Pretty Challenging Stuff There’s a lot of hubbub about the CEB’s research which led to “The Challenger Sale” book about the newly-identified behaviors of leading, educating and challenging clients, to add more value and win more sales. I actually started lauding the research through social media before the book was launched, and respect the research, […]
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I’ve been seeing a lot of discussions and blog posts about this topic lately, relative to B2B sales. So, at the prompting of a new connection, I decided to explore sales relevancy and offer my own perspective. SALES RELEVANCEAccording to Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/relevant), “relevant” is an adjective meaning “bearing upon or connected with the matter in […]
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B2C sales reps, especially those with potential for client development, here are two questions and a few thoughts for you. B2B reps, this isn’t tailored for you, but I believe many of you will find much of this relevant. QUESTIONS Are you building a portfolio of satisfied, loyal, long-term clients who will fuel your business […]
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I was asked this question once (and yes, just that way), as I was talking with someone about my work. Performance Levers are central to what I do, and the book that I wrote on sales enablement, as well as The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience, so I thought I’d dedicate a post […]
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Earlier tonight I replied to a posting in a LinkedIn group and then thought I should share some of the same information here with a bit more detail. The question was about the account planning process and I shared some of the things I’ve developed and taught over the years. I call it Account Development Planning, but […]
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Aligning_Performance_Levers_for_Breakthrough_Sales_Results_-_Mike_Kunkle_082011.pdf Download this file With a few minor changes for publication vs. presentation, this is a presentation that I gave recently at the Dallas ASTD Southwest Learning Summit for their sales training track. It’s difficult to cram 15 years of progressive learning into a presentation, but I have been working on codifying and documenting my […]
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Out of Focus Over at Focus.com (http://www.focus.com/questions/why-do-buyers-claim-50-all-sales-people-they-meet-are-not), Focus Expert Bruce Brien asked a great question about the prevalent lack of sales call preparedness, which is supported by research. Bruce cites buyer surveys from IDC for 2010 suggest that sales people are ill-prepared for the meetings they conduct, adding, “Buyers also suggest that most sellers do […]
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Just a quick note today to announce that I’ve been selected as a presenter at the Dallas ASTD 2011 Southwest Learning Summit (SWLS). I’ll be speaking about my performance lever work. ABOUT THE SUMMIT Dallas ASTD 2011 Southwest Learning Summit and Exposition When: Tuesday, August 9, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Where: Plano Centre, […]
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Recently, I heard from a social media networking contact who has been away from sales enablement for awhile but is heading back into the field. He asked if I might suggest a few programs, approaches and resources to review. His goal was to catch up on “more current thinking and approaches to developing a sales force” […]
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Given a choice between having well-designed, validated psychometric assessments as a balanced part of my selection process or not, I’d choose to have them, every time. In the now-famous words of Jim Collins, there are few things as important as getting the right people in the right seats on the bus. Educate, aka Hit the […]
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