The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast

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, th...

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...

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...

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 compet...

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 thei...

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 mot...

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 c...

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 s...

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...

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 taugh...

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 fur...

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-verba...

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 differe...

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 q...

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 busines...

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 p...

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, 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 the...

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 busine...

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...

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...

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 force...

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...

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 facto...

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...