Mike Jacoutot

Time and time again we speak with sales leaders who refer to their salesforce as “hunters” and “farmers.” I believe these are outdated, over-simplistic stereotypes designed to drive the wrong behavior.

In a 15-minute meeting, Bill’s life changed dramatically. Bill had just lost his largest account, Lassiter Logistics, resulting in a $1.5 million loss in revenue to the company and $90k in commissions to Bill. “How did this happen?” he asked himself repeatedly in a state of disbelief. “They loved me!” Did they?

Let’s face it, a company is only as good as the people who represent it. That is a fact. It’s people who build the website, develop the process and provide the customer service. Some companies only hire experienced salespeople so they don’t have to invest in training. That’s a big mistake and here’s why.

Assuming your business strategy is sound, there are four keys a great coach or business leader must have in place to ensure they not only get to the top, but they stay on top. Mike Jacoutot of Butler Street shows you how.

No sales rep who is sincerely interested in advancing their customer relationships should want their first personal interaction with a potential customer to start with a highly-irritated prospect. If you want to get positive responses to your voicemails and emails, you have to work at it. Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Here are a couple of ways to help you get your voicemail returned.

My oldest brother Bill, is one of the most successful coaches in New York state history. I have often said if I were as successful at my craft as Bill was at his, I would have been on the cover of Fortune Magazine. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad coaches out there giving bad advice to up-and-coming salespeople. What follows are six keys that you can refer to for effective sales coaching.

Does your office have a high Drama Quotient (DQ)? Take the survey to find out.

Inevitably, customer needs and wants change over time and as an organization, this requires your company to “pivot,” and pivot correctly. How do you know how to pivot correctly? It starts with a better understanding of your customer through a Voice of the Customer (VOC) Survey.

There is one discipline that you should adopt and stick with above all else if you truly want to be successful. It is the foundation to successful athletic teams, as well as a disciplined focus in the military.

As of 2015, the millennials are the largest segment of the workforce. They learn differently, work differently and think differently than previous generations. And as Generation Z begins to enter the workforce, many sales organizations will have four generations working side by side. Is your company well positioned to handle the needs of your Millennial sales representatives?