is to help change that narrative, and I love speaking with people who are on a similar journey. In this episode, I have the pleas...

Today, more than ever, we are juggling multiple expectations, multiple tasks, and the sheer volume of information being thrown in our direction never seems to abate. There are so many distractions in front of us, with people and organisations vying for our attention, it is easy to get overwhelmed, lose focus, and in many cases, burnout. This is especially true for sales leaders, where we can fall into a false sense of urgency, especially from other people’s agendas. In today’s episode, I have th...

If you have been in sales for any length of time, you would have experienced negotiations. For many sales people, negotiations are a very fruitful and positive experience, and yet for others, it can be demanding, very difficult and also stressful. It doesn’t have to be. As sales leaders and sales people, we can develop our negotiations muscle to where we are able to deliver tangible and valuable outcomes, both for our organisation as well as the customer. In today’s episode, I had the privilege ...

As a sales leader, how predictable are the sales opportunities flowing through your team? Are they highly qualified? Are you laser focused on specific customers and specific opportunities, or throwing mud against the wall hoping it sticks? Are you converting a high percentage of the opportunities? Are the closed opportunities highly profitable? In working with sales leaders, what I find fascinating is how unplanned and unprepared the vast majority are when it comes to sales opportunities. T...

In the sales game, the vast majority measure success by the numbers. Either you hit the sales target or you don’t and sales leaders can be very laser focused on the scoreboard and lead according to what the numbers are saying. But this does not always tell the full story. It has often been said that sales is a numbers game and interestingly, sales leaders who focus entirely on the numbers tend to lead teams which achieve outcomes within plus or minus 10% of the sales target. Each conversation a...

Sales is the lifeblood of any business, but it is fascinating to see the number of organisations that focus so much of their attention on their own products and services without learning the structural fundamentals as to what problem those products and services solve in the marketplace. The end result? Low conversion rates, and ultimately unrealised sales & revenue potential. In today’s episode, I speak with Gabe Lullo, the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development as a service business which offers ...

You may be thinking what a weird title for a podcast? 🙃 And you may be correct, however, in sales, so many sales leaders and their teams are trying their very hardest to boil the ocean. Putting pressure on themselves to land the big strategic deal. The iconic new logo. The multi million deal. The deal that will change the entire trajectory of their business. And often, salespeople look for opportunities to be involved in these big deals, to be part of the team that wins that major new logo...

We have all heard the term, ‘Variety is the spice of life’, and yet in sales, so many companies and sales leaders stick to a very boring formula of sameness, looking to acquire talent from the same talent pool, with the same key criteria such as track record, tenure at an organisation, specific product, service or industry experience. Often though this can lead to sales leaders building one dimensional teams, resulting in these teams not fulfilling their maximum potential. Exceptional sales lead...

As a leader, it is vital that we are aware that our every move is being watched like a hawk. Our team expects us to set the example. To ‘Be’ the Model of Excellence that will lead to exceptional and sustainable results. And it starts with the small things, which may seem incidental in and of themselves, however, over time, can compound and have a dramatic impact. This is what I discuss on today’s episode.

In the ultra competitive business world of 2023, it is important that organisations get specific on the characteristics and attributes they are looking for in sales talent. No longer can we go by gut feel or simply a strong track record of performance when it comes to hiring sales people, because this can be quite costly if we get it wrong. In today’s episode, I speak with Jakub Hon, the CEO & Co-Founder of SALESDOCk, a B2B Sales Agency based in the Netherlands. It is a great conversation coveri...

As leaders, there is one specific skill that can help unlock the true potential of our team and that is coaching. Unfortunately many leaders do not receive the coaching and mentoring in order to build their coaching muscle, and hence focus their attention on what I call surface level elements, being behaviours and actions, rather than the deep rooted thinking patterns that lead to behaviours. In today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Kim Ades, the Founder of Frame of Mind Coaching...

Earlier this year I had the privilege of speaking with L’areal Lipkins, CEO & Founder of Lipkins Consulting Group, as we discussed all things sales and sales leadership. It was a fabulous conversation where L’areal shared loads of valuable insights for sales leaders and their teams to drive exceptional results. In today’s episode we continue that conversation, specifically discussing some key elements from L’areal’s recently released book “What Top Performing Sales People Do Different”. It is a ...

In the busyness of sales, it is easy to get caught up in the moment, and react to the situation we find ourselves and our team in. How often though do we, as sales leaders, take a step back and ask ourselves ‘Am I helping or am I hindering?’ If you are like me when I was leading sales teams, the answer is not very often. Over the years, the more I have worked with sales leaders and their teams, the more I have realised that we must be 100% conscious of each moment, and must build better awarene...

Another fabulous conversation today with Dr.Philip Squire, the CEO and Co-Founder of Consalia, a UK & Singapore based specialist sales business school. In our last episode, Philip described the key positive sales mindsets and values that sales teams must embrace in order to be effective in selling customised solutions to their customers. In today’s episode, we go deeper, exploring these from a Sales Leader’s perspective, specifically focusing on how to coach these mindsets and values, so as to d...

In sales, we are almost indoctrinated into keeping our focus on the target, the big goal, the prize, and as a result, literally every meeting, every conversation is centred around that prize. This, for many, can be stifling, not to mention, counter productive, especially when obstacles and challenges are presented. When we fall behind the number, it is all hands to the pump to get us back on track, burning up energy, and in many cases, creating disharmony. And often, the end result is we do not ...

When it comes to leading teams, many leaders believe that in order to be fair, they need to lead everyone in the same way, which is great in theory, but not as great in practice. Leaders must have a clear set of leadership values and principles to operate from, but great leaders also understand that they need to adjust the way they lead team members, based on the team members commitment and competency. The leader needs to become a chameleon and lead based on the situation – this is the topic of ...