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Sales Strategies

What An MBA Didn’t Teach You About Sales

The sales profession is challenging. You need to work hard at it to succeed. You need to learn from the best. You need to improve your skills continuously. If you think you can sell since you are a hit at parties and have a lot of friends, you may soon find that you are a failure as a salesperson. Blunt truth:

because the sales profession is so hard, you have to focus on doing everything in sales very well, or you will be considered a failure.

I call this blog, Skinned Knees because I try to relate all of the learning that I have done over the past 4+ decades (while skinning my knees in the learning process).

I hope that you learn from my mistakes so that your business will grow!

Building a Successful Sales Team: A Guide for CEOs and Managers

You can overcome obstacles and significantly improve your sales performance with the right mindset, strategies, and tools. For salespeople, sales managers, and CEOs of small companies, the journey to sales excellence is paved with lessons and insights that can be invaluable in improving management capabilities and driving revenue growth.

The sales process is a critical aspect of any business. It’s the engine that drives revenue and growth and the platform on which customer relationships are built. However, businesses often encounter a unique problem in their sales process. The problem isn’t necessarily about the product or service being sold, the market, or the competition. Rather, it’s about the people involved in the process—the salespeople.

Being a salesperson is a challenging profession. It requires a unique set of skills, a deep understanding of the product or service being sold, and a certain level of resilience to face the inevitable rejections that come with the job. But more than that, it requires a mindset that embraces growth, learning, and continuous improvement.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Selling the Hole, Not the Drill: Understanding the Real Value Behind Your Sales – E91

Welcome to another insightful episode of “Two Tall Guys Talking Sales,” where our hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey dive deep into the complexities and strategies of sales. In this episode, they explore the nuanced dynamics of selling through distribution and understanding the real needs of your customers. Whether you’re a seasoned sales veteran or just starting in your career, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge on refining your sales approach to maximize effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. Selling Through Distribution: Sean shares his early career mistakes and the pivotal lessons of focusing beyond just the product features.
  2. Understanding Your Customer’s Needs: Strategies to grasp what the end-user truly requires from a product, rather than just its specifications.
  3. The Importance of Simplicity in Sales: Kevin emphasizes how simplifying your sales message can vastly improve understanding and efficiency in sales processes.
  4. Sales Training and Knowledge Transfer: Both hosts discuss how proper training and knowledge sharing with channel partners and sales teams can lead to better sales outcomes.
  5. The Role of Value in Sales: How to communicate the unique value of a product or service to stand out in a competitive market.
  6. Referral Partnerships and Networks: Sean elaborates on the significance of nurturing relationships with referral partners to enhance lead generation for smaller businesses.
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Driving Sales Success through Collaborative Learning and Knowledge Sharing

Aiming to increase revenue and boost productivity in sales processes, sales managers and company CEOs are constantly searching for effective strategies to streamline their operations and ensure optimal results. One such strategy involves conducting sales meetings for educational purposes. These meetings focus on enhancing knowledge and skills, and this is where the real game begins. 

Imagine a sales meeting where, instead of a mundane round-up of weekly activities, there’s an engaging discussion about a new book that can potentially revolutionize the sales process. Picture a team of four or five salespeople, including you, each reading two chapters of a book overnight. The next day, everyone shares the high-level takeaways from their assigned chapters. This practice allows the team to consume an entire book’s content in a day and empowers each member to become an authority on the subject matter because they’re teaching others. The exercise is educational, promotes team collaboration, and enhances communication skills. 

This approach can be extended beyond books to other areas, such as market research. For instance, if a company is looking to enter a new vertical, different aspects of the industry, like market influencers, challenges, and political, economic, and legal factors, can be assigned to team members for research. Each member returns their findings to the team, comprehensively understanding the new market. This practice is not merely busy work; it’s sales-driving work that benefits the entire team and accelerates learning about the new market.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – The Four Pillars of Sales Success with Veteran Advisor Chris Goade – E89

Join Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey in this compelling episode of “Two Tall Guys Talking Sales,” featuring seasoned sales acceleration advisor Chris Goade. As a pioneer in the field from Dallas-Fort Worth, Chris brings a wealth of experience from top companies like Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo, and 3M. Delve into the intricacies of building effective sales processes and learn firsthand about the transformative power of structured sales strategies.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Building Effective Sales Teams: How creating structured processes can accelerate sales performance.
  • Sales Process Fundamentals: Chris outlines the critical pillars of a successful sales process, including lead generation and customer relationship management.
  • Transitioning from Corporate to Consulting: Chris shares his journey from corporate sales to starting his own consulting business and the lessons learned.
  • The Evolution of Sales Tools and Techniques: Discussion on how sales strategies have adapted over time, especially in response to technological advancements.
  • Maintaining Customer Relationships: The importance of nurturing existing relationships to foster long-term business growth.
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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Fundamentals First: Building a Winning Sales Team with Tom Morgan of Sales Xceleration – E88

Welcome to another insightful episode of “Two Tall Guys Talking Sales,” where we continue our vibrant discussion this week with special guest Tom Morgan, a former collegiate basketball coach turned sales strategy guru. Diving into the parallels between sports coaching and sales management, this episode is packed with strategic insights to enhance your sales team’s performance as the quarter and year draw to a close. Key Topics Discussed: Key Quotes: Summary: Whether you’re a sales… Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Fundamentals First: Building a Winning Sales Team with Tom Morgan of Sales Xceleration – E88

From Crisis to Control: Managing Expectations in Sales Leadership

The concept of “managing up” emphasizes the importance of aligning a sales team’s objectives with the expectations of upper management. This approach is particularly crucial during periods of sales turnaround, where the usual metrics might falter and innovative, agile responses are required. “Managing up” involves treating higher management as an internal customer whose needs must be understood and met with the same diligence as those of external clients. For sales leaders, this means crafting a… From Crisis to Control: Managing Expectations in Sales Leadership

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Winning Sales Strategies: Harnessing the Power of Team Play – E87

In this engaging episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey welcome special guest Tom Morgan from Sales Xceleration. Join us as Tom shares intriguing insights from his vast experience in optimizing sales teams by drawing compelling parallels between youth sports coaching and sales management. Broadcasting all the way from Portland, Maine, Tom brings a fresh perspective on effective sales strategies and team dynamics. Key Topics Discussed: Key Quotes: Summary:… Two Tall Guys Talking Sales Podcast – Winning Sales Strategies: Harnessing the Power of Team Play – E87

Proactive Coaching: The Key to Unlocking Exceptional Sales Performance

A shift is occurring away from simply correcting problems after they’ve happened toward a more proactive and developmental approach to coaching sales teams. This evolution in strategy empowers sales leaders, CEOs, and managers to not only meet but also exceed their targets through effective team management and personal development. The concept of continuous improvement in sales begins with a focus on coaching. Unlike traditional reactive methods, modern sales leadership emphasizes coaching as a tool for… Proactive Coaching: The Key to Unlocking Exceptional Sales Performance

Boosting Business Performance: Integrating Sales and Marketing Efforts

The symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing is more crucial than ever. This dynamic duo drives the revenue generation engine, which is especially crucial when businesses are keen to set a positive trajectory. Marketing’s influence cannot be understated. It often shapes the business’s success months in advance. Strategies implemented by marketing today can significantly impact revenue streams later in the year. Therefore, it’s essential for sales and marketing to align and integrate their processes to… Boosting Business Performance: Integrating Sales and Marketing Efforts