Practical Wisdom from Kahle Way Sales Systems

There is a fine line between perseverance and self-delusion. Understanding that difference can mean the difference between years of frustration on one hand, and success and fulfillment on the other. Here are some tips on making the distinction.  

While we can't change the competition, we certainly are responsible for our attitudes and behaviors toward the competition.  What we say and how we act about the competition can have a daily bearing on our bottom lines.  Here are seven specific tactics to help you deal effectively with the competition.  

Growing your sales is a goal for almost every business. The challenge is so great, however, that is spawns lots of misguided methods. Here are the four most common mistakes sales leaders make, from a consultant who as worked with hundreds of them.

"When do you give up on trying to see an account?"  There is no one definitive answer, but there are six specific practices that you can apply to gain that first meeting with a prospect.  

Why is it so difficult to change our behavior?  Why are managers and leaders  frustrated in trying to help people do better and sell better?  The stealth cause is an aspect of human nature that is rarely acknowledged and even more rarely overcome.  I'm drilling deeper into the issue and offering some solutions.

This is one of those pieces of conventional wisdom that no one seems to question:  "It's good to be passionate about your product."  Like so many of these conventional myths that ingrain themselves into our psyche, this one has the potential for frustrating countless thousands of salespeople, sales managers and chief sales officers.

Great business leaders require a certain set of character traits to unleash the potential of the enterprises they lead. In this series of seven posts, I articulate my view of the seven character traits essential for great business leaders.  In this post, I describe the trait that energizes and ignites all the others – courage.  

Good salespeople are not good talkers.  Rather, they are good listeners, good thinkers, and hard workers.  Good talkers generally make mediocre sales people.  

In this sixth of a series on the character traits of great business leaders, I identify one that might be surprising, yet is incredibly powerful – humility. Humility is often misunderstood.  In this podcast, I describe it, and show how it is a powerful leadership trait.  

Over my 35 years of helping B2B sales forces to sell better, I have noticed a certain set of beliefs that crop up pretty regularly.  These are unquestioned beliefs that serve to hinder a salesperson's performance.  This is the second in a series where I expose those beliefs:  Good salespeople are good problem solvers.

Great business leaders exhibit many of the same character traits.  Here's number five in the series describing the top character traits of great business leaders – integrity.  It is both good morals as well as good business.  See how you measure up.

Over my 30 years of experience working with B2B salespeople, I have discovered that there are certain common beliefs that most sales people never question, and yet which hinder their performance.  In this first of series, I identify and discuss one of the most common:  "I must believe in a product in order to sell it."

Sometimes it is so frustrating.  You know you have a better product than that which your prospect is currently using. Your price is attractive, your service is outstanding.  If the prospect would switch to your solution, you know they'd be delighted.  You'd save them money, smooth out their processes, reduce their inventory and generally make their life simpler.         So, why won't they switch? ...

The best business leaders have acquired a similar set of skills.  Without this set of character traits, it is difficult to lead a growing organization.  In this series, I uncover a key set of character traits for great business leaders.  This is number four – Unwavering self-control.

The sales profession is replete with myths that salespeople tell themselves, and then believe, that hinder their performance.  This is the first of series on these myths.  In this piece, we look at the idea that "I have great relationships with my customers."

Great leaders have a number of character traits in common. This is the third in a series of articles dealing with the set of character traits that great business leaders exhibit – A continuous quest for MORE.  

We've all seen the contestants on American Idol – some of which are horribly self-deluded.  They think they have talent when they don't.  Unfortunately, that trait of self-delusion is common among more than American Idol contestants.  Join with me as I dig into this issue and see to what degree you may be suffering from it.

In this session, I respond to two questions from salespeople:  One has to do with the idea of 'finesse' and the other on methods to insure that you get the 'last look.'  My advise may not be what you were expecting.

More important than the business model in the long-term success of a business is the character of the CEO.  In this series, I describe the top qualities of character that mark the successful business leaders.  This is number two – the ability and propensity to learn.  

Effective salespeople think about what they do before they do it.  That's called planning. And, good planning requires disciplines and routines.  In this podcast, I unveil a planning process that has focused and energized thousands of B2B salespeople.

Great business leaders invariably exhibit the same qualities of character. In this first of series, I look at the qualities of character that mark great leaders, with a deep dive into the first:  An unshakeable work ethic.

This is my answer to a question submitted by a sales manager:  How many sales calls should a salesperson make? The answer may surprise you.

Every profession produces a set of best practices.  Despite the excuses we make for ourselves, what is true for every other profession is also true for sales.  There are best practices for salespeople and the best salespeople study them, and embed them into their routines.  

It is the information age, and effective sales people and sales organizations understand the value of collecting good information about their prospects and customers.  Good information leads to good decisions.  Sales Potential is one often neglected piece of information that every sales person needs to collect.

B2b sales is long-term endeavor. Some accounts take years to develop, and some buyer-seller relationships last for decades.  Investing in a long-term reputation is, then, a wise choice.  Here's one of the best things to do to build that reputation.