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 customers/prospects/patrons more than they expect
• Professionals prepare and practice – like professionals
• Don’t count out the old guy as a worthy competitor
• Winners don’t whine about circumstances or the “luck of the draw”
• EQ and likability matter

While tackling Common Sales Leadership Sin #4 (Lack of Accountability), sales managers are reminded in a not-so-subtle fashion that their single most important job is ensuring that their people do their jobs!  Mike unpacks a handful of reasons that managers struggle to hold sellers accountable and goes further declaring that ignoring underperformance is akin to sales management malpractice.

Resources to help upgrade accountability mentioned in this episode:

1. Download the free guide, “The Fastest Way to Increase Accountability, Reduce Complacency, and Create a High-Performance Culture” from mikeweinberg.com and link to a 15-minute video from that free PDF
2. Read Chapter 20 in Sales Management. Simplified. (buy on Amazon here)
3. Listen to Episode 9  

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This episode is sponsored by Mike’s least expensive, shortest, and most focused online course—YOUR SALES STORY.  Sharpening your sales story is the fastest way increase a salesperson's or sales team’s confidence and effectiveness and this week only (through May 3rd) the course is 40% of the regular price. Learn more at mikeweinberg.com/your-sales-story/

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 into meetings, digging out from under an obscene amount of email, and being diverted and distracted from their primary job — and the consequences for sales are devastating.

Listen in as Mike addresses this common challenge and offers practical tips to help sales leaders unbury themselves (and redeploy that time on the precious few highest-payoff activities that truly move the needle on culture and results).

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 lose. 

This episode also kicks off a new series reviewing The Unlucky 13 Sales Leadership Sins That Damage Culture and Diminish Results and Mike unpacks the first two of these common challenges:

1. Poor Goals and Results Focus
2. Unclear Strategy and Direction
3. Managers Buried in Crap
4. Lack of Accountability
5. Desk/CRM Jockey Sales Management and “Leading” via Email
6. Not Coaching and Mentoring Salespeople
7. Sales Leader Playing Sales Team Hero
8. Unhelpful Compensation Plans
9. Wrong People in the Wrong Roles
10. Painful, Unproductive Sales Team Meetings
11. Allowing Salespeople to Live in Reactive Mode and Forget Their Primary Job
12. An Anti-Sales Culture
13. Searching for Shortcuts or the Secret Sauce=

As Mike suggests, put your defense shield down, check your ego, and take a look in the mirror to see which of these very common sales leadership sins may be getting in the way of you having the culture and results you desire for your sales team.

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Reminder: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event takes place May 3rd at The Porsche Experience Center adjacent to the Atlanta Airport. All previous ten events have sold out. Get more info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 to join Mike and 50 driven sales leaders for this powerful experience!

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 LinkedIn post where he expresses his skepticism and reminds sellers and sales leaders that these very same people were proclaiming that AI would kill our profession five years ago!   Inspired by his preparation for a workshop he was leading for a favorite client’s kickoff meeting, Mike also shares his take on why so many sales calls and presentations fall flat and offers up his favorite trick to help salespeople radically power-up their presentations. Learn how the magic in “Slide 4” can transform the dynamic in the room, and how your seller, solution, and company are all perceived.   ________________________________________________   Reminder: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event takes place May 3rd at The Porsche Experience Center adjacent to the Atlanta Airport. All previous ten events have sold out. Get more info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 to join Mike and 50 driven sales leaders for this powerful experience!

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 Sales Driver Framework and he challenges sellers and sales leaders to declare  which target accounts (growable existing customers and ideal profile prospects) they are committed to proactively pursuing to develop new business.

Listen as Mike unpacks the four characteristics of a great target list:

1. Strategic
2. Finite
3. Focused
4. Written (yes, written or printed!)

 

To WIN MORE NEW SALES, sales leaders must get salespeople out of reactive mode waiting for leads and opportunities to chase and get them PROACTIVELY pursuing named target customers and prospects!

Posts mentioned in this episode:

Where Is Your Strategic, Finite Target Account List?

Mike’s post honoring his step-grandfather, Ed Davidheiser

Unpacking the 5 Foundational Keys to Winning More New Sales

 

NEW EVENT DATE ANNOUNCED:

With the February 28th session now sold out, we are excited to announce the next SUPERCHARGE YOUR SALES LEADERSHIP dates:

The next one-day intensive will be Wednesday, May 3rd with May 4th as the VIP Day that includes VIP Q&A, private lunch with Mike and the Porsche Driving Experience on the track!

More info and register at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023

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 sales management secret for effectively “managing up” and how to keep your executive boss from distracting and derailing you 
• That consistency is one of the most underrated characteristics of great leaders
• His 4 P’s when it comes to coaching sellers for big sales calls and presentations (Plan, Prepare, Practice, Play)
• 3 F’s for leading the team through tough times (Filter negativity, Focus on what you can control, and stick to the Fundamentals) 

Dennis and Mike also address the move from individual contributor into sales management and point out…

• The positives and pitfalls when a salesperson gets promoted to lead the team they were a part of
• How (counterintuitively) new managers must slow down to speed up their ramp up!
• The transition from winning on your own to winning through your people

Mike’s favorite response came when he asked how Dennis found/made time for so many 1:1 conversations with individuals at every level of the sales organization:

“The number one thing on my list as a sales leader is talent. If I don’t make time to find, attract, and bring in great talent, and take the talent that I have and develop that talent, then I’m not doing my job.”

Links:

February 28th, Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Event:  mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023

Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort:  mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

Previous Episode featuring Dennis Sorenson: https://mikeweinberg.com/podcast/episode8

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
• Become more selfishly productive by better time-blocking high-payoff sales management activities
• Provide better support to drive even more production from their A-Players
• Quickly coach-up (or coach-out) underperformers

  Mike offers leaders two powerful opportunities to maximize sales management effectiveness for 2023 — one is lower cost, lower commitment (mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023) and the other is longer-term and includes ongoing support (mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort)   Thank you for making the Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast a success in 2022. Here’s to GREAT SALES LEADERSHIP and your team winning MORE NEW SALES in the new year!

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 resistance, and persistently following-up. When we understand “why” we sell and view ourselves as professional problem solvers instead of as pests, everything changes! Hear the strong message Mike delivered to help get a sales teams’ heads and heart in the right place so their motivation to sell is pure and honorable!

2. Reflect, Reset, Refocus to End & Start the Year Right

During a session with the sales leadership cohort, Mike and the members discussed the importance of “seasons” in life and the unique opportunity that year-end/new year presents for leaders with their teams. Let’s not miss the chance celebrate major accomplishments, personal growth, and for some, even just surviving a crazy year. It’s also the perfect time to ask thoughtful questions about what worked well this past year that your people should repeat, and alternatively, what strategies and approaches didn’t work so we don’t live out the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result! Take advantage of this season to help your team (and yourself) reset and refocus to begin the new year with energy, excitement, and a plan to win.

Get more info on the sales leadership coaching cohort here:  mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

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TWO EARLY 2023 DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SALES LEADERS

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events are back and the first one is scheduled for February 28 at the Porsche Experience Center adjacent to Atlanta Airport. Join 50 driven sales leader colleagues and Mike for this powerful 1-day intensive or 2-day VIP experience. INFO & REGISTER at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 

The first Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort of 2023 will start in late January. This comprehensive 6-month program is limited to 12 sales leaders. If you are ready to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader and your team’s results, and would benefit from coaching, community, care, and proven, powerful content, get more info and schedule an exploratory conversation at mikeweinberg.com/leadercohort

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:  Do your salespeople leave sales team meetings with more energy and better equipped to sell than when the meeting began?
•  
• Unpacks several suggested agenda topics that will radically increase the impact of your team meetings
• Reveals the secret to turn “role play” from something awkward and cringeworthy into the important practice session it should be

Take a listen and learn to “give the work away,” create more interaction and more value for your salespeople so they leave team meetings more energized and better equipped to sell than ever.

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JUST ANNOUNCED – TWO EARLY 2023 DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR SALES LEADERS

Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events are back and the first one is scheduled for February 28 at the Porsche Experience Center adjacent to Atlanta Airport. Join 50 driven sales leader colleagues and Mike for this powerful 1-day intensive or 2-day VIP experience. INFO & REGISTER at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2023 

 

The first Sales Leadership Coaching Cohort of 2023 will start in late January. This comprehensive 6-month program is limited to 12 sales leaders. If you are ready to maximize your effectiveness as a sales leader and your team’s results, and would benefit from coaching, community, care, and proven, powerful content, get more info and schedule an exploratory conversation at mikeweinberg.com/cohortinfo  

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 sales improvement space
• Shares his confusion about a giant company that asked him to propose a virtual selling training program 
• Unpacks five foundational keys for a successful new business development focused sales attack (regardless of economic conditions)
• Announces the once-per-year limited offer for the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series

If you prefer to watch the video recording (which incorporates the slides Mike used for the special web session), visit the episode page:  mikeweinberg.com/episode42 

And if you would like to set yourself or your sales team up to maximize sales in 2023, take advantage of the limited-time offer on the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series (including special packages for sales leaders who purchase access for their teams).