The Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast with Mike Weinberg

Isn't conducting professional, effective sales calls one of the main responsibilities of a being a salesperson? After all, the word sales is in the job title. If there's one thing a "salesperson" should be able to do well, it's to conduct a sales call! Therefore, isn't it then incumbent upon sales managers to ensure that their people are indeed proficient at this essential skill? In Episode 61 Mik...

While preparing to kick off a new engagement to help selling-sales leaders (player/coaches who are both producers and team leaders) increase sales management effectiveness, it hit Mike that the challenges these leaders face on a daily basis are almost identical to what new managers face when transitioning from individual contributor roles into team leaders. In this episode, Mike unpacks three big...

This is an episode like no other. It's launch day for Mike's new book and you can hear the excitement in his voice! Proclaiming with a smile that this book took 34 years to write, he remarks how odd it sounded hearing these words come out of his mouth in a recent interview: "This is my very best book." Unprepared for the interviewer's follow-up asking why he felt this way, Mike gave this unrehears...

Episode 58 kicks off an exciting series around the launch of Mike's newest book!   While the publisher asked Mike to write The First-Time Manager: Sales specifically for newer (and aspiring) managers, every. single. executive. who read an advance copy commented that it's a must-read for experienced leaders too … Fresh perspectives and fresh stories from the field, along with simplified frameworks...

As promised, in Episode 57 Mike wraps up the series on the Common Sales Leadership Sins Damaging Culture and Diminishing Results with a giant exclamation mark! Tune-in for the #1 reason salespeople and sales teams are not bringing in more new business and Mike's strong words of warning for sales leaders who "allow" sellers to lose sight of their primary job (and some executives who actually "encou...

As we near the conclusion of this series covering common sales leadership sins, Mike tackles two biggies in Episode 56:  Anti-Sales Cultures and Searching for the Secret Sauce. Years ago, Mike asked the CEO of the company with the healthiest sales culture he'd ever observed for his secret. This CEO replied, "Everything flows from culture" and went on to declare that their sales culture was, in fac...

Continuing this series tackling common sales leadership sins, Mike challenges us to pull back the covers and take a hard look at ALL the things we are asking our salespeople to do. He also makes the strong case that it's really hard to win big in sales management when you have the wrong people in the wrong roles. Beware: Mike does not hold back putting HR people and executives on the stand asking...

In Episode 54 Mike continues the series on Common Sales Leadership Sins, and this time he touches the "third rail" — compensation!   If you have complacent salespeople, Mike argues that the very first place to look is at the compensation plan... And he claims to be the very first person to discover and publicly declare that   the words COMPensation and COMPlacency start with the same four letters!...

In Episode 53 Mike resumes the series on Common Sales Leadership Sins by tackling two biggies: 1. Desk (and CRM/screen) Jockey Sales Management 2. Not coaching and mentoring salespeople Prepare to be challenged about your priorities as Mike asks you to open your calendars for a time (and gut) check on whether there is enough evidence to convict you of being a people-development-focused sales leade...

In Episode 52 Mike takes a break from the current series on sales leadership sins to host fellow St. Louisan and sales rockstar, Carson Heady. Carson is a managing director in Microsoft's US Health Solutions business and was a highly decorated, multi-year award winning salesperson and Microsoft's Social Selling Lead prior to taking on his current leadership assignment.   Carson self-describes as p...

This fun episode combines management takeaways from Mike's first visit to Augusta National and the continuation of the current series covering sales leadership sins that damage culture and diminish results. Mike happily declares that the Masters lived up to all the hype and he shares a few observations processed through a sales and sales management lens… Overdeliver. Go the extra mile and give cus...

In Episode 50, Mike vents his frustration about senior executives who have lost sight of the sales manager's primary job as he continues this series tackling The Unlucky 13 Sales Leadership   Sins That Damage Culture and Diminish Results. Sin #3:  IT'S REALLY HARD TO LEAD THE SALES TEAM WHEN YOU'RE BURIED IN CRAP! Too many sales leaders are losing too much of their valuable time getting dragged in...

Mike begins Episode 49 sharing the pain from a recent lost deal that he really wanted along with the lessons learned from the experience. He takes this opportunity to remind listeners of the importance of doing a  post-mortem analysis and that winners take ownership of the outcome (exhibiting internal locus of control) instead of playing the victim and blaming others and circumstances when they lo...

Mike recorded Episode 48 from a hotel during a crazy travel streak between sales kickoff meetings and the most recent Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event.    In this long overdue episode, Mike pokes fun at the "bandwagon jumpers" in the sales improvement space who are once again (looking for "likes" and "clicks") predicting the death of sales, this time due to ChatGBT. He references this  Link...

Mike is concerned that one month into the new year too many sales teams have not nailed down their strategic, finite target account lists. Too many supposed sales hunters are operating on autopilot while an abundance of account managers are simply doing the "milk run" in territory caretaker and maintenance mode! In Episode 47 Mike shares why Selecting Targets is the very first piece of his New Sal...

Episode 46 features one of Mike's all-time favorite senior sales executives.  Dennis Sorenson is a seasoned global sales leader with a reputation for building high-performance teams. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Revenue and Sales at Alegeus and Mike claims that no client has stretched or challenged him more than Dennis. Listen as Dennis drops gem after gem offering… His sale...

In Episode 45 Mike puts the wraps on 2022, shares highlights, stats, reflections, and frustrations from a fantastic year, while challenging sales leaders to… Celebrate significant victories  Identify the time and energy "draculas" sucking the life out of them and stealing their passion and productivity Articulate two BIG business goals for 2023 and tie significant rewards to achieving those goals...

Mike tackles two topics in Episode 44 inspired by sessions he led this past week.   1. Your Sellers' "Why" and Motivation to Sell Matter — a lot Mike shares his dad's powerful advice that has served as the foundation for his successful sales career. He also addresses the significant mental and emotional baggage that hinders hesitant sellers from proactively pursuing prospects, pushing past resista...

Sales team meetings don't have to be drudgery for the sales leader or salespeople, and they shouldn't be painful and unproductive either! In Episode 43, Mike… Reminds leaders of the purpose and impact of great team meetings   Rants about the most common sales meeting sins Challenges sales managers that if you cannot answer this question with an emphatic "yes" then something needs to change quickly...

The feedback and appreciation for Mike's recent special web session: "Boom Times or Bust - The 5 Keys to Winning More New Sales" has been so positive, it prompted him to share the full recording with podcast listeners. In this audio recording, Mike… Explains what he is seeing that prompted him to offer this session Cautions sellers and sales leaders to beware of fads and bandwagon jumpers in the s...

While waiting for a connecting flight at Chicago O'Hare last week, Mike dialed in for an impromptu Q&A session with a sales team going through the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series. That Q&A evolved into an impactful coaching conversation around overcoming a prospect's resistance to meeting in-person. In this episode, Mike recaps three powerful tips for securing the meeting after the co...

While observing the launch of Jeb Blount's brand new bestseller , Mike sensed something different. Just seeing the fun Jeb was having promoting Selling in a Crisis , and enjoying the excited reaction from so many sellers and sales influencers, Mike texted Jeb with a crazy question:   "Jeb, I'm seeing the reaction to the book from sellers and influencers.   The timing is absolutely perfect as my cl...

Mike provoked the sales leaders gathered at the Sales Execution Simplified event in London with this statement that generated a healthy dialogue in the room:   Struggling salespeople (who are neither hitting their sales numbers nor maintaining a healthy pipeline) should have a feeling of discomfort as they leave their 1:1 accountability meeting! In this short episode recorded in Belfast, Mike shar...

Episode 38 is a must listen for every sales leader - veteran, new, or aspiring.   Mike continues the powerful conversation with super impressive new sales leader Drew Ellis as they cover Drew's transition from top-producing individual contributor into leadership. Hear how Drew… Built frameworks for leading his team before he even had the job Hired for culture, grit, and fit Was secure enough to br...

In this powerful episode Mike hosts impressive sales leader Drew Ellis, a mid-market vice president for SAP.   Drew is the very first guest whom Mike did not know personally to be invited on the show.   Their new relationship started with a LinkedIn message thanking Mike for Sales Management. Simplified . The online dialogue led to a Zoom meeting where Drew shared the trajectory of his sales, and...