Five Minutes With Gerhard

Here is today’s featured video on SellingPower.com.
Gerhard Gschwandtner interviewed me before one of his sales leadership conferences.  If you click on the link (or the photo) you’ll have access to other videos as well, featuring Howard Stevens, Jim Dickie, and a other thought leaders in the area of sales performance.
Note:  I understand the upcoming Sales [...]

The Value and Perils of Customized Sales Training

Yesterday during The Top Sales Experts Roundtable, Linda Richardson made a strong case for customized sales training.  It’s not something she has to convince us at ESR about.
Many organizations want a customized sales training experience, whether it be live or virtual.  This can be good or bad, depending upon what experiences and materials are customized, [...]

Give Some Sales Advice! Get Your Name in Print!

My friend and colleague, Brian Lambert (ASTD Sales Training Drivers) is writing his third book titled 10 Steps to Successful Sales. It will be published by ASTD press in October 2009.
His new book targets brand new salespeople.  He is collecting 100 great quotes of advice for entry-level salespeople. He’s got a link that allows you [...]

Webinar: Sales Training – The Independent Expert’s View

The TAS Group has invited me to deliver a complimentary webinar next Wednesday, April 8th, at 1:00 pm EDT.  During the webinar, I’ll be sharing ES Research Group’s latest findings about trends in sales training and sales training providers from ESR’s Sales Training Vendor Guide, Third Edition, which will be published next week.

How to get [...]

My 2009 Word of The Year, So Far

One of my most-used words these days is “scrutinize.”  Merriam-Webster says it means “to examine closely and minutely.”
At ESR, we find ourselves using the word fairly often:

VPs have been asking us about how to determine which sales reps to keep and which to redeploy.  In this current economic situation some of what salesreps depended on [...]

My Interview with SMT

I was recently interviewed by Lori Champion from SMT (The Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training) as part of the ramp-up for their annual conference in Orlando October 14 – 16, 2009.  I’ll be keynoting at the event.  The topic will be Sales Excellence 2012: Overcoming Tough Obstacles,  Achieving Measurable Results.
Lori’s interview begins:
What do [...]

Customized Sales Training

From ESR’s Sales Training Vendor Guide — Third Edition:
“Most buyers of sales training want a customized sales training experience. The question is, what categories of modifications are positive for their organizations and which limit the impact from the learning experience?
Universally, sales training companies claim that they will customize course materials.  But the buyer needs [...]

What Do Diets And Sales Approaches Have In Common?

Last month the National Center for Health Statistics revealed that nearly 70 percent of Americans are overweight. Thirty-four percent of those people are not merely overweight—they are obese.
Do you think the silver bullet for all these people is the 231st diet? Probably not. What do you think the solution is? Take [...]

Miller Heiman. What A Brand!

When it comes to marketing, Miller Heiman leads the pack.  I recently spoke with Elizabeth Vanneste, their Chief Marketing Officer. Elizabeth brought Miller Heiman into four telecommunications companies where she had previously worked. She joined the Miller Heiman team last June as a sales VP and took over marketing three months ago.
Elizabeth shared with me that [...]

8 Tips For Saving Money On Sales Training

Sales training is more important now than during any time I can remember.  I’ve written again and again about the right approach to training.  So long as you are following those guidelines, here are some tips to reduce the typical cost of sales training:

Employ a blended-learning or distance-learning-only approach. Not every situation requires classroom [...]