Sales Blog

Practical insights to help you lead your sales team with confidence.

Browse articles on sales leadership, hiring, management systems, team performance, and the real challenges small businesses face. Each post is grounded in the work we’ve done with teams just like yours.

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8 topics across 115 articles

Showing 1–12 of 115 in all topics

Sales Management
A Week in the Life of a Fractional Sales Manager
One of the first questions owners ask me is surprisingly simple.
Hiring
Interim vs. Fractional Sales Manager: Which One Does Your Business Need Right Now?
I don’t know if this is you, but quite often a search for an interim or fractional sales manager starts with a conversation you weren’t expecting.
Fractional Sales Leadership
The Accidental Sales Manager: How to Manage a Sales Team You Never Planned to Run
If you’re a business owner searching for how to manage a sales team , there’s a good chance you never intended to become the sales manager. In fact […]
Sales Recruitment and Hiring Coaching
It is usually an owner or existing sales manager who recieves the Sales Recruitment and Hiring Coaching. It is our
Selling Skills
Letter of Understanding – Build Trust with Customers and Prospects
What is the Purpose of a Letter of Understanding? The purpose of a Letter of Understanding is to confirm a […]
Selling Skills
What is Fractional Sales Management?
Our firm began practicing fractional sales management in early 2006, and nearly 20 years later, in 2025, we have continued
Sales Job Description Example Business Account Manager
ob title: Business Account ManagerReports to: Sales Manager The Business Account Manager is responsible for the marketing and sale of […]
Hiring
The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Sales Manager: A Step-by-Step Process for Business Owners
Winning sales teams rarely arise by accident or luck; they are built by hiring well and developing your salespeople. For
Hiring
Should You Hire a Full-Time or Part-Time Sales Manager?
Ten years ago, searching for a part-time sales manager was not as straightforward or desirable as it is today. Additionally,
Is Fractional Sales Leadership Right for Your Business?
Exploring Fractional Sales Leadership If your business has made it past the ten-year mark, it wouldn’t be uncommon for you
Selling Skills
Eleven Winning Sales Manager Responsibilities in Small Business
This article is designed to provide small business owners with eleven sales manager responsibilities that will support the manager in
Sales Management
What Is Outsourced Sales Management?
Traditional Outsourced Sales Management is most often delivered in one of two models, a complete department model or management only.
Hiring
Consider a Fractional Sales Leader When Running on EOS®
In 2019, I was introduced to EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, while working as a Fractional Sales Leader with a client.
Sales Management
6 Reasons Accountability is Missing in a Sales Team
If accountability is missing with your sales team, it’s important to understand that most salespeople are fine with being accountable. […]
Sales Management
8 Reasons Sales Teams Resist CRM Implementation
To have the sales accountability most companies strive for requires a reporting system that measures and monitors the KPIs and […]
Fractional Sales Leadership
Accountable Sales Environments Require Clear Expectations
When accountability is lacking in a sales team, many leaders will resort to micromanagement and mistrust. However, this is the
Sales Management
Success Through Failure
Are you protecting your sales team from failure or disappointment so they won’t get discouraged or quit? If so, you
Mindset & Motivation
Meeting and Exceeding Goals
Between setting goals and attaining them lives a mindset that will increase or decrease your chances of meeting and exceeding goals.
Sales Management
Four Sales-Leadership Killers
As a sales leader we make decisions on how to respond, act and behave based on what we see or
Sales Management
Sales Initiative Implementation Traps
I want to discuss two sales initiative implementation traps you can get into when you’re implementing a new sales initiative.
Sales Management
Be A Change Agent
Change is Inevitable, Simple, But Not Easy. For salespeople, to change is no different for us than anyone else. It’s
Sales Management
Use Sales-Team Guidelines to Reduce Conflict & Uncertainty
Let’s talk about creating sales-team guidelines so that you can reduce uncertainty, frustration and sales-team conflict. When rules have been
Sales Management
The Part-Time Sales Management Assessment
The Part-Time Sales Management Assessment is designed for those who carry many responsibilities including your sales management role. It’s the
Fractional Sales Leadership
Sales Meetings Can Rock With The Right Rhythm Video
Sales Meetings can rock with the right rhythm and when you know the beat, melody, and lyrics to a song,
Sales Management
7 Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills Video
If we want to help and support our sales teams to be more accountable and self manage we need to
Sales Management
The Eternal Motivator Video
Motivating others comes easy for some and can be more challenging for others. But there are moments we can provide
Sales Management
Use a Sales Dashboard to Track Sales Activity Video
In today’s Sales Leadership Quick Tip video, we’re going to be talking about sales dashboards. A sales dashboard is a mirror
Sales Management
The Power in Asking One More Question Video
As leaders, it’s easy to share advice, solve problems or give directions. But if you want to spend less time
Sales Management
4 Tips for Effective Sales Activity Video
Working hard is a good thing..IF..it’s combined with working smart. You can help your sales team get the most out
Sales Management
Be Responsible To, Not For Your Sales Team Video
In this Sales Leadership Quick Tip video, I want to share the difference of being ‘responsible to’ your sales team […]
Sales Management
The Most Important Elements to Improve Sales Forecasting
We all want to increase sales. The benefit of sales forecasting is that it helps management determine and make new
Sales Management
Define the Role for the Right Fit Video
Hiring salespeople that are a good fit for your company’s role will free you up from having to constantly motivate
Selling Skills
No More Guessing
Guessing about others’ attitudes, motivations, or mindset is a waste of time. Listen how to remove guessing, false confidence, or
Sales Management
7 Steps for Creating an Orientation Plan Video
Onboarding Success Part 2 of 2 What should you include in your Sales Onboarding Orientation plan to get off to a […]
Sales Management
6 Keys to Onboarding Success, Part 1 Video
When you hire a new salesperson you only have one chance to get off to a fast start. Give it
Sales Management
3 Keys to Increase Trust Video
I want to share with you 3 keys to improve and increase the trust level you have with your sales
Sales Management
Risk Reward Principle For Designing a Sales Compensation Plan Video
Should I pay salary or commission? I have that question asked of me often. It will take some homework for
Sales Management
5 Qualities I Look for When Hiring A Sales Person Video
There are 5 qualities I look for when hiring a sales person. Do you have a list of qualities you
Sales Management
7 Keys to Leading a High Performing Sales Team Video
Consistent high sales production can help cure many issues at a business, just as low sales volumes can be the
Sales Management
The Benefits of Team Goals and Bonuses Video
In this Sales Leadership Quick Tip video, I want to share the benefits of team goals and bonuses and why […]
Selling Skills
9 Must-Haves to Attract and Keep Sales Talent Video
I want to share with you 9 must-haves to attract and keep sales talent that you really want. It isn’t
Sales Management
How to Do a Book Study With Your Sales Team Video
When you do a book study with your sales team you get a low cost, high return way to bring
Selling Skills
How to Interview a Sales Candidate
Here you are again. You have a sales opening to fill and you need to know how to interview a
Sales Management
Building Your Sales Culture Video
Most employees place personal value on the culture of their work environment and so building your sales culture can really
Sales Management
Wish Your Sales Team Pain Video
Do you want growth for your sales team? As a leader, we need to allow our sales team to experience
How to Facilitate Learning in Sales Meetings Video
In this Sales Leadership Quick Tip Video I share a personal experience where I learned that pushing content material and
Sales Management
“It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business” – The Godfather
recently read a blog post, The Peculiar Idol of Personal Opinion. Why do I bring this up on this blog
Selling Skills
6 Tips for Simple and Successful Planning
plan-ning (noun) : the act or process of making plans. Sometimes we need to go back to ‘Webster’ and look up what
Sales Management
Stay In Your Lane With These THREE Sales Leader’s Responsibilities
When a sales team is failing or results are inconsistent it’s easy for a sales leader’s responsibilities to be neglected and for the leader
Sales Management
CONVERSATIONS Increase Your Sales Influence
Communication is not just important but critical in any of our human relationships. Whether it be with family, in a
Sales Management
Develop A Sales Team with Three Questions
Holding a weekly sales meeting to develop a sales team is very important but keeping that meeting engaging and effective
Sales Management
Engage Your Sales Team By Upping Your Facilitation Game
The weekly sales meeting is the hub of the Part-Time Sales Management System. Most salespeople love to talk, so when […]
Selling Skills
Managing Sales Responsibilities Is Not Optional
I recently heard a speaker say that a lot of people are crazy busy. As salespeople, with all the “busy”
Sales Management
Changing Disliked Sales Behaviors
Increasing sales is what most of our clients want when they call us, but what goes unsaid is they hope
Customer Conflict Tool – Stop, Drop and Roll
Just about everyone is familiar with this simple fire safety technique. Most of us learned it in elementary school, but
Sales Management
Trust is Given Not Earned
Having the trust of people in our lives (work or personal) lays the foundation for those relationships to have and
Sales Management
Building a Loyal Sales Team
A loyal sales team is required if you want to realize sustained success with the least amount of effort. To
Sales Management
CRM Reviews and Recommendations
CRM Reviews for Small Business Sales Teams The CRMs we’ve chosen for our CRM Reviews were selected because we believe […]
Selling Skills
How to Pull Off a Sales Boost
Every now and then a boost in sales is called for. At times, you’re “feeling it”, and setting a new
Selling Strengths Can Work Against You
While recently leading a webinar I mentioned how creativity, which I consider one of many selling strengths, can work against me. […]
Sales Management
Is Your Sales Compensation Plan Working For You or Against You?
Remember when your parents would say, “You’ll understand the value of this when you grow up?” They were trying to […]
Sales Management
Sales Expectations: What Do You Expect of Your Sales Team?
How is your sales team doing at meeting your sales expectations? Are they hitting their goals, following the sales process,
Sales Management
Sales Team Meetings That Work
Sales team meetings can be dynamic, productive, engaging, and fun if you organize and lead them to this end. More […]
Hiring
Is Your Company Culture Attractive to Top Sales People?
Are you ready for sales growth through top performing sales talent? If so, it’s a good idea to examine your
Mindset & Motivation
High Return – Low Cost Sales Training
When I’m making a purchase I want the most out of the money I spend. Sometimes I’ll buy the most
Selling Skills
Who’s A Better Salesperson, You or Your Prospect?
Just for fun, imagine one of your prospects from a recent selling opportunity who has no sales experience is asked
Selling Skills
Meaningful Selling Conversations Don’t Happen by Accident
Do potential client/customers trust you? Of course they do, right? How do you really know? Most of us base this
Retrofit Your Sales Communication Tools
We sell in a time that has an abundance of sales communication tools at are our disposal. The more tech […]
Selling Skills
Make The Value Connection
Fractional Sales Leadership for Small Businesses—Stuck or Ready for More. The value that matters most in a sales conversation is
Sales Management
Desirable Sales Traits
It’s easy for me to write about sales people because I’m one myself. Being a salesperson provides me an insider’s
Selling Skills
Increasing Sales Can Begin With a Yellow Sticky
I remember when Angie joined our team. She was just out of college and eager to do her job well.
Sales Management
The Selling Skills Blueprint To Strengthen Your Sales Team
If you’re a salesperson, you’re usually measured on sales revenue or account additions. When you’re ahead of the game it
Sales Management
A Narrow Market Niche Can Lead to Preferred Sales and Profit
Most people will support the notion of having a narrow market niche as long as there is enough lead flow.
Selling Skills
Defining a Clear and Useful Sales Process
This article is an excerpt from our book, Part-Time Sales Management, For Small Business Sales Teams. Defining your sales process
Fractional Sales Leadership
You’re Paying Your Sales People HOW MUCH?
The HOW MUCH in this blog title could be describing overpayment or underpayment of your sales team. Where does your
Selling Skills
Purpose and Profit: A Balanced Sales Approach
Have you ever heard the phrase, “he has dollar signs in his eyes”? It means the buyer perceives the salesperson’s
Selling Skills
Quit Using Closing Techniques
My wife Carolyn, and I were discussing the topic of closing a sale. I said to her, “A salesperson doesn’t
Sales Management
How Do You Change Sales Underachievement to Overachievement?
Revenue’s down, sales goals aren’t being met, it’s classic sales underachievement and there’s one group to blame, right? Or is
Selling Skills
One Page Sales Proposal
I’d like to introduce you to an alternative approach to presenting and reviewing proposals with your prospective buyers. Picture the
Sales Management
Sales Plan – Work Smarter Not Just Harder
Sales Plan – Work Smarter Not Just Harder To plan or not to plan? Time to answer that question again.
Mindset & Motivation
How Committed Are You to Your Sales Goal?
When unforeseen obstacles and challenges present themselves during a year, the commitment you have to your sales goal will be
Sales Management
Recruiting Sales Reps in Tough Times
Recruiting Sales Reps in good economic times can be a difficult challenge for small business owners and managers, especially when
Selling Skills
Are You Being Referred to Decision Makers?
Are You Being Referred to Decision Makers?How successful are you at having your contacts make effective introductions to the right
Selling Skills
Qualifying Prospects Means Saying No to Hopeium
The definition of Hopeium is: “the irrational belief that, despite all evidence to the contrary, things will turn out for
Selling Skills
Sales Motivation Diagnosis
Sales Expectations: What Do You Expect of Your Sales Team? This article is a little different. In addition to the […]
Importance of a Sales Manager
Importance of a Sales Manager: Learn Why Sales Managers Are Important Why Is A Sales Manager Important? To understand the
Selling Skills
Selling Fundamentals
Service-Minded Selling Fundamentals This is a collection of the beliefs, practices, and skills to develop to sell from a Service-Minded
Process & Planning
High Pay-Off Activity
Service Minded Selling High Pay-off Activity The Service-Minded Sales Person will be focused on the activity they perform each day.
Selling Skills
Letter of Understanding
Letter of Understanding – Build Trust with Customers and Prospects What is the Purpose of a Letter of Understanding? The purpose
Sales Management
Motivating Salespeople
Motivating Salespeople When managing and motivating salespeople it’s important to understand what their motivating factors are. Understanding what they believe
Selling Skills
Prospecting
Small Business Sales Advice: Prospecting Conversations Service-Minded prospecting is not about making calls, it is about finding the people that
Selling Skills
Mining Customers
Small Business Sales Advice: Mining Customers Small Business Sales Advice: You can shorten sales cycles, reduce cost of acquisition/marketing and
Sales Job Descriptions Should Include a Sales Profile Job Match Template
Using a Sales Profile in the hiring process is becoming more and more popular among small and medium size companies
Hiring
A Six-Stage Hiring Process For Hiring a Sales Manager and Salespeople
Winning sales teams rarely arise by accident or luck; they are built by hiring well and developing your salespeople. They
Sales Management
Recruiting the “Right” Sales Rep for Your Organization
Hitting “300” in Major League Baseball is excellent. Not so in the world of Sales Rep recruiting. So how do
Selling Skills
Does Referral Selling Work?
On LinkedIn, a business owner asked, “Is business growth through referrals possible?” He further explained, “In B2B, is it possible
Sales Management
Increasing B2B Sales Does Not Happen by Accident
Most of us have heard the definition of Insanity, “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”
Selling Skills
Five Keys To Improve Your Sales Closing Ratio
To improve your sales closing ratio you need to focus on working smarter and harder. Once you have proven to
Sales Management
Sales Manager Evaluation
I have received a number of searches seeking sales manager evaluation criteria. Here is a list to consider in your
Sales Management
Modern B2B Sales and Dangerous Leadership Gaps
Someone on Linkedin asked the question, “What is missing in the sales profession today?”. The fact is I don’t see much of
Mindset & Motivation
Reduce Your Selling Cycle and Maintain Sales Motivation
We are selling in a different time (2009). The economy is lagging or flat out bad in some industries. In
Selling Skills
Simple Sales Process : “Making it Look Easy”
Developing Sales Professionals (SP) is what I love to do. Watching a seasoned professional in action is very exciting to
Sales Management
Sales Process Management : Rigidity vs Flexibility
To achieve peak performance with your sales team you need to be consistent with team systems and processes and unique regarding individual
Selling Skills
Sales Tip: Use Analogies to Make Your Point
A simple and powerful tool to help prospects understand your message is an analogy. Yesterday a client sales rep was
Selling Skills
18 Sales Tips To Schedule More Meetings and Win More Business
To win more business, you need more opportunities, and if you decide to take control of that, you need to
Sales Management
Predictive Tools for Hiring Sales People
Good people that can sell make great salespeople. Good people that can’t sell don’t. It’s easy to be swayed by
Sales Management
Hiring for Team Qualities Improves Everyone
We just hired a new sales rep at one of our client businesses. We took our time and and followed our
Our Services
Evaluating Sales Performance
When your fractional sales manager begins evaluating sales performance, they will work from the ground up. In a sales department,
Our Services
Hire Sales Reps
When we join a company as sales managers, one of the first questions is who will hire sales reps to
Our Services
Sales Coaching
As sales managers, we are pivotal in helping people perform to their potential and continue to improve. We use many […]
Our Services
Sales Compensation
Reviewing your company’s sales compensation plan is part of our Getting in Step with your company and sales team. Getting
Our Services
Sales Management Consulting Services
Fractional Sales Management We provide our Sales Management Consulting Services primarily as Fractional Sales Managers for privately held small businesses.
Our Services
Sales Management Process
If you don’t have a sales management process, no worries; we pack our sales management process into your company when
Our Services
Sales Performance Management
When you hire us as your Fractional Sales Manager, the duty of Sales Performance Management becomes all ours. As the
Sales Meetings
Sales Team Meetings
Our time with your sales team is spent in various meetings. These meetings include weekly sales team meetings, one-on-one coaching,