The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast

One of the joys of being in the podcasting space is the opportunity to have conversations with exceptional people, and today I had the privilege of speaking with Holly Procter. Holly is the SVP-Global Head of Sales at Clari, is a very passionate sales leader, is dedicated to creating an environment within her business for her sales team to thrive, and is a wonderful example of an exceptional sales...

As humans, we are all a work in progress, and this is especially true for sales leaders. We should be constantly developing and improving, which begs the question – ‘who is your mentor?’, and ‘who are you mentoring?’ In today’s episode, I explore the power of mentoring and provide some insights to consider when entering into a mentoring relationship.

One of the inevitable things in business and in life is that change will continue, and if anything, it will continue to accelerate. Which means that as leaders we must focus on building an exceptional level of emotional intelligence, so that we can successfully lead our team through whatever change we are confronting. Such an important topic.

As we approach the end of the year, many sales leaders are now amping up the pressure on their teams like never before to create miracles by December 31st. Whether it is the end of the quarter or the end of the Financial Year, the forensic focus on cadence, pipeline and qualified opportunities goes into overdrive. I remember the cadence meetings back when I was leading sales teams – what wou...

James & I have received great feedback on this episode and a few requests to upload a cut down version of the hour long episode we recorded in early November. So here is the ‘re-cut’. As sales leaders, we intrinsically understand the importance of recognising the different personal and behavioural styles of our team, so that we can unleash their potential and drive sustainable resu...

The power of storytelling can never be underestimated. For centuries, people have been educating and influencing others through sharing stories, and interestingly, when we feel as if we are placed inside the story, our ability to recall information and in many cases, take affirmative action, increases. Which begs the question – why aren’t more salespeople utilising the power of stories...

When we look at great leaders, they have a high level of emotional intelligence, especially around self awareness, self management and social awareness. They are also very intentional with their actions and their words, ensuring that they match. They want to cast a long leadership shadow. As a leader, what leadership shadow are you casting?

Over 100 years ago, James Allen wrote the incredible book ‘As A Man Thinketh’ and in it he described the principle that we become who we think about. It was perhaps one of the first personal development books that delved into the power of mindset, attitude and emotional intelligence. The principle is still true today as it was over 100 years ago, and as leaders we must be constantly vigilant over...

One thing I have learned over my life is the amount of negotiating we do – whether it be negotiating multi million dollar deals in our business, to buying a car or a tv, even negotiating with our partner and children. We are always negotiating. Some of us do this really well, and many of us don’t. In today’s podcast, I share 5 different negotiation styles we must be aware of, as...

The vast majority of sustainably successful businesses did not begin their journey with success. There was much hard work, experimentation, challenges and obstacles, not to mention growth pains, and often the founder or CEO of the business poured their blood, sweat and tears into the business, determined to make it a successful venture. And often, despite the best intentions of the CEO or the foun...

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 7 years, unfortunately nothing much has changed. The pressure to hit the number is all consuming...

If you have been listening to the podcast for a while, you know that I love facilitation – I love helping leaders and their teams unleash their potential. And often when I am facilitating, I am asked the question around preparation, and how much preparation I do. It is an interesting question, and not just limited to facilitation. As a leader, how much preparation do you do for sales meeting...

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...

Over the last 3 days, I had the privilege of working with a group of phenomenal people who are committed to their professional development, running a 3 day Train The Trainer program. I always love running these programs, especially when the people in the program are so passionate about their craft – we get to jump down rabbit holes and really explore concepts of training and facilitation tha...

What legacy are you creating? It is a question that very few people tend to ask themselves, especially when they are caught up in the busyness of ‘doing’. Late last week our family bid farewell to an incredible man – my Uncle Alan. A man who very much lived the words of Abraham Lincoln – ‘ In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years ’. He passed...

Working full time in professional development and leadership over the last 7 years, I have had the privilege of working with a massive variety of teams and their leaders, across multiple industries and countries. What has always intrigued me is what inspires leaders and their teams to become exceptional. You notice I didn’t say ‘motivates’.  Last week was another example – working with some...

As sales leaders, we intrinsically understand the importance of recognising the different personal and behavioural styles of our team, so that we can unleash their potential and drive sustainable results. What has not been as obvious or front of mind is what our own sales leadership style is, where our strengths lie, where risks may exist and where we could develop so that our potential as sales l...

For years and years, the sales profession has been labelled as a profession suited to extroverts, with the ‘typical’ salesperson being one who has the ability to prospect and knock on doors without the fear of rejection, to be energetic and boisterous, capable of talking to any prospect & any customer, and closing deals. Not many look at sales and introversion and believe those 2 w...

A fascinating conversation on today’s episode where I had the privilege of speaking with Rene Zamora. Rene is the Founder and Director of Sales Manager Now, a Fractional Sales Management organisation that works with small to medium businesses, and provides part time sales management services. Many smaller businesses struggle with growing their business through dedicated sales people, and pos...

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...

As a leader, are you playing to your strengths? Can you identify your strengths? If we asked your team to identify your strengths, how would they go? Just finished facilitating a workshop with a great group of leaders, where we explored strengths and how important it is for us as leaders to identify our signature strengths, and then operate according to them. When we do this, the team becomes more...

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...

As leaders, we can often place ourselves under immense pressure to get things right, and when that doesn’t happen, we can react in highly emotional ways, sometimes losing it! I used to be the poster child for this strategy, reacting to situations in a highly emotional and highly dysfunctional manner, until I realised, thanks to some great mentors, that this approach was not helpful. We must...

Often when we hear the words ‘sales’ & ‘love’, there can be a mix of emotions and a great variety of reactions. Why? Because when you ask the vast majority of people what their perception is about sales, the word ‘love’ very rarely, if ever, comes up. However, when we analyse some of the world’s most successful influencers and salespeople, ‘love&...

In today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with John Foong, a phenomenal sales leader, who is making a big impact. John has worked for some of the world’s biggest organisations, including McKinsey, Google, Uber, and now is the Chief Revenue Officer at Domain Group, Australia’s leading property marketplace. John considers himself an accidental sales leader, but has also d...