Practical Wisdom from Kahle Way Sales Systems

      When something needs fixing – a process, a person, a piece of hardware or software, -- we often seek to fix the problem and bring that thing back to where it was before we became aware of the problem. In other words, we seek to restore the previous status quo.   But what if that isn't the best idea? Join with me as we unpack this concept – one of the 25 most important lessons I've learned. *...

Sales managers are the glue that hold sales forces together. Yet, they are often the least trained of any job title in the world of sales.     Let's do a deep dive in how important they really are. *********************************************************************        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an immed...

We have learned to immediately react to   a problem by trying to fix it. But what if, in our rapidly changing world, fixing a problem isn't the wisest reaction?   Let's explore another possibility.           Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an immediate impact on your sales performance.           Dave is a B2B sale...

We often get so caught up in the details of a sale and quantity of transactions that we fail to regard the value of our customers.   Sales is about people, not money. By putting an economic value to every customer it lifts them up in our radar screen and provides important information to help make decisions about sales and finances. In this article, I'll show you how.    Dave Kahle's goal is to pr...

For 30 years I've been training B2B sales forces to sell better. I've made some observations about the 25 most important lessons I've learned.   In this post, I will describe one of them:   Most people don't think deeply.   Join with me as I unpack this.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an immediate impact o...

       Almost every B2B sales organization has a Primary Sales Obstacle – one place in their sales efforts where some improvement will make a disproportionately large impact on sales.   In this post, I describe the reasons why the obstacle exists, identify the most common obstacles for three different business models, and offer solutions to each.     ***********************************************...

      Too many salespeople make the same mistakes repeatedly in their sales presentations. Unfortunately, most are not aware of those mistakes – they just don't know what they don't know. In this podcast, we uncover the three most common mistakes and offer solutions to them.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make...

If we chose to, we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.   Within every failure there is the seed of a lesson well learned, of a solid character trait emerging. It is our failures that contribute most intensely to our development. Let's unpack this.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an i...

        It's human nature to resist change.   But, in our rapidly changing times, mindlessly grasping onto the status quo can lead to mediocrity.   If we are going to survive and thrive in these times, we need to relentlessly examine our hold on the way things have been and consider better approaches.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical acti...

There is a powerful strategy that most B2B salespeople, and B2B organizations, ignore. That's too bad, because it is one of the most powerful ways to build long-term positive relationships. Let me show you how to   leverage satisfaction.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an immediate impact on your sales perf...

Snippets are powerful tools for a professional salesperson. You can use them in multiple places in the sales process, improving every piece.   This article examines the what's how's and why's of using snippets.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small businesspeople with practical actionable ideas that can make an immediate impact on your sales performance.           Dave is...

      We've all done it.   Promoted a good salesperson, often our best, to sales manager.   My files are full of cases where the results were below expectations for everyone involved.   Principals and CSOs are often disappointed in the lack of results, and the sales managers are confused and frustrated with the lack of achievement of their teams. ***************************************************...

        "I have great relationships with my customers."   That is one of the most debilitating myths around -- one that cripples the performance of the average corporate salesperson.   Yet, it is endemic within the population of salespeople.   I am not sure that there is a salesperson anywhere who doesn't, to some extent, believe it.   Let's look a little deeper at the belief and its consequences....

      There is a great lesson for businesspeople in the struggles of contestants on American Idol and Sha k Tank. .There is a fine line between perseverance and self-delusion. Understanding that difference can make a huge difference in a life and a business.   Here are some tips on making the distinction.        Dave Kahle's goal is to provide sales leaders and small business people with practical...

        A question from a sales manager:  "Here's an issue that I confront with my salespeople all of the time.   They are afraid to press for the next step, because they don't want to experience the rejection of hearing a "NO."   So, they try to keep the sale alive by not asking for resolution.   This keeps them involved with customers who aren't interested and prevents them from moving on.   Any...

There are a lot of misconceptions about sales and what constitutes a good sales call.   Whether you are a professional salesperson, or you find yourself in a situation where you must convince people to do business with you – say a solopreneur, or small business person   -- you need to manage a good sales call.   In this podcast, I present a couple of easy to remember principles   and a simple stru...

Review my answer to this question :   Here's a question about best practices for B2B sales and sales leadership that I struggle with almost daily.  I'm definitely known for having very high expectations that aren't so easy to meet.  I wondered if you could elaborate on what strategies you have seen succeed regarding this, because while I'm sure open to changing my attitude, I'm not thrilled with l...

      Do great B2B sales people, regardless of what they sell, have any practices in common?   In other words, do the best sales people all sell the same way? And, can we learn from them?   Dig into this issue and develop a plan to enhance your career.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 states and 11 countri...

Over my career as a sales expert, I've personally and contractually worked with over 500 sales organizations. I've learned some things.   Here's one:   Very few chief sales officers have a good handle on the economics of the sales force.   And very few entrepreneurs think about the economics of a sales system.           Almost everyone can tell you what the amounts of the various categories on a P...

         Sales leaders who don't have the ability to direct their sales force are at a strategic disadvantage.   It's hard to grow a successful business if the salespeople won't take direction.   In this post, we explore that and offer a solution.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 states and 11 countries an...

     There have been hundreds of books written about sales, each trying to make a case for their particular nomenclature. Yet, at the most basic level, sales is a relatively simple process.   In this excerpt from one of my books, I share the simple sales process.          Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 states a...

     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.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 states and 11 countries and worked with over 500 sales organizations.   In these ten-minute podcasts, his unique blend of out-of...

      Probably the most common sales process in the B2B world is 'creating a client".   That's my terminology for influencing a customer to buy routinely and repeatedly from you.   Every organization and every salesperson can do it better.   Here's some insights on how to.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47...

The decision about who to hire for a sales position is one of the riskiest and potentially costly decisions a sales manager will make. Over my 30 years as a sales consultant, I've learned some lessons.     Here are some of the best practices to help you make it better.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christian Business thought leader.   He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 stat...

      Most conversations about improving a sales team's productivity center around the salespeople.   At the same time, it is just as effective to refine your sales system's structure.   In my 30 years of   sales consulting, I've found that the quickest way to improved sales is through refining the structure. Join with me to unpack this idea.        Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert, and a Christia...