by Dave Kahle | Oct 2, 2025 | Thinking Better, Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-General, Leadership-Sales Force
by Dave Kahle Whenwe are confronted with a problem, our knee-jerk reaction is to fix it. I’m not talking about common day-to-day problems – a faucet begins to leak, we run out of milk, etc.—but rather significant business and career issues. These are problems...
by Dave Kahle | Aug 14, 2025 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
by Dave Kahle One of the 25 Most Important Lessons I’ve Learned What one thing in your sales efforts that, if changed and improved, would make the quickest and biggest improvement in your sales revenue? ...
by Dave Kahle | Jul 10, 2025 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
by Dave Kahle Some time ago, one of my clients challenged me to record the 20 most important lessons I’ve learned. After a great deal of reflection, I eventually came up with 25. This is one. As I was just beginning to build my consulting practice, I...
by Dave Kahle | Jun 19, 2025 | Growth-Personal Development, Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
by Dave Kahle Some time ago, one of my clients challenged me to record the 20 most important lessons I’ve learned in my 30 years of consulting experience. After a great deal of reflection, I eventually came up with 25. This is one. Fixing things isn’t always the...
by Dave Kahle | May 1, 2025 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
by Dave Kahle Some time ago, one of my clients challenged me to record the 20 most important lessons I’ve learned. After a great deal of reflection, I eventually came up with 25. This is one. Most people don’t think...
by Dave Kahle | Dec 5, 2024 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
by Dave Kahle I was in the first year of my first management job and experiencing growing frustration. I was continually disappointed in what I perceived as a lack of motivation in my charges. Not only that, but they just didn’t have the same degree of...
by Dave Kahle | Nov 21, 2024 | Growth-Personal Development, Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
by Dave Kahle Recently, one of my clients recommended that I compile a series of posts on the most important lessons I’ve learned over my 30-year career as a consultant, working with over 500 different organizations. This is one of those lessons: For the...
by Dave Kahle | Sep 24, 2024 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Miscellaneous
by Dave Kahle In my earlier life, I had seven sales positions during the time from age 18 to 34. The last was selling for a hospital supplies distributor. I was given a territory that had about $10,000 in existing business, and 77 accounts. Every year...
by Dave Kahle | Sep 6, 2022 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Watch this post on YouTube Listen to this post's Podcast by Dave Kahle If you’re paying your sales reps straight commission, you’re using an obsolete formula.If you’re paying your sales reps a straight salary, you’re also using an obsolete...
by Dave Kahle | Jun 22, 2021 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-General, Leadership-Sales Management
Q. We are intent on revising our decades-old sales force compensation plan. Management is divided. One half favors straight commission, and the other doesn’t. What are your thoughts? A. In my work as a sales consultant, I am routinely involved in helping my clients...
by Dave Kahle | Feb 2, 2021 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We’re faced with many of our customers being very slow about paying their bills. What would you suggest? Should salespeople help with the collections? This is one of those times where the saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is very appropriate. Have...
by Dave Kahle | Jan 5, 2021 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Nervous – Part II: Q: I’m seeing a lot of anxiety and nervousness about the economy all around me. I am not sure I can thrive in this economic downturn. Do you have any thoughts on how to respond to this? To my readers… In the last post, I responded to this...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 9, 2020 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In our surveys, CEOs indicate “on-the-job” training as the predominant method of developing salespeople. If everyone is doing it, it must be OK, right? I don’t think so. See if this sounds familiar. You are ready to expand your sales force, so you hire a nice guy...
by Dave Kahle | May 1, 2020 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In an earlier article, I suggested some business strategies for effectively handling the changes wrought by the pandemic. My recommendation was to instill a set of practices that would keep you, personally, at the top of your game. In the second article of this...
by Dave Kahle | Mar 19, 2020 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Q. Is there a proactive way to implement a program from manufacturers to encourage distributors to have their sales force sell our product instead of another? My intention is to have the salesperson give quotes for our product more frequently? And how can we appeal to...
by Dave Kahle | Jan 20, 2020 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
There is not a salesperson in existence who hasn’t repeatedly heard of the need to “close the sale.” Every new sales manager must view the process of encouraging his/her sales force to “close the sale” as an initiation into the profession. If you’re going to be a...
by Dave Kahle | Jan 16, 2020 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Q. At what point during the superstar building process can management step in and provide support for their sales staff? A. This is a great question. Forgive me if I stray a little to the theoretical side of this question. These are the kinds of questions I think...
by Dave Kahle | Dec 19, 2019 | Thinking Better, Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
There is probably no one area of your business that is more important for you to prioritize than your customers and prospects. Fortunately, it’s also the area of your job that will make the biggest impact on your performance. From my personal experience as a...
by Dave Kahle | Dec 10, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
How can failure be good? Remember John Delorean? He was the superstar General Motors executive who started the Delorean Motor Company. When the company began to falter, he was arrested and charged with complicity in a drug deal that some speculated was an attempt to...
by Dave Kahle | Nov 21, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
I just had a conversation with a sales manager at my last seminar. The gist of it is this: he has so many competing responsibilities; it is difficult to spend time with his sales team. Sound familiar? It should. I have heard that idea expressed countless times by...
by Dave Kahle | Nov 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
When I was 18 years old, I got a summer job working for a company then called Jewel Tea, whose business was selling groceries, housewares and kids clothing to housewives on a route. I was hired to work the routes for the vacationing sales people who owned the route....
by Dave Kahle | Oct 29, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
As a sales educator and consultant, my work has consisted of bringing about positive change in sales organizations, sales managers and sales people. While my content has always been about sales in one way or another, my actual work itself has always been to create...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 15, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
For most of my life, I have been a salesperson and an educator of salespeople. One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about my career in sales is the intensely demanding nature of the job. Human beings are incredibly complex creatures, whose motivations and...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 24, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Q. Customers ask every year at “budget” time for us (as their main distributor) to give them a better discount. Will this ever stop? A. No. Q. How can we continue to grow when we keep giving away margin? A. Let’s think about this one together. If your margins are...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 24, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Question and Answer Q. Your Ezine referenced something that I struggle with almost daily. I’m definitely known for having very high expectations that aren’t so easy to meet. I wondered if you could elaborate on what strategies you have seen succeed regarding this,...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
One of the fundamental principles that I’ve held to for my career in sales is this: One of the best things a sales manager can do is make joint sales calls with his/her sales people. While I continue to believe that, I received an email from an Ezine subscriber some...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 23, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Confidence – an attitude – is down, so sales are down. When confidence is up, sales follow. The principle at work here is this: Our actions follow our attitudes. The relationship between actions and attitudes is so close, that the two go hand-in-hand, and our actions...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 22, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Miscellaneous
Why is it so difficult for us to do what we want to do? I believe there are two primary forces: Habit and Self-Image. Q. My sales people all acknowledge the wisdom of spending more time in their high potential accounts, but they don’t do it. How can I get them to...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 29, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
How many times have you said that? It’s a very common response to almost every request. Unthinkingly, rather than think about the request, we default to blaming our busy schedule. I can understand. You are not alone. Almost every businessperson today has too much...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 24, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
One of the habits often practiced by highly successful people is the habit of regular goal setting. There is a reason for that. Goals compel you to work with discipline and concentration rather than going about your job mindlessly and routinely. Goal setting is a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 24, 2019 | Thinking Better, Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Every sales organization understands that their sales force – it’s health and strength – is the company’s primary strategic asset. Most astute principals and chief sales officers realize that in this very competitive economic environment, those companies who sell...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 24, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
If you already did, focus on results. Question: My question is about the new generation of kids that are potential candidates for sales positions, or already on your sales staff. They think they deserve it all now (privileged, entitled salespeople) and are not...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 12, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Excerpted from 11 Secrets of Time Management by Dave Kahle, Career Press In 2003 I wrote “Ten Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople,” because I was convinced that time management had become the number one issue for professional salespeople. The book struck a...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 16, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Change We’re living in incredibly turbulent times. Despite newspaper headlines proclaiming growing employment and an expanding economy, many business people admit to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty and confusion about their businesses. The well-spring of...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 14, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Oops! Got a sales meeting coming up in two weeks, better get ready for it. Let’s see, what should we do? I’ll go over last month’s numbers, that’ll take a half hour. Then…I know! The credit manager has been complaining about the state of receivables lately. I’ll...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 14, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Do great B2B sales people, regardless of what they sell, have any practices in common? In other words, do the best sales people all sell the same way? Are there best practices in sales? A number of years ago, a professional association attempted to answer that...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 14, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I wanted to do some sales training last year, but it just wasn’t the right time for it. We had too many things on our plate. Looking at our calendar this year, I am coming to the same conclusion. Am I ever going to have time to do sales training? Will it...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 11, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: I have long enjoyed your articles. I am in my second year of being a full commission salesman and wanted to get your advice. When I make an onsite visit or pick up the 500 pound phone and call the customer, I feel like I am begging for work… asking the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 10, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Hiring an effective sales person is one of management’s most difficult tasks. That’s because 90% of the person you hire is hidden beneath the surface. When interviewing a hiring candidate or coaching an employee, it’s helpful to visualize the image of an iceberg with...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 10, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Lest we forget… I wrote this article in the aftermath of the 9.11 terrorists attacks, and thought it might have some relevance for balance in your life today. A personal note from Dave Kahle I hope you’ll forgive my short deviation from purely business issues,...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 10, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: What is the ideal number of sales representatives that a sales manager should manage? Answer: Good question. As is commonly the case, my answer begins with “it depends…” Compensation It depends, first, on the type of compensation plan that is used...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 12, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: Customers in my industry do not accept price increases unless they have zero alternatives. How do we handle this? Answer: I’m sure you are not the only person thinking this way, nor is your industry the only one with this issue. Probably almost every one...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 6, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I’m frustrated. My sales force just doesn’t seem to be motivated. They agree with me at sales meetings, but then don’t follow through. Any ideas? Answer: Yes. I just had a phone conversation with a client who had a familiar story to tell. He had built...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
What may be the single most important predictor of an organization’s long term survival is that organization’s ability to learn. In a world that is changing more rapidly today than at any previous time in human history, the consistent practice of learning is the only...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We’ve all done it. Promoted a good sales person, often our best, to sales manager. My files are full of cases where the results were below expectations for everyone involved. Principals and CSOs are often disappointed in the lack of results. And the sales managers...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: In regards to personality conflicts with an account, at what point do you walk away and let someone else in your organization try? Answer: Great question. Let me answer in two ways. First, from a purely theoretical perspective, a professional sales person...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 14, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Dave, I’m a sales manager, and I’m increasingly losing my patience with sales people who constantly whine and complain. Any thoughts on how to handle the chronic whiners? Answer: Believe me, I can empathize with you. I had my share of whiners in my days as...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 14, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
In my first professional, full-time sales position, the company brought all the new sales people to a six-week training class in Mill Valley, California. There, we memorized three, four-page, single-spaced sales presentations. Most days consisted of practicing those...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 30, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: We do not want to turn sales people into collection agents, but there certainly is a role that sales people can play in the process. Do you have any thoughts? Answer: Yes, I do. Like you, I don’t want to turn sales people into collection agents. Let’s...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 30, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Best practices for salespeople? One of the most debilitating myths about the sales profession is this: Sales people can learn on their own, on the job, and eventually become good at their jobs. They’ll eventually develop their own style, this myth implies, and that...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 30, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Q: Do you have any suggestions that will help our local sales reps provide increased value across all markets? Stretch out of their market comfort zones? A: Ah, comfort zones and salespeople. They are the bane of the B2B salesperson. I believe that the loss of...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 30, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Excerpted from Chapter Seventeen, Question Your Way to Sales Success, by Dave Kahle In part one of this series, I made the point that thinking better is the ultimate success skill for a sales person, and that good thinking always came from asking yourself the right...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 30, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Building a successful business requires serious focus on four fundamental components. Those include the three elements of infrastructure: Systems, people and money, and the thing that ties those three together and empowers them to reach their potential: corporate...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: “What would you suggest in the situation where a sales representative will attempt to build a relationship with the customer on a personal basis, but refuse to build a relationship for the company he/she represents? He/she prefers to wear the “white hat” and...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 19, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Excerpted from Chapter Seventeen, Question Your Way to Sales Success Reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from QUESTION YOUR WAY TO SALES SUCCESS © 2008 by Dave Kahle. Published by Career Press, Franklin Lakes, NJ. 800-227-3371. All rights reserved. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 3, 2019 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
When interviewing a hiring candidate or coaching an employee, it’s helpful to visualize the image of an iceberg with 10% visible above the surface, and 90% invisible below the surface: The visible 10% is necessary, but limited information: * Skills * Experience...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 26, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How do you switch from paying your sales people based on the sale to paying them based on the collection of the sale? Answer: Any time you make changes to a sales person’s compensation plan, you are playing with fire. Any adjustments require that you be...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 29, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In our surveys, CEOs indicate “on the job” training as the predominant method of developing sales people. If everyone is doing it, it must be OK, right? I don’t think so. See if this sounds familiar. You are ready to expand your sales force, so you hire a nice guy...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 29, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How can I set sales goals with any degree of reliability when this year’s economy is so uncertain? Answer: I can appreciate your problem. The economic atmosphere is so uncertain it’s difficult to predict what is going to happen even a month from now. But...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 23, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Our president recently suggested that we penalize the sales people for not meeting their goals by taking commissions away from them. Do you have any thoughts? Answer: Wow. My initial reaction is that it sounds so harsh. Put that way, and you are liable to...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 20, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-General, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Leadership-Sales Systems
Sales productivity may be a new concept for many sales executives. “Sales” is easy to understand, and “productivity” is pretty clear, but when those two words are combined the combination becomes a bit vague. What exactly is sales productivity, and why should you be...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 17, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-General, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How can I help an experienced sales person regain his interest in the job? Answer: It sounds like you have someone who is just going through the motions. That can be deadly for the career of a sales person, as well as detrimental to the company. One of the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 14, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Intro: Every profession produces a set of best practices. Despite the excuses we make for ourselves, what is true for every other profession is also true for sales. There are best practices for sales people. One of the most debilitating myths about the sales...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 14, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Intro: In order for an individual or a society to reach its potential, it must continuously grow and develop. That requires consistent, methodical exposure to new ideas. Unfortunately, many people have arrested their development by remaining within their status quos....
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 11, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
The essential challenge of effective time management is to spend more of our time doing those things which bring us the best results, and less of those things that don’t bring us results. So we struggle, every day, with surmounting this challenge. We try to spend...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 11, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
It’s more and more popular to blame other people, or some ‘ism’ for your own circumstances. As long as we claim to be a victim we’ll never achieve our potential. As soon as we accept personal responsibility for our own circumstances, we gain the freedom to change...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 21, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
It’s one of the most common laments I hear from CSO’s: “I wish I had a more professional sales force.” No doubt that thought has passed through your mind at some time in the recent past. You’re not alone, of course. Let’s take a look at what it really means,...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 20, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Sales meeting don’t have to be boring. You can organize better sales meetings with just a little bit of revised thinking. Question: Please advise on how to make weekly sales meetings “kick.” Need some help in supercharging my boring sales meetings. Can you lend...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Developing salespeople is one of those initiatives that payback double; the salespeople improve their performance, and feel better about your organization investing in them. In one move you can help keep the good salespeople you have, motivate your salespeople,...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Sales people often slide into comfort zones which restrict their performance. In this Question & Answer, we deal with these sales comfort zones. Question: Do you have any suggestions that will help our local sales reps provide increased value across all markets?...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 24, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In most organizations, sales managers are the essential bridge between the company’s sales goals and the realization of those goals. The gritty day-to-day interactions between the sales people and their customers are frequently filtered through the perspective of...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 24, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
Implement Change – Question: My new sales manager is having a difficult time trying to implement change. Because many members of our experienced sales force still need to execute a number of the changes in the past year, do you have any suggestions? Implement...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 26, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
“I wish my people were more professional,” executives and managers often commiserate to me. Even with those who don’t voice it, that unspoken yearning often hovers just-under-the-surface of their conversation. Ah, if only the people around us were more professional. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 25, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: What do I do when my goals don’t match the company’s goals for me? Answer: I can look at this is in two ways – expressing two different situations. In the first, there is a legitimate difference in the expectations for a sales person, but a basic agreement...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 19, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I started a new company one year ago and I have a shoe string budget. I’m unable to pay for any sales courses at this point in my business, but I have been able to read a few books on sales. What would you do in my position to attract customers and build...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 22, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In most organizations, sales managers are the essential bridge between the company’s sales goals and the realization of those goals. The gritty day-to-day interactions between the salespeople and their customers are frequently filtered through the perspective of the...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
I’m often asked to help a company refine their sales force compensation plans. As a consulting company, that’s work that we regularly do. I believe in having a well-designed, effectively managed compensation plan as a fundamental part of any productive sales system....
by Kahle Wisdom | May 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I have three new salespeople and a handful of more experienced reps. I find myself spending a disproportionate amount of time with the new guys, and, therefore, ignoring the others. Is this OK? Or should I spread my coaching time around to be equally...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 24, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Q: I sell advertising for a local newspaper. In our sales compensation plan, we compete with our revenue numbers from the previous year, and approximately 6% is added to the previous year’s revenue number. That becomes your goal for that particular month. We get a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 24, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
“My customers seem to have less time available for me than before. They are harder to see, and when I do get in front of them, they often seem rushed or preoccupied. What can I do about this?” Sound familiar? It’s a question that I am hearing more and more often. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 24, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Every manager has, or will, confront this troublesome issue — it is a common challenge for folks who are charged with improving sales. It’s arisen in almost every workshop for sales managers or branch managers I’ve done. One or more of your sales people has...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 9, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
My wife is a crises counselor. You would think that, by the very nature of the word crises, she would see a continually changing group of clients who were dealing with the occasional crises. Not so. She frequently engages with the same group of folks who lurch from...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 22, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Are things changing rapidly in your business? Silly question, isn’t it? Of course they are changing. Rapid change is the distinguishing characteristic of our age. Take that rapid change and add to it growing competition, increasing complexity, consolidations at...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 22, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: Dave, I’m wearied by the preponderance of books and business advice by all these sports coaches. What’s your opinion? How many different coaches do we need to hear from? Is sports coaches advise to sales people worthwhile? Is it another example of our...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 15, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I’ve read your ideas about the need to invest in developing myself. Can you quantify that? How much time and money should I spend on my own education? Answer: Now that‘s a question I’m rarely asked. Its refreshing to receive it. I’m assuming that you are...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 15, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Again this week I encountered what has become a common event. I was called in to consult with a client. Sales were flat for too long, and the client knew that something had to be done. One of my first questions was this: “What do you know about your customers?”...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 27, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
“I’m spending more and more time managing information. It’s squeezing out my selling time.” Welcome to the information age. You are not unique. This problem of information inundation is a relatively new but almost universal threat to your livelihood. Four or five...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 27, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Dave, I’m finding it difficult to manage my salespeople in our straight commission environment. Any suggestions as to how I can get them to do what I want them to do? Answer: I do have some thoughts about the “straight commission environment.” I spent much...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 21, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
That we live in a time of relentless and pervasive change is no longer news to anyone. There is one important implication of this situation that continues to be a challenge. That is that we need to continually change our behavior to adapt to the world around us.My...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 21, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
That’s right. Serving, not selling. I know you are concerned with sales. It’s easy to determine how well your people are selling to your customers. That’s what sales reports are for. But your customers are more concerned with how well they are being served by...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Adapted from Sell Better: How to Create a Sales System to Grow Your Business by Dave Kahle Whereas acquiring a customer typically requires an investment, the “creating a client” process is generally where you re-coop the investment and start to make your sales system...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 7, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Adapted from “Sell Better: How to create a sales system to grow your business” by Dave Kahle A customer is someone who gives you money for what you have. So, the first time someone who has not purchased from you before gives you money for what you have, that person...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 1, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How can I set sales goals with any degree of reliability when this year’s economy is so uncertain? Answer: I can appreciate your problem. The economic atmosphere is so uncertain it’s difficult to predict what is going to happen even a month from now. But...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 29, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How does one respond to companies that are now participating in “on-line” auctions? It is basically a 30-minute bidding war and the low bid is presented. One needs to decide, (auction style) how low to price the product. Specifications and drawings are...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 29, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
That’s right. Serving, not selling. I know you are concerned with sales. It’s easy to determine how well your people are selling to your customers. That’s what sales reports are for. But your customers are more concerned with how well they are being served by...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 3, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: You have convinced me that spending time face-to-face with customers is the best use of my sales time. How much of my week should I spend entertaining customers; taking them to lunch, ballgames, etc.? Answer: Great question. Let me answer this is two...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 3, 2018 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Are sales people made or born? Answer: I field this question, in one form or other, in almost every seminar I do. Just heard it again yesterday in relationship to the competency of building relationships. The questioner opined that building relationships...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 22, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: My boss recently decided that we must call prospects once every hour, every day, until we get a yes or no, regardless of what they say, or if it’s voicemail. What’s your opinion of this? Answer: I really think there are two questions here. The first has to...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 6, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Recently, one of the sales people with whom I was working volunteered that he often obtained demonstration samples by coming into the office, visiting the warehouse, opening a box of the product he wanted to sell, taking one out, and re-closing the box. When it comes...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
“I have my own style of selling.” That is a remark I have heard a number of times, usually from relatively inexperienced salespeople. What they usually mean is something like this: “I don’t have any real system to what I do, I don’t want any scrutiny, and I probably...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: I’ve heard you mention several times the importance of prioritizing and targeting customers. Can you shed some more light on this? Answer: This is a key issue with me, as I believe it is one of the ways to make the biggest, most rapid change in your...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
We all know the feeling. Your key contact in one of your good accounts sheepishly admits that they have moved some business to a competitor. No problem with your service, it was just a price issue. Nothing is more discouraging. You’ve spent years developing this...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 13, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In our surveys, CEOs indicate “on the job” training as the predominant method of developing sales people. If everyone is doing it, it must be OK, right? I don’t think so. See if this sounds familiar. You are ready to expand your sales force, so you hire a nice guy...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 10, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
This was to be a totally different article. I intended to write about what makes a successful sales person. However, as I began to conceptualize the article, it occurred to me that I ought to begin with a definition of success. And it was there that I got...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 10, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Excerpted from Chapter 13 of Take Your Performance Up a Notch Whenever I ask sales people to rate themselves on their competence at all the different parts of the sales process, they invariably rate themselves low at closing the sale. Unfortunately, sales people who...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 9, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Excerpted from Chapter Thirteen of Take Your Sales Performance Up a Notch They don’t always say yes! That might be the very first thing you learn as a salesperson. As a matter of fact, “No” in all its various forms and expressions, maybe the one word that...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 9, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
“Every profession expects the serious practitioner of that profession to continually seek out the best practices of that profession, and then to roll them into his/her routine with discipline.” That statement comes out of my mouth in almost every seminar or key-note...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 9, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
In my first professional, full-time sales position, the company brought all the new sales people to a six-week training class in Mill Valley, California. There, we memorized three, four page, single-spaced sales presentations. Most days consisted of practicing those...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 9, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
I recently came across some research that confirmed what many of us in the profession of educating sales people have known for years: That purchasers would be “much more likely” to buy from a sales person if that sales person would just “listen” to the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 8, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Focus, focus, focus. That’s the phrase that I find myself repeating constantly in every sales seminar that I present. I believe focus is the greatest challenge for sales people today, and the greatest single solution to their challenges. There are so many demands...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 18, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Sales management is too important to not do it better In a world where it is more and more difficult to distinguish yourself on the basis of product, service or price, the best companies excel on the basis of the quality of their sales force.Those companies...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 17, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
It’s the moment that many sales people dread. You’ve asked the customer to do something – give you an appointment, issue a P.O., or schedule a demonstration and, instead of saying “Yes,” the customer gives you a reason why he/she does not want to do what you’ve asked...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 17, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: How many sales calls should a salesperson make? A: In about one out of every two seminars that I do, I hear this question. It springs from a manager’s concern for defining what constitutes a “good sales day.” And salespeople want to know so that they have...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 25, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Watch this post on YouTube Listen to this post's Podcast Question: How can we get inside sales to do some proactive sales activities each day? We expect our inside salespeople to use some of their time to shift into the proactive mode to make outbound phone...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 25, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
It’s a challenging year for a lot of salespeople. The world is changing rapidly, and every new headline contains information that seems to impact business in a significant way. The competition is more active, customers are more discriminating, and nobody has enough...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 11, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
One of the biggest decisions a business makes is the decision on which market segment to focus. ‘Market segment’ is the term that describes a group of suspects and prospects who have something in common. For example, if you are a mechanic with an auto repair shop, you...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 11, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
There are, in the world of sales and sales systems, certain practices that have such an enormous impact on the company and the market that they are in a special class of activities that call for executive involvement at the highest levels. One of that handful of...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 7, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
We’re living in incredibly turbulent times. In spite of newspaper headlines proclaiming growing employment and a slowly growing economy, many business people admit to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty and confusion about their businesses. The well-spring of...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
“Low price, low price, low price.” It’s the mantra that salespeople in every industry segment are hearing more these days than ever before. Customers, looking for ways to contain costs, naturally pressure their vendors for lower costs. But, is low price the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 16, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Which of these two choices is more likely to result in an effective salesperson? A. Hiring someone with technical expertise or industry experience and training them to become a salesperson, B. Hiring someone with sales aptitude, and training them in the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 10, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Q: In regards to working on a big new project with a prospect, we showed huge savings and better operation. The customer gave all our information to the current supplier and they matched it. Is it ok to go above the buyer’s head? Q: One of my salespeople just spent a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 10, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Question: The thing that distinguishes us from our competition is service. How do I make service more tangible to our customer? Answer: This is a great question because it is so common. Let’s put it into perspective. Believe it or not, almost every company I deal...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 11, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I like the idea of setting goals for personal improvement, not only with my sales people, but for my own growth and development as well. Can you give me a more specific idea of what kind of goals I should be creating? Answer: Sure. This is one of my hot...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 10, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
I was in the depths of a major depression. As a third year sales person with a good company, I was doing well, and was on my way to becoming the top sales person in the nation for that company. But business had slowed down a little, and I didn’t have my usual...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: Our business has been struggling for the last year or so. Several of my salespeople are just not producing. I’m not sure I can continue to work with them. When do I decide to terminate their employment? Answer: Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to ask...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 28, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
I was speaking to a group of professional sales people in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the subject of integrity in business. At dinner later in the evening, my host, who had been sitting in the audience, sheepishly shared with me that several of the people seated...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 19, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Not long ago I was speaking at a national sales meeting for a large regional distributor. The regional vice president for the company’s primary manufacturer was at the meeting, supporting the efforts of his big distributor. At the coffee break, we struck up a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 5, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
“I really struggle with the highs and lows of field sales. Most days I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Any suggestions?” This is one of those rarely voiced issues that every sales person confronts sooner or later. The job of the sales person...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 5, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues, Christian-Leadership
Today I received over 209 email messages, had 35 postings on my Facebook page, uncountable listings on my Linkedin page, and several voice mail messages. This was after having methodically unsubscribed to legions of emails and registered on the “do not call” list. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 23, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Christian-Leadership
Here’s a story to which many of you can relate. We had an opening for an inside salesperson and took a chance on a young man who appeared to have the necessary aptitude and character, but who lacked any experience. He had been a social worker and was looking...
by Kahle Wisdom | May 11, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Whether you are a small business person, or a professional sales person, you can utilize leverage — a powerful strategy — to take your sales performance to dramatically higher levels.. Leverage revolves around the idea of multiplying the effects of some...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 27, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Stories can be powerful tools to shape behavior and dramatically communicate expectations. Wise executives continually seek for opportunities to capture and then relate a story that supports and illustrates the organization’s culture. If the story can be tied to a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 4, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is this: “I can’t seem to motivate the salespeople to call on prospects and develop them into new customers.” There is a relatively simple, fun, and inexpensive way to remedy this situation. It’s called a sales...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 24, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I’d like to provide my sales people (and all the employees) information on costs, profits, etc. so that they have a healthy understanding and respect for our owner’s investment and risk as well as their value. Any suggestions as to how to go about it?...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 21, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Christian-Leadership
“Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when advisers are many.“ (Proverbs 15:22) This is an often-quoted verse, a piece of advice from King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. While the advice doesn’t appear to be pointed only at business...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 1, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
I call it FIP. Fine in the Past. It refers to all the sales and marketing efforts, ideas, policies, principles, techniques, and strategies that worked well in the past but are no longer effective. The past is everything that’s pre-2012. I still recall a poignant...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 20, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
Before you respond by lecturing me on the wisdom of setting goals, you should know that I am committed to the process of goal setting as a best practice for a number of different business expressions. Goal-setting, for example, is at the heart of our Kahle Way® Sales...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 18, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
One of the most debilitating myths about the sales profession is this: Salespeople can learn on their own, on the job, and eventually become good at their jobs. They’ll eventually develop their own style, this myth implies, and that will bring them the maximum...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 12, 2017 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Goal-setting is one of those hallowed practices that belong in every leader’s arsenal. We’ve all heard that people who set goals are far more successful than those who don’t. And every well-run business has a policy and a practice of setting annual goals for its...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 31, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Field sales people have a unique aspect to their jobs – they have the ability to decide what to do every moment of every day. The need to make this decision – where to go, who to see, who to call, what to do – distinguishes the sales profession from most others. I’ve...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 20, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
“I have my own style of selling.”That is a remark I have heard a number of times, usually from relatively inexperienced salespeople. What they usually mean is something like this: “I don’t have any real system to what I do, I don’t want any scrutiny, and I am...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 20, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: How do you switch from paying your sales people based on the sale to paying them based on the collection of the sale? Answer: Anytime you make changes to a sales person’s compensation plan, you are playing with fire. Any adjustments require that you be...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 10, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
In a previous post, I wrote that qualities of character in the CEO were a more important indicator of business success than the business model. In this, and the next few posts, I’m going to share those qualities that I believe mark a great business leader. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 21, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
In the B2B world, the relationship between the customer and the vendor, and more specifically, the vendor’s salesperson, can be of utmost importance. It doesn’t take long in the business to understand that if the customer dislikes you, he is rarely going to see you. ...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 21, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: “What would you suggest in the situation where a sales representative will attempt to build a relationship with the customer on a personal basis, but refuse to build a relationship for the company he/she represents? He/she prefers to wear the “white hat”...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 2, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Leadership
In a previous post, I wrote that qualities of character in the CEO were a more important indicator of business success than the business model. In this, and the next few posts, I’m going to share those qualities that I believe mark a great business leader. First, a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 14, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
In a previous post, I wrote that qualities of character in the CEO were a more important indicator of business success than the business model. In this, and the next few posts, I’m going to share those qualities that I believe mark a great business leader. First, a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 3, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In a previous post, I wrote that qualities of character in the CEO were a more important indicator of business success than the business model. In this, and the next few posts, I’m going to share those qualities that I believe mark a great business leader. First, a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 30, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Watch this post on YouTube Listen to this post's Podcast Excerpted with permission of the publisher, from the Transforming Your Sales Force for the 21st Century, Copyright 2004, by Dave Kahle. Used with permission of the author.I just finished a phone call with a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Aug 6, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
It seems like more and more business people have lost the ability to say no. See if this experience doesn’t sound familiar. I had met with an individual, talked with him personally, and invited him to a small group meeting. He came, interacted positively and...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 26, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
How do I sell to an account that is firmly in the hands of a competitor – a difficult key account? In one form or another, I hear that question at almost every sales seminar I teach. It’s a great question, reflecting one of the most perplexing and frustrating...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 25, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
In a previous post, I wrote that qualities of character in the CEO were a more important indicator of business success than the business model. Two questions popped up following that statement:Why do you say that?Which qualities of character are most important to...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 18, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
“Is there one business model that you would recommend to a budding entrepreneur?”That was the question a young man asked me recently. I reflected for a moment over the past 25 years, and answered this way:“No. I’ve worked with over 400 businesses, and in that pack...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 14, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Not long ago I was speaking at a national sales meeting for a large regional distributor. The regional vice president for the company’s primary manufacturer was at the meeting, supporting the efforts of his big distributor. At the coffee break, we struck up a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 13, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Whether you are a small business person, or a professional sales person, you can utilize a powerful strategy to take your sales performance to dramatically higher levels — leverage. Definition Leverage revolves around the idea of multiplying the effects of some...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jul 4, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I wanted to do some sales training last year, but it just wasn’t the right time for it. We had too many things on our plate. Looking at our calendar this year, I am coming to the same conclusion. Am I ever going to have time to do sales training? Will it...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 30, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
How can I help an experienced sales person regain his interest in the job? It sounds like you have someone who is just going through the motions. That can be deadly for the career of a sales person, as well as detrimental to the company. One of the challenges of a...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 14, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In this series of posts, we’re dealing with words that make people uncomfortable. We’ve talked about ‘personal responsibility,’ ‘humility,’ and ‘discipline.’ In this post, we’re going to examine another of that series of words that a significant percentage of the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jun 13, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Oops! Got a sales meeting coming up in two weeks, better get ready for it. Let’s see, what should we do? I’ll go over last month’s numbers, that’ll take a half hour. Then…I know! The credit manager has been complaining about the state of receivables lately. I’ll...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 27, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
“Why should someone spend time with you?” That was the question I asked the six sales people who were the subjects of an intense week-long training session. The response? Blank stares. Some uncomfortable fidgeting. Nothing anywhere close to a coherent, persuasive...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 15, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: We are discussing the role of the sales person in collecting bad paying accounts. We don’t want to turn the sales people into collection agents, but we do see a role for them. What are your thoughts? Answer: This is one of those questions that come up...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 15, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Q. How do you recommend I handle profanity from a customer? Q. What do you do when a customer becomes abusive with you? Loud, screaming, and personally threatening? Answer: I thought I’d put both of these together because they speak to similar situations. “The...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 4, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
I often hear my clients lament that they wish they had a more professional sales force. That idea of a “professional sales force” gets a lot of conversation in sales management and sales executive circles. But what exactly does it mean? And why is it a good thing?...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 1, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Best Practice #20: Is always well prepared to handle most common objections. Effectively handling objections is one of those practices that truly distinguish the committed, professional sales people from those who aren’t that interested. That’s because it takes time...
by Kahle Wisdom | Apr 1, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Q. How do you sell something if you don’t believe it is right for the customer? A. What a great question. I suspect that every salesperson, at some point in his career, wrestles with that question. What should you do about selling something you don’t believe...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 28, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
Next week, I will be holding a free informational webinar to describe the opportunity to be a part of our third Christian Executive Mastermind group. We’ll choose a select group of 10 individuals to meet with monthly. We’ll meet via video webinar, and provide expert...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 15, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Are things changing rapidly in your business? Silly question, isn’t it? Of course they are changing. Rapid change is the distinguishing characteristic of the new millennium. Take that rapid change and add to it growing competition, increasing complexity,...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 15, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
In all of my training and consulting work, I’ve found it helpful to establish, right at the beginning, a big-picture view of the sales process. Once we have an overview, we can understand every sales principle and practice, and use the big picture to focus our efforts...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 8, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Q. I find it difficult to stay upbeat and positive all the time. I have a tendency to get down on myself when something goes poorly and then find it hard to look forward to the next sales call. I can’t be the only salesperson who struggles with this. Can you help?...
by Kahle Wisdom | Mar 7, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Discipline is the second of my set of uncomfortable words that we would rather not hear. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get through life – or at least our work day – without any unpleasantries? Alas, we all know that won’t happen. Not only do we have to deal with...
by Kahle Wisdom | Feb 5, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
Wouldn’t it be great if we could get through life – or at least our work day – without any unpleasantries? Alas, we all know that won’t happen. Not only do we have to deal with difficult situations and trying people, but even our language contains words that make us...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 13, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management, Christian-Kingdom issues
Question: Dave, I have hired a new, young, aggressive sales person. I want to make sure he understands the ethical boundaries of his job. Is there some recommended way to teach ethics to a new sales person? Answer: You can teach him ethics, but I’m not sure that he...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 7, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We all want to hire superstar sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a superstar salesperson. Don’t be sidetracked by what he/she knows relative to products or industries, and...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 7, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We all want to hire superstar sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a superstar salesperson. Don’t be sidetracked by what he/she knows relative to products or industries, and...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 7, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We all want to hire star sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a star sales person. Don’t be sidetracked by what he/she knows relative to products or industries, and don’t...
by Kahle Wisdom | Jan 7, 2016 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We all want to hire star sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a star sales person. Don’t be sidetracked by what he/she knows relative to products or industries, and don’t...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 29, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: Giving quotes. Client (prospect) seems interested but never gets back to you. Answer: I’m assuming that the question here is, “How do I get the prospect to give me an answer when I provide a quote?” This is one of the most common frustrations for sales...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 12, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: To what extent should salespeople be responsible for collecting accounts receivable? Isn’t it a conflict to be responsible for both sales and collections? Answer: Great question, and one that comes up fairly frequently. Let’s think it through....
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 12, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
We all want to hire star sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a star sales person. Don’t be sidetracked by what he/she knows relative to products or industries, and don’t...
by Kahle Wisdom | Dec 7, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Which of these issues are worrying you these days? Keeping the good sales people you have? Motivating your sales people? Stimulating your sales people to become more productive? Attracting good quality, new sales people? If you are concerned about any one of these...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 28, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
“Six qualities of superstar sales people” We all want to hire superstar sales people. Finding one, however, is more difficult than you can imagine. Here’s the key to spotting and hiring a superstar salesperson. Don’t be sidetracked by...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 28, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
“Six qualities of superstar sales people” Want to make your job much easier? Want to look like a hero to your boss? Want to make the best single decision you’ll ever make as a sales manager? Then hire a superstar sales person. A...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 20, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force, Leadership-Sales Management
Are successful sales people made or born? It is the eternal question: the sales manager’s version of nature versus nurture.Since I spend most of my time teaching sales people how to become better at their jobs, I’m 100 percent in the “made” camp. There are best...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 2, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: My sales people all acknowledge the wisdom of spending more time in their high potential accounts, but they don’t do it. How can I get them to actually do what they know is the right strategy? Answer: You are up against a problem that goes back to the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Nov 1, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
In most organizations, sales managers are the essential bridge between the company’s sales goals and the realization of those goals. The gritty day-to-day interactions between the sales people and their customers are frequently filtered through the perspective of the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 27, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Question: Our “A” customers do 90% of our business. How much time or effort would you put into your “B” customers to bring them up to “A” customers? Answer: This is the kind of question I field in almost every one of my seminars. The answer is a little more complex...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 27, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
Question: I have been reading some of your articles and then came across your website. I was wondering what kind of advice you would give to a sales person trying to become a sales manager. What steps should I try taking first? Answer: Good question. I’m sure...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 18, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
Positive customer relationships are the basis of much B2B business, right? Positive business relationships ensure us an audience with the customer, make every step of the selling process go easier, and even provide us with a competitive edge. It’s not unusual...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 14, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
The sales structure is the sum total of all the policies, guidelines, procedures and tools your company uses in its sales effort. It’s everything about how your company sells, other than the people themselves. For example, your compensation plan is part of the...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 3, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Question: I like the idea of setting goals for personal improvement, not only with my sales people, but for my own growth and development as well. Can you give me a more specific idea of what kind of goals I should be creating? Answer: Sure. This is one of my hot...
by Kahle Wisdom | Oct 2, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Management
Q: How often should a sales manager visit the customers? A: There are a couple of ways to answer the question. From one perspective, as a sales manager, you need to have your own relationship with good customers in your area of responsibility. There are several...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 24, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives, Leadership-Sales Force
The world is full of B2B sales people who claim, quite proudly, to have great relationships with their customers. If that were true, it really would be great. But unfortunately, “great relationships” is too often a veil that sales people hide behind to keep from...
by Kahle Wisdom | Sep 22, 2015 | Leadership-Entrepreneurs & Executives
Every manager has, or will, confront this troublesome issue. It’s arisen in every workshop for sales managers or branch managers I’ve done. One or more of your salespeople have leveled off. Their performance hasn’t improved much in the last few years. Where before...
