Episodes

Over the last 8 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with sales leaders & their teams to help them unleash their sales potential, engaging with sales teams across a very wide spectrum of industries. The vast majority have their customers best interests at heart. The one consistent element though through just about every single sales team is the propensity to introduce & talk about their product or service too early in the buyers purchasing cycle. And sales leaders, we are often the biggest ...

When working with Sales Leaders, as well as non sales leaders, I often ask them what one of their key responsibilities are. What is fascinating is that many leaders respond with the belief that a core function of their role is to motivate their team. They see it as their responsibility to ensure that their team are energised & filled with excitement, so they look for opportunities to motivate them. How? Often through providing a carrot, such as a bonus, an incentive trip, or simply an opportunit...

In many organisations across many industries Sales Leaders often come from within the ranks of the sales team. They have been high performing sales executives, delivering outstanding results, and based on this performance, they are promoted to Sales Manager. The challenge is, the vast majority of them are not given either the support or the roadmap to make a successful transition from individual contributor to sales leader. The skill sets required for both roles are vastly different. Without th...

In working with sales leaders and their teams, I often ask them to articulate their key sales values when it comes to delivering customer value. Many of them respond with common values such as integrity, customer focused or trust, however often find it difficult to go deeper through describing the key behaviours that sit underneath. Very rarely have I come across a sales team where they focus on sales values through the lens of what the customer expects of them. In today’s episode, I have the pr...

In working with sales leaders and their teams, I am often staggered by the number of sales people who are constantly on the hunt for new leads and new opportunities, but don’t stay the course long enough to see those opportunities through. It is almost like they expect every lead to convert in the first or second contact, and when they don’t, they look to the next batch of opportunities, expecting those to convert. As a sales leader, it is so important to challenge and encourage our team to st...

So thrilled today to be delivering episode #600 of The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast. To say that it has been a wild ride would be an under statement. It has been challenging, it has been filled with highs and lows, but overwhelmingly, it has been a tremendous experience, specifically for the lessons it has taught me. In today’s episode, I reflect on the 6 key lessons podcasting has taught me over the last 3 years, which also has direct relevance to us as sales leaders and sales people. I tru...

Despite sales people possessing incredible talent and reporting to a Sales Leader who believes in them, it is staggering to observe the number of sales people who lack confidence. A lack of confidence to take action and instead they wait to feel confident. They remain in a comfort zone and are reluctant to take risks, fearing the consequences of mistakes. This often results in stagnation and a further reduction in confidence. This is the topic of discussion on today’s episode.

As John Maxwell says, ‘Leadership is Influence, and Influence is Leadership‘, and in order to build influence, leaders must work on creating a level of presence with their key stakeholder groups. The unfortunate thing though is that many leaders believe that this presence is developed solely through the verbal communication tools at their disposal. This is not the case. Our non-verbal communication strategies are the ones which can significantly magnify our presence and hence our ability to infl...

One of the greatest things about sales and sales leadership is that there is no specific required background that guarantees success. I’ve seen very technical people become great sales people. I’ve seen very non technical people become great sales people. Extroverted, introverted, young, old, male, female. It doesn’t matter – I’ve seen people from all walks of life, with all kinds of different backgrounds, become successful in sales, and many have gone on to be successful sales leaders. Howe...

As John Maxwell says, ‘Leadership is influence, and influence is leadership’. And specifically as sales leaders, we must continue to positively influence our team, to drive exceptional standards, so as to drive sustainable, predictable and replicable results. This influence presupposes that our team trusts us. Does your team trust you? And if the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’, the follow up question is ‘how do you know?’ That is the topic of today’s episode.

It is fascinating as to how many sales leaders and their teams don’t like objections, and will do almost anything to avoid them. Why? Because they often see the objection as a form of rejection, and to avoid that, a natural tactic I see is sales people bombarding the prospective customer with copious amounts of information, most of which is product information. Objections are part of business, they are good for business and they do not have to be overcome, despite what you may be told. This is w...

Many salespeople set themselves ambitious goals to become a sales leader at some stage in their career, however, don’t necessarily think deeply about the characteristics they will need to form & embrace in order to become an effective & successful leader. They are drawn to the allure of the leadership role & the expected profile, status & prestige that they believe comes as part of the deal. For many, when they step into the leadership role, they quickly find the role not to be what they expect...

Many sales leaders, when they transition from individual contributor to sales leader, continue the same behaviours they demonstrated as a sales person. They love the hunt and get excited by the prospect of winning the deal. Very often this can lead to disengagement & de-positioning of the sales team. When it comes to leading your team, do you find yourself solving the team’s problems, believing that through solving the problem, you are serving them? Great sales leaders recognise there is a be...

When it comes to selling & business development, the vast majority of salespeople and their organisations are laser focused on their own product or service, and how it can fit the marketplace, often resulting in retrofitting into perceived or created customer needs, and not necessarily delivering tangible value to the customer. The word ’empathy’ probably doesn’t exist in their sales vocabulary. In today’s episode, I enjoyed a fabulous conversation with Grant Lira, Co-Founder of The Empathy Firm...

When it comes to sales leadership, and driving exceptional performance, many talk about the importance of being authentic as a core pillar of great leadership, and yet, unfortunately, the practice doesn’t always match the theory. Some leaders talk a good game, but when the pressure is applied, they often find it difficult to maintain their authenticity. It is easy to be authentic when business conditions are great; where authenticity is tested is when business conditions change. I often talk abo...

I love asking teams, especially sales teams about their perceptions of sales. Many of them, especially those not directly involved in a sales role, often have less than savoury things to say about sales – perceptions such as pushy, sleezy, untrustworthy, inauthentic. Very rarely do I hear positive perceptions, which is disappointing. I often share with teams that sales is the ultimate form of service, and can be not only very lucrative, it can also be a profession of high integrity, authenticit...

For many sales leaders, this time of year is not an enjoyable experience, particularly around having to prepare and then conduct the formalised annual performance review. One of the key reasons for this is they dust off the performance review document, and then wrack their brain on what elements can be included in the document to then be able to conduct the conversation. No wonder they don’t enjoy it. Exceptional sales leaders do not wait until the formalised review to discuss performance – they...

In working with sales leaders and their teams for many years now, I’m staggered at the number of individuals, whether it be sales people, or in some cases, sales leaders, who search for the easy road – the shortcut. Many of them expect instant results and will often only apply ‘token efforts’ to achieve results. And when the ideal results are not forthcoming, they will look to external forces to justify the outcome. No matter what industry you look at, or what role within that industry, both ‘s...

I’m so thrilled to be able to have Doug C Brown, Sales Revenue & Profit Growth Expert from CEO Sales Strategies, back on the podcast for a second conversation. Today’s conversation is a continuation of exploring the inner sales voice that we as sales people and sales leaders must be attuned to, as well as building awareness of the labels we apply to ourselves and others, which can either enhance, or diminish our chances of being successful. If you have a desire to become a 1% sales earner in you...

Are you curious as to what it is that separates the exceptional performers, whether they be in business, sport, or entertainment, from their competitors? Many point to talent as being a key reason. Talent is a contributor but it is not the defining factor. Others point to connections – who they know – as a factor. Being connected certainly helps, but again, it is not the defining factor. Some even point to luck. Yes, luck does play a part, but again, it is not the defining factor. And many a...

Working in sales for over 20 years, I was staggered at the number of sales managers and teams that would frown upon failure – to the point where sales people would do whatever they could to avoid making mistakes. And in working as a coach & mentor to sales leaders and their teams for the last 8 years, unfortunately nothing much has changed. The pressure to hit the number is all consuming and within the sales environment, the expectation is to convert every opportunity because the forensic inves...

I often talk about sales being the ultimate form of service, and irrespective of whether we have a sales role or not, we are all in sales. Unfortunately though, many sales people have a poor reputation because of how they approach sales, which can be off putting for many people. We can learn to love sales and even become a master of sales, if we master some fundamentals. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Gail Kasper, Author, Speaker, Producer and Sales Innovator. We talk ...

If there is one thing that has come out of the last 3 years, it is that the world feels a lot smaller. The sheer volume of news and information being front of mind globally has been almost unlike any other time in history. And with this has come a much sharper focus on leadership. To say that there is a huge void in quality leadership around the world right now would be a massive understatement. For young people with ambitions of leading others in the future, unfortunately they do not have gre...

I share with groups all the time that irrespective of the position or the organisation, every single person is in sales, whether we like it or not. Whether we are selling a product, a service or an idea, we must exert influence in order for a change to be created and an experience to be had. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Elia Donati, Personal Chef, and a man on a mission. From working in his father’s business making cold calls each day, to moving to Australia at the a...