During Week 1 of the 2024 Sales Kickoff Meeting Season, one of Mike’s clients included a live Q&A to conclude a virtual session. The questions from the salespeople and sales leaders were so good, and so different from what Mike is typically asked, he decided to share them (along with his answers) in this episode. You’ll want to share this episode with your sales team!  Take a listen for Mike’s answers to these eight great questions: At what point do you move on to the next opportunity? How many NO’s do you need to get before giving up, or how long do you continue to pursue a prospect who has stopped responding? How do we get your training to stick? What would you tell salespeople and managers to ensure that what you’re teaching gets implemented…and makes an impact? How does using the business plan help the salesperson and manager set short-term and long-term goals, and also help to achieve those goals? How can your training (and approach) help our ecosystem develop both a better sales culture and also help us deliver a better customer experience? What is necessary for us to be successful going “upmarket” (selling solutions instead of hardware) and getting into higher-level customer contacts? After winning a deal and handing it off cleanly, how can we get salespeople back to selling instead of having them continuing to come back to make sure the project is moving and/or installed? What do you think is the number one sales sin of the Ugly 8 Reasons Sellers Get Viewed as Amateurs, Relegated to “Vendor” Status and Commoditized? Can you speak about the most resistant sales organization you have dealt with? Were you able to get them to change, and through that change, what was the outcome? Resources Referenced by Mike in Episode 68: The New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series Ugly 8 Reasons Sellers Get Viewed as Amateurs, Relegated to “Vendor” Status and Commoditized (PDF) Mike’s wife’s irrational, but wonderful, response to her gorgeous new putter (blog post) A Foolproof Framework to Guarantee Consistent Deal Flow and a Full, Healthy Pipeline (podcast episode)  9 Powerful Reasons to Have Salespeople Write Individual Business Plans (podcast episode) 5 Fundamental Focus Areas for a Successful Sales Attack (podcast episode)   This episode is sponsored by Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you looking for help adding A-player talent to your team, contact Mike’s friends at pursuitsalessolutions.com/weinberg  

Mike kicks off the year with 20 powerful sales tips to help you (and your salespeople) absolutely crush 2024!   He initially shared this list with his email subscribers and the feedback was so positive that he felt obligated to turn these tips into Episode 67.   Take a listen, share this episode with your sales team, and make sure to grab the free PDF with Mike’s 20 tips from HERE.   This episode is brought to you by Mike’s friends at Pursuit Sales Solutions. If you’re looking to acquire A-player sales talent for your team, Pursuit can help!   RESOURCE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:   The Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite one-day intensive (8 spots remain for February 21 and there are 24 spots open for the May 1 session in Atlanta)   Mike’s book Sales Truth   Mike’s book New Sales. Simplified.    Article:  Lessons for Managers and Salespeople from Jordan Spieth’s Caddie    

In this powerful episode, Mike puts the wrap on an amazing year. Episode 66 combines straight talk from two of Mike’s highly-rated, trusted advisors – his golf coach, Brian Fogt, and his financial advisor, Jacob Turner – along with his own Year-End/New Year’s Sales and Sales Management “Fundamentals Checklists.” Enjoy listening to Mike interact with two true professionals – people he turns to (and pays) for advice! Be amused at the similarities between investors, golfers, salespeople, and sales leaders – most of whom suffer from FOMO, tend to bore easily, and are quick to chase sexy quick fixes and shiny new objects instead of doing the mundane work to shore-up the fundamentals. And don’t miss Mike sharing exactly what he’d be focusing on right now if he was a sales leader looking to maximize results in 2024. Thank you for your incredible support of the Sales Management. Simplified. Podcast in 2023. As Mike concludes every episode, wishing you great sales leadership, and to your team, tons of NEW SALES in the year ahead! RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: The February 2024 Supercharge Your Sales Leadership event in Atlanta. The Fastest Way to Increase Accountability, Reduce Complacency, and Create a High-performance Sales Culture guide (near the top on the right at mikeweinberg.com) Chapter 20 in Sales Management. Simplified. Chapters 3 and 8 in The First-Time Manager: Sales 

After a few week break, Mike is back with Episode 65 inspired by this pithy and powerful line from Taylor Swift’s interview after being named Time Magazine Person of the Year: “Trash itself out every single time.” While not a “Swiftie” and admitting he can’t name three of her songs, Mike shares his high respect for Taylor and applies her wisdom to what he has seen time and time again over the past decade in world of sales.  He also mentions that, simply by coincidence, four different people released their interviews of Mike in the past week, and he encourages you to check out these interesting and valuable conversations about sales and sales management effectiveness: Mike with Jason Bay – Outbound Squad Podcast Mike with Jeb Blount – Sales Gravy Podcast (Part One Audio) and Part Two Video Mike with John Barrows – Make It Happen Podcast, Video here or listen on Apple Podcasts Mike with Fred Diamond – Sales Game Changers Podcast (accompanied by Mike’s friend, sales leader extraordinaire, Joe Tarulli) RESOURCES MENTIONED: The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite one-day intensive is February 21 at The Porsche Experience Center right next to the Atlanta Airport. Info and registration HERE. How to Lead Sales Team Meetings That Energize and Equip Your Salespeople (previous episode) or see Chapter 21 in Sales Management. Simplified.  

Episode 64 is not just for sales leaders! This is one you will want to share with your sales teams as Mike hosts a special guest, the brilliant Carole Mahoney. Mike declares that Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling is the best-written book he’s read this year and is convinced that you and your sellers will enjoy and greatly benefit from this enlightening conversation as Carole shares the science behind the success experienced by those who sell collaboratively. Along with nodding, smiling, and shouting “Amen!” as Carole and Mike exchange #notaboutme sales philosophies, you will also learn… Why buyers experience a dopamine hit when you make them part of the process How managers often reinforce anti-collaborative sales approaches and behaviors From Carole’s experience as a sales coach for the Harvard Entrepreneurial MBA Program Links in this Episode: The Fast Foundations Virtual Workshop Series for sales managers  Buyer First on Amazon Carole Mahoney’s site  Carole’s LinkedIn profile

Episode 63 was inspired by Mike’s guest appearance on the Social Selling 2.0 Podcast and a 40-minute session he held with executive MBA students just before recoding this podcast. Carson Heady (featured in Episode 52) requested Mike’s take on the current state of “Social Selling” and how it has evolved since its inception. A fascinating dialogue ensued including Mike’s rant about the “founders” of the movement — none of which are still teaching/promoting social selling — and their absolutely false proclamation that “EVERYTHING in sales has changed!”  In the second half of the episode Mike recaps the sales management horror story faced by a group of executive MBA students who sought out his input on the situation at the real-life client they have been charged with helping. Enjoy hearing this classic case of senior leadership dysfunction and the effect on the sales team and results. Resources Mentioned in this Episode: The once-per-year special offer on the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series (mikeweinberg.com/morenewsales) The FAST FOUNDATIONS live virtual workshop series which kicks off December 18th  (mikeweinberg.com/fastfoundations) The next Supercharge Your Sales Leadership elite event sessions in February and April (mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024) Social Selling Simplified Episode on the Social Selling 2.0 Podcast featuring Mike Weinberg Episode 52 of this podcast featuring Carson Heady

It’s that time of year, and in Episode 62 Mike makes a strong case for having each of our salespeople draft an individual business plan for the coming year. Referring to the most popular article he’s ever published, Mike offers nine compelling benefits (for both the salesperson and the manager) resulting from having sellers write and present their plans, and he also outlines a simple template you can adapt and use. RESOURCES TO HELP WITH BUSINESS PLANS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Blog Article - Why Salespeople Should Write and Present Individual Business Plans Chapter 26 in Sales Management. Simplified. Chapter 14 in New Sales. Simplified. ___________________________________________ JUST ANNOUNCED – NEW DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR SALES MANAGERS A series of virtual workshops and office hours sessions led by Mike for managers looking to master the best practices and key takeaways from his sales management books. Over three months, benefit from four workshops and three office hours sessions covering critical topics from increasing accountability, maximizing the impact from developmental coaching, becoming smart talent managers who drive more results from their best sellers while quickly addressing underperformance and artfully coaching-up (or coaching-out) struggling sellers. Limited to 25 participants per group to maximize interaction and ensure everyone gets their challenges and questions addressed! The first virtual workshop is December 18th. More info and register at mikeweinberg.com/fastfoundations

Isn’t conducting professional, effective sales calls one of the main responsibilities of a being a salesperson? After all, the word sales is in the job title. If there’s one thing a “salesperson” should be able to do well, it’s to conduct a sales call! Therefore, isn’t it then incumbent upon sales managers to ensure that their people are indeed proficient at this essential skill? In Episode 61 Mike shares the most prevalent sins he regularly sees salespeople committing – whether it’s the “show up and throw up / spray and pray” approach entering the meeting in pitch mode, talking first, talking too much, not sharing an agenda and getting the customer’s buy-in, weak probing and discovery, or not fleshing out obstacles and objections and not securing and scheduling next steps – and challenges managers to raise their own game when it comes to coaching sellers to better prepare for sales calls. Mike makes the case that if managers would be more rigorous/focused/specific/intentional when helping salespeople prepare for sales calls, that much of that rigor would stick and that many sellers would continue to prepare better for meetings even when the manager is not assisting or coaching them. Take a listen for Mike’s basic best practices on prepping salespeople for sales calls and be sure to grab the free Pre-Call Planning Checklist (one of the bonus resources from the new book, The First-Time Manager: Sales) that he offered to podcast listeners. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Episode 18: Ineffective Sales Calls, Premature Presentations/Demos, and Selling Like Everyone Else Gets You Commoditized New Sales. Simplified. (the book) The New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series Pre-Call Planning Checklist   JUST ANNOUNCED:  We have secured dates for the next two Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta! Get more info on the packed agenda, premium venue, and powerful outcomes at mikeweinberg.com/atlanta2024.  Limited to 50 sales leaders. All prior 13 events have sold out so reserve your spot now for the February or April sessions!

While preparing to kick off a new engagement to help selling-sales leaders (player/coaches who are both producers and team leaders) increase sales management effectiveness, it hit Mike that the challenges these leaders face on a daily basis are almost identical to what new managers face when transitioning from individual contributor roles into team leaders. In this episode, Mike unpacks three big adjustments that first-time managers must successfully navigate… Shifting from being “responsible for one to being responsible for many” Learning to “win through others vs. winning on your own” Moving from a “selfish/individual mentality to a selfless/leader mindset” …and how those who are charged with driving both their own production/sales numbers AND leading the team must learn how to artfully bounce back and forth between these two very different (and sometimes competing) responsibilities. Mike also offers an enormous THANK YOU to podcast listeners for helping to make the launch of his new book, The First-Time Manager: Sales, even more successful than he even dared hope as it achieved Amazon #1 Best Seller status in three categories!   RESOURCES MENTIONED: Read or download your free copy of Chapter 2, Your New Job (as Manager) Is Nothing Like Your Old Job (in Sales)  Fast Foundations Virtual Workshop Series - A new offering to help new sales managers (or experienced managers seeking a powerful refresher on the fundamentals) quickly master the critical key concepts from The First-Time Manager: Sales - accountability, coaching, smart talent management, and NOT playing sales team hero! This three-month fast-track series is limited to 25 participants and will include live virtual workshop and office hours sessions with Mike. Contact our team for more info.

This is an episode like no other. It’s launch day for Mike’s new book and you can hear the excitement in his voice! Proclaiming with a smile that this book took 34 years to write, he remarks how odd it sounded hearing these words come out of his mouth in a recent interview: “This is my very best book.” Unprepared for the interviewer’s follow-up asking why he felt this way, Mike gave this unrehearsed, honest answer: “With no disrespect to Sales Management. Simplified. (because that’s the book that positioned me to do all of this work helping sales executives and front-line sales managers), the reality is I’ve basically worked nonstop for eight years and have had the opportunity to speak with, coach, and consult countless sales leaders on five continents. I learned a ton and with this new book I was able to distill my writing down to the bare essentials and include only what is absolutely necessary for sales management success. The First-Time Manager: Sales is my best book because all of this experience provided absolute proof of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to leading sales teams, creating healthy, high-performance cultures, and driving sales results.” While the publisher asked Mike to write The First-Time Manager: Sales for newer and first-time leaders as part of a series, the truth is that according to executives who have read it, this book is the perfect resource whether… you lead a sales team... you lead managers who lead sales teams... you're a senior executive over sales executives... you support sales leaders... you are an individual contributor salesperson considering or aspiring to a management role...   Tune in for more of the backstory of why Mike wrote the book, why it’s his shortest and favorite book yet, and what you can expect reading/listening to it. Grab your printed, Kindle, or Audible copy HERE. For a sneak peek at what your sales leader colleague’s had to say after reading an advance copy, and for the contents, introduction and a sample chapter, click HERE.

Episode 58 kicks off an exciting series around the launch of Mike’s newest book!   While the publisher asked Mike to write The First-Time Manager: Sales specifically for newer (and aspiring) managers, every. single. executive. who read an advance copy commented that it’s a must-read for experienced leaders too… Fresh perspectives and fresh stories from the field, along with simplified frameworks and uber-practical tips for everything from coaching, to addressing underperformance, connecting on a heart-level with your people, and even interviewing best practices. This new series features respected sales leaders whose best practices and wisdom were featured in the book. Mike will share more of the backstory along with an overview and why he agreed to write this particular book in the next episode, but in today’s show, he hosts sales leader extraordinaire Drew Ellis who highlights the need for the mental, physical, calendar, and (even) financial discipline required to win big as a sales leader.  The wide-ranging conversation offers invaluable insights for both individuals transitioning into management roles and seasoned managers seeking to refresh and upgrade their effectiveness as a leader.  Drew and Mike tackle critical topics including: The importance of focus and prioritization The benefit of a calendar that looks like a coloring book The power of the word “no” The reality check when stress (all by itself) puts you in the hospital The need to check your ego when moving into management The danger (and lack of scalability and sustainability) when managers play sales team hero Listen closely as Drew, in no uncertain terms, strongly reminds managers that there are no awards or bonus points for being a good corporate citizen and checking all the boxes if your sales team misses its number. And please allow his story of ending up in ER (solely from stress) and what a wise doctor told him to help you not only reconsider your priorities but also to refocus your energy on the precious few management activities that truly move the needle. Resources: Get a sneak peek at the reaction to Mike’s new book, the contents, introduction, and a sample chapter HERE. The Sales Management. Simplified. Video Coaching Series The October 3rd Supercharge Your Sales Leadership full-day intensive at The Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta. Drew Ellis on LinkedIn   Please don’t forget to rate the show, leave a review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

You will be challenged by this fast-paced conversation between Mike and his special guest, Nick Hejna, who serves as Executive Vice President and National Sales Leader for AssuredPartners, one of the largest and fastest growing insurance brokers in the U.S. Mike has tremendous respect for Nick as someone who not only gets sales leadership at the highest level, but who also preaches and demonstrates the importance of sales process on a daily basis. In Part 1 of this interview, Nick and Mike discuss… Why focus is critical for a successful new business development focused sales attack That specialists often sell exponentially more than generalists The reality that it takes more activity to build a book of business than most new producers grasp and why managers must hold people accountable for opportunity creation and activity against target accounts How the “pushing the snowball up the hill” pays huge dividends once you reach the peak and have momentum and gravity on your side Creating hunger and reducing complacency with smart compensation plans that reward developing net new business more than babysitting and renewing existing clients Nick also shares the three non-negotiables he sees in every top-producer: They Own Their Calendar They Deploy a Compelling Sales Story They’re Laser Focused on the Pipeline (and target accounts)   Books mentioned in this episode: New Sales. Simplified.  by Mike Weinberg Inked by Jeb Blount 

Mike pulls no punches wrapping up this mini-series covering the Ugly 8 Common Reasons Sellers Get Relegated to Vendor Status and Commoditized. Buckle up as Mike takes on salespeople who are either insecure about price or too quick to make it about price (Reason #7).  The blunt #SalesTruth is that THE JOB of a professional salesperson is to justify the difference between our premium pricing and the lower price of a competitor. That. Is. Our. Job.  Mike confronts sellers who whine that if their price was lower they would sell more with the reality that if they had the best price then we probably wouldn’t need them! Companies who are the low-price leader don’t deploy highly compensated salespeople, do they? Mike also reminds sellers that the SALES STORY is your most critical weapon and when your story (messaging) is boring, confusing, or self/company/product-focused (Reason #8) and doesn’t articulate the issues you/your solution address and the outcomes you achieve for customers, it is almost impossible to be perceived as a value-creator, advisor, or consultant. But when your sales story is great, everything changes and everything about sales becomes easier.  Due to the overwhelming response to this series, Mike is hosting a free Q&A session to take your toughest questions around these common Ugly 8 Reasons sellers get downgraded in the customer’s eyes and treated like just a vendor or commodity seller. Register for that Q&A session at mikeweinberg.com/QandA This episode was brought to you by the New Sales. Simplified. Video Coaching Series. If you’re looking to achieve breakout success in 2022 and create more opportunities and close more sales than ever before, check out the year-end special on Mike’s best work to help salespeople Win More New Sales.

This brief series kickoff episode is classic Weinberg with simple, blunt observations about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to developing new business.   In introducing this series, Mike comes out swinging to set the stage for tackling one of the biggest challenges facing salespeople and sales teams today - getting downgraded in the customer’s eyes and perceived as just a “vendor” instead of the value-creator, consultant, professional problem-solver, and trusted advisor we so badly want them to be.   Mike was inspired to do this short series based on the feedback and reaction from sales leaders who wrestled with this topic at recent Supercharge Your Sales Leadership events where he shared these…   8 Common Reasons that Salespeople Get Viewed as Just “Vendors” and Commodity Sellers:   1. They Arrive Late to the Party (last a sales opportunity) 2. They Lead with Product (or their service/solution) 3. They Conduct Lame Sales Calls and Premature Presentations 4. They Look, Sound & Smell Like Every Other Salesperson (same, same, same) 5. They Play Order-Taker, Do Whatever Customers Request, and Don’t Own Their Process 6. They Aim Too Low in the Customer Organization 7. They’re Insecure About Price or Too Quick to Make It About Price 8. They Can’t Tell the Story (ineffective, self/product/company-focused messaging)   We are creating a free, downloadable handout and slides to use with your sales team that will be available with subsequent episodes in this series. Mike’s hope is that you can use these episodes and the accompanying material as “mirror” to help your team members identify which of these common issue may be damaging their own sales efforts and how customers perceive them.    Enjoy this kickoff episode and encourage your sellers who would benefit from a wake-up call on this topic to listen as well.   Here’s to great sales leadership and helping our salespeople upgrade from “vendor/supplier/commodity seller” status to value creator!

In the episode Mike confronts sales leaders with this very straightforward question: Are you the hero of your sales team or are you the hero-maker? While the question is simple, its answer has enormous implications. This topic is one of the most prevalent sales leadership issues today – one that not only damages culture, diminishes results, and derails careers, but it’s also a reason so many sales leaders are maxed out and exhausted. Prepare to be challenged as Mike doesn’t pull punches walking listeners through this four-part outline: WHY:  the common reasons sales leaders tend to play the hero HOW/WHERE/WHEN hero-mode manifests itself WHAT:   the awful consequences that result when leaders default to playing hero instead of making heroes HELP:   simple fixes to help us refocus on leading and coaching instead of “doing” During the episode Mike offers listeners this short, free Sales Leader: Hero or Hero-Maker? Self-Assessment.  Get your copy here. 

In Episode 10 Mike hosts a super successful sales leader and executive, his friend Joe Tarulli. Be encouraged and challenged as Joe shares the keys to his success along with the key inflection points in his career as he progressed from individual contributor to sales manager to sales development leader to senior executive. Learn about the power of… Taking an annual sabbatical from social media  Sales managers understanding that they win “through” their people Focusing on making heroes of members of your sales team, not playing sales team hero Sales managers driving amazing results from focusing on the highest-payoff sales management activities A sales leader’s simple and highly effective approach to quickly turning around a struggling business unit  Details have been finalized for all 3 venues for upcoming Supercharge Your Sales Leadership Events in the following cities: Dallas Chicago Atlanta Except for that awful last sentence “check out all the venues“ everything is awesome. For more info on these powerful events at premium venues, visit https://mikeweinberg.com/events