The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast

In life, in business, and especially in sales, success leaves clues, and as leaders, it is critical that we understand what behaviours and thinking patterns we utilise that will lead to the results we are seeking. We can never rest on our laurels, because mediocrity also leaves clues! Even though we may not start the day with the intention of being mediocre, often our thinking patterns and behaviours can result in sub optimum performance, and hence results. Which is why, as exceptional sales leaders, we must be constantly vigilant on our thinking and actions. In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Reber, Performance Coach, Founder of The Contractor Fight, and Podcaster with well over 800 episodes in the can. The conversation is phenomenal, especially when it comes to standards of excellence and destroying mediocrity. I trust you enjoy the conversation. To connect with Tom, and to learn more about The Contractor Fight, go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomreber/ Website – https://thecontractorfight.com/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/realtomreber/ Podcast – https://thecontractorfight.com/podcast/

A couple of weeks ago I was facilitating a leadership program for Leaders of an iconic Australian brand. It was an incredible 2 days where we went deep into leadership and what it means to be a leader in 2023 and beyond. Leadership today, more than ever, is not for the faint hearted. It was thrilling though to witness first hand the commitment of these leaders to their craft, and more specifically, to their team. Halfway through day 1 we were exploring our leadership legacy and discussing key leadership principles when this came to the surface – leaders today need to be ruthlessly uncompromising. It was a response to a question I had from one of the leaders, and this principle resonated so strongly it ended up being a key theme for the next day and a half. It may sound harsh on the surface, however the more we explored it, the more this principle resonated with the leaders as a key pillar to underpin their leadership legacy.

When it comes to communicating a message, especially a message that will resonate and be embedded into the audience’s psyche, there is nothing more powerful than storytelling. Blockbuster movies have at their core, powerful stories with impactful messages, as do books, and the same can be said for leaders and salespeople seeking to increase their influence and impact. Why is it then that storytelling is not as widely used in corporate, especially in sales? Telling powerful stories as part of a sales campaign just could be the difference that makes all the difference. In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Mark Carpenter, Owner of Mindset Strategic Leadership and Co-Author of the book, Master Storytelling. Mark is on a mission to bring more humanity into leadership and sales and a key pillar to that mission is storytelling. It is a fascinating conversation and one that I hope you enjoy. To connect with Mark, and to grab a copy of his book, go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-carpenter-0b55221/ Website – https://master-storytelling.com/ Book – Go to Amazon.com

Whether you are a business owner or a leader within a business, a key objective for you is to create an environment that enables the business to grow. This is especially true of sales leaders, where we are expected to underpin this growth through continuing to deliver the numbers, and often we are heavily reliant on the leads that are generated. In this episode, I enjoyed a great conversation with Jarod Spiewak, Founder and Lead Strategist at Comet Fuel, a successful lead generation agency, around intentionally scaling your business, to deliver sustainable and replicable results. To connect with Jarod and to learn more about Comet Fuel, go to: Website – https://cometfuel.com/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@JarodSpiewak LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarodspiewak/

When thinking about sales, many people think of the hard sell, where the salesperson is focused on selling a product or service at all costs, in many cases retrofitting that product into a perceived or created need. It doesn’t work – in today’s episode, I enjoyed a fabulous conversation with Joel Stevenson, who also happens to run a podcast titled ‘The Hard Sell’ – however, it is the complete opposite to what we think. It is a great conversation, and one that I hope you enjoy listening to. To connect with Joel and to listen to his podcast, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelstevensongm/ Podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-hard-sell/id1619135788

Having been in sales for over 20 years, I believe it to be one of the greatest professions on the planet, where not only can we create significant value in the market place, we can also build an exceptional reputation. Many though do not share the same philosophy, and see sales instead as being pushy, sleazy and unethical. One of the reasons I continue to do what I do is to help change that narrative, and I love speaking with people who are on a similar journey. In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Jackson Earngey, Founder and CEO of Earng Media, a Lead Generation agency, who is creating significant value in the market. We discuss the importance of ethical selling and why ethics is paramount to creating sustainable business. I hope you enjoy the episode. To connect with Jackson and to learn more about Earng Media, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonearngey/ Website – https://earngmedia.com/#f-2

Today, more than ever, we are juggling multiple expectations, multiple tasks, and the sheer volume of information being thrown in our direction never seems to abate. There are so many distractions in front of us, with people and organisations vying for our attention, it is easy to get overwhelmed, lose focus, and in many cases, burnout. This is especially true for sales leaders, where we can fall into a false sense of urgency, especially from other people’s agendas. In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Eric Recker, Dentist, Coach, Speaker, Author and recovering Triathelete. Eric is also the founder and CEO of #WINtheNOW and is on a mission to help 10million win the now. It is a fabulous conversation with loads of ideas and perspectives to help us be ever more present in the moment. To connect with Eric, to learn more about #WINtheNOW, including grabbing a copy of his book, and to take the 5 Days of Knock Back Burnout Challenge, go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-recker-583849278/ Website – https://ericrecker.com/ 5 Day Challenge – https://ericrecker.com/knock-back-burnout/

If you have been in sales for any length of time, you would have experienced negotiations. For many sales people, negotiations are a very fruitful and positive experience, and yet for others, it can be demanding, very difficult and also stressful. It doesn’t have to be. As sales leaders and sales people, we can develop our negotiations muscle to where we are able to deliver tangible and valuable outcomes, both for our organisation as well as the customer. In today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Mark Raffan, Head of Training at Negotiations Ninja, and the best selling author of the recently released book, “9 Secrets to Win Deals & Influence Stakeholders”. It is another phenomenal conversation where Mark shares nuggets of gold on how to become a more effective negotiator – I trust you enjoy the conversation. To connect with Mark and to learn more about Negotiations Ninja, please go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/markraffan/ And to order a copy of Mark’s book, please go to Amazon at https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CGM8W5LS/ref=cbw_us_au_dp_ags?smid=A4XRJ8S0WXSO0

As a sales leader, how predictable are the sales opportunities flowing through your team? Are they highly qualified? Are you laser focused on specific customers and specific opportunities, or throwing mud against the wall hoping it sticks? Are you converting a high percentage of the opportunities? Are the closed opportunities highly profitable? In working with sales leaders, what I find fascinating is how unplanned and unprepared the vast majority are when it comes to sales opportunities. This approach leads to unpredictability in sales – there is a better way.

In the sales game, the vast majority measure success by the numbers. Either you hit the sales target or you don’t and sales leaders can be very laser focused on the scoreboard and lead according to what the numbers are saying. But this does not always tell the full story. It has often been said that sales is a numbers game and interestingly, sales leaders who focus entirely on the numbers tend to lead teams which achieve outcomes within plus or minus 10% of the sales target. Each conversation and each review is based on the year to date or month to date position against the target. Exceptional Sales Leaders approach things differently, which is the topic of today’s conversation.

Sales is the lifeblood of any business, but it is fascinating to see the number of organisations that focus so much of their attention on their own products and services without learning the structural fundamentals as to what problem those products and services solve in the marketplace. The end result? Low conversion rates, and ultimately unrealised sales & revenue potential. In today’s episode, I speak with Gabe Lullo, the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development as a service business which offers organisations the ultimate sales assist. Gabe has hired, trained and managed over 8,000 Sales Development Reps for companies such as Zoominfo, AWS and Adobe, to name a few, and offers incredible value in this conversation around sales development and improving conversion rates. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. To connect with Gabe and to learn more about Alleyoop, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lullo/ Website – https://alleyoop.io/

You may be thinking what a weird title for a podcast? 🙃 And you may be correct, however, in sales, so many sales leaders and their teams are trying their very hardest to boil the ocean. Putting pressure on themselves to land the big strategic deal. The iconic new logo. The multi million deal. The deal that will change the entire trajectory of their business. And often, salespeople look for opportunities to be involved in these big deals, to be part of the team that wins that major new logo. All the while, there are opportunities left right and centre that are not only going unnoticed, they are not being converted. Why? Because too many are trying to boil the ocean. Big deals will always be there, and whilst they are exciting to be part of, sometimes we need to focus on boiling the kettle first.

We have all heard the term, ‘Variety is the spice of life’, and yet in sales, so many companies and sales leaders stick to a very boring formula of sameness, looking to acquire talent from the same talent pool, with the same key criteria such as track record, tenure at an organisation, specific product, service or industry experience. Often though this can lead to sales leaders building one dimensional teams, resulting in these teams not fulfilling their maximum potential. Exceptional sales leaders focus on building multi dimensional teams, and therefore look differently at how to acquire talent. That is what I discuss on today’s episode.

As a leader, it is vital that we are aware that our every move is being watched like a hawk. Our team expects us to set the example. To ‘Be’ the Model of Excellence that will lead to exceptional and sustainable results. And it starts with the small things, which may seem incidental in and of themselves, however, over time, can compound and have a dramatic impact. This is what I discuss on today’s episode.

In the ultra competitive business world of 2023, it is important that organisations get specific on the characteristics and attributes they are looking for in sales talent. No longer can we go by gut feel or simply a strong track record of performance when it comes to hiring sales people, because this can be quite costly if we get it wrong. In today’s episode, I speak with Jakub Hon, the CEO & Co-Founder of SALESDOCk, a B2B Sales Agency based in the Netherlands. It is a great conversation covering a number of topics, including how to avoid 5-figure hiring mistakes. To connect with Jakub and to learn more about SALESDOCk, go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubhon/ Website – https://www.salesdock.com/

As leaders, there is one specific skill that can help unlock the true potential of our team and that is coaching. Unfortunately many leaders do not receive the coaching and mentoring in order to build their coaching muscle, and hence focus their attention on what I call surface level elements, being behaviours and actions, rather than the deep rooted thinking patterns that lead to behaviours. In today’s episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Kim Ades, the Founder of Frame of Mind Coaching™, and Co-Founder of The Journal That Talks Back, and Journal Engine. Kim is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, coach and mum of 5, who has a unique approach to coaching – an approach that is delivering remarkable results. Kim shares gold nugget after gold nugget in this episode, so if you are a leader who is dedicated to unleashing the potential of your team, it is well worth listening to this episode more than once. To connect with Kim, and to learn more about Frame of Mind Coaching™ please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimades/ Website – https://www.frameofmindcoaching.com/

Earlier this year I had the privilege of speaking with L’areal Lipkins, CEO & Founder of Lipkins Consulting Group, as we discussed all things sales and sales leadership. It was a fabulous conversation where L’areal shared loads of valuable insights for sales leaders and their teams to drive exceptional results. In today’s episode we continue that conversation, specifically discussing some key elements from L’areal’s recently released book “What Top Performing Sales People Do Different”. It is a very insightful conversation with loads of value for sales people and sales leaders alike. I trust you enjoy listening to the conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. To connect with L’areal and to grab a copy of her new book, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lareallipkins/ Website – https://lareallipkins.com/book

In the busyness of sales, it is easy to get caught up in the moment, and react to the situation we find ourselves and our team in. How often though do we, as sales leaders, take a step back and ask ourselves ‘Am I helping or am I hindering?’ If you are like me when I was leading sales teams, the answer is not very often. Over the years, the more I have worked with sales leaders and their teams, the more I have realised that we must be 100% conscious of each moment, and must build better awareness around what we are projecting. that is the topic of today’s conversation.

Another fabulous conversation today with Dr.Philip Squire, the CEO and Co-Founder of Consalia, a UK & Singapore based specialist sales business school. In our last episode, Philip described the key positive sales mindsets and values that sales teams must embrace in order to be effective in selling customised solutions to their customers. In today’s episode, we go deeper, exploring these from a Sales Leader’s perspective, specifically focusing on how to coach these mindsets and values, so as to develop more customer value, and ultimately, to deliver exceptional results. To connect with Philip and to learn more about Consalia, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipsquire/ Website – https://www.consalia.com/ To discover your sales mindset, go to – https://www.consalia.com/mindset-survey/

In sales, we are almost indoctrinated into keeping our focus on the target, the big goal, the prize, and as a result, literally every meeting, every conversation is centred around that prize. This, for many, can be stifling, not to mention, counter productive, especially when obstacles and challenges are presented. When we fall behind the number, it is all hands to the pump to get us back on track, burning up energy, and in many cases, creating disharmony. And often, the end result is we do not achieve the number. There is a different way and that is to take your eyes off the prize, which I delve into in today’s episode.

When it comes to leading teams, many leaders believe that in order to be fair, they need to lead everyone in the same way, which is great in theory, but not as great in practice. Leaders must have a clear set of leadership values and principles to operate from, but great leaders also understand that they need to adjust the way they lead team members, based on the team members commitment and competency. The leader needs to become a chameleon and lead based on the situation – this is the topic of today’s conversation.

Over the last 8 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with sales leaders & their teams to help them unleash their sales potential, engaging with sales teams across a very wide spectrum of industries. The vast majority have their customers best interests at heart. The one consistent element though through just about every single sales team is the propensity to introduce & talk about their product or service too early in the buyers purchasing cycle. And sales leaders, we are often the biggest culprits (I have both of my hands in the air right now!!) It is absolutely essential that we believe in our product or service, but we must recognise one very important point – customers do not want your product & they do not want your service. That may sound controversial but it is true. What customers want is a solution to either a known problem or a problem that has been identified through having a conversation with you. This is what I tackle in today’s conversation.

When working with Sales Leaders, as well as non sales leaders, I often ask them what one of their key responsibilities are. What is fascinating is that many leaders respond with the belief that a core function of their role is to motivate their team. They see it as their responsibility to ensure that their team are energised & filled with excitement,  so they look for opportunities to motivate them. How? Often through providing a carrot, such as a bonus, an incentive trip, or simply an opportunity to be recognised as a top performer on the ‘league ladder’. All extrinsic motivators, and unfortunately, mostly ineffective in driving sustainable and high levels of performance. For a number of years, I was also one of those sales leaders who believed it important to motivate and incentivise the team to drive outstanding results. The unfortunate reality though was that the performance was rarely sustained over a long period of time. And when I began working with an executive coach, they helped me understand how exceptional performance is actually driven through intrinsic motivation. In fact, my coach said to me 6 very powerful words which changed everything – ‘Stop Trying To Motivate Your Team’.

In many organisations across many industries Sales Leaders often come from within the ranks of the sales team. They have been high performing sales executives, delivering outstanding results, and based on this performance, they are promoted to Sales Manager. The challenge is, the vast majority of them are not given either the support or the roadmap to make a successful transition from individual contributor to sales leader. The skill sets required for both roles are vastly different. Without this essential roadmap, the new sales leader does what any logical person would do – they copy the example set by their leaders. Unfortunately though, in many companies, the example set by senior leaders is not the example that underpins sustainable & replicable results, yet alone, exceptional results. And one of the biggest elements of this is what I call leading by absence. Far too many leaders are missing in action. They are certainly not delivering to the team their greatest gift.

In working with sales leaders and their teams, I often ask them to articulate their key sales values when it comes to delivering customer value. Many of them respond with common values such as integrity, customer focused or trust, however often find it difficult to go deeper through describing the key behaviours that sit underneath. Very rarely have I come across a sales team where they focus on sales values through the lens of what the customer expects of them. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Dr. Philip Squire, the Co-Founder and CEO of Consalia, a UK based Sales Business School dedicated to improving sales performance through sales education and transformation. In this episode, Philip shares with me the key sales values and mindsets that customers expect of their sales people, based on extensive research. It is a phenomenal conversation that I trust you enjoy and gain significant value from. To connect with Dr.Phil to learn more about Consalia, as well as taking The Mindset Survey, please go to : Website – https://www.consalia.com/ The Mindset Survey – https://www.consalia.com/mindset-survey/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipsquire/

In working with sales leaders and their teams, I am often staggered by the number of sales people who are constantly on the hunt for new leads and new opportunities, but don’t stay the course long enough to see those opportunities through. It is almost like they expect every lead to convert in the first or second contact, and when they don’t, they look to the next batch of opportunities, expecting those to convert. As a sales leader, it is so important to challenge and encourage our team to stay the course – to stay in the game. And in today’s episode I explain why.

So thrilled today to be delivering episode #600 of The Exceptional Sales Leader Podcast. To say that it has been a wild ride would be an under statement. It has been challenging, it has been filled with highs and lows, but overwhelmingly, it has been a tremendous experience, specifically for the lessons it has taught me. In today’s episode, I reflect on the 6 key lessons podcasting has taught me over the last 3 years, which also has direct relevance to us as sales leaders and sales people. I trust these lessons can also help you and your team on your journey.

Despite sales people possessing incredible talent and reporting to a Sales Leader who believes in them, it is staggering to observe the number of sales people who lack confidence. A lack of confidence to take action and instead they wait to feel confident. They remain in a comfort zone and are reluctant to take risks, fearing the consequences of mistakes. This often results in stagnation and a further reduction in confidence. This is the topic of discussion on today’s episode.

As John Maxwell says, ‘Leadership is Influence, and Influence is Leadership‘, and in order to build influence, leaders must work on creating a level of presence with their key stakeholder groups. The unfortunate thing though is that many leaders believe that this presence is developed solely through the verbal communication tools at their disposal. This is not the case. Our non-verbal communication strategies are the ones which can significantly magnify our presence and hence our ability to influence. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of having a conversation with Rachel Cossar, CEO & Co-Founder of Virtual Sapiens, a machine learning SaaS platform helping client facing professionals master communication skills over video. As a former professional ballet dancer, Rachel is a leading expert in the field of nonverbal communication and leadership presence facilitation, and we chat about how the development of this competency can have such an incredibly positive impact on our ability to lead and influence. I hope you enjoy the episode. To connect with Rachel and to learn more about Virtual Sapiens, including taking a free assessment, please go to: Website – https://www.virtualsapiens.co/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-cossar/ Or connect with Rachel via email at [email protected]

One of the greatest things about sales and sales leadership is that there is no specific required background that guarantees success. I’ve seen very technical people become great sales people. I’ve seen very non technical people become great sales people. Extroverted, introverted, young, old, male, female. It doesn’t matter – I’ve seen people from all walks of life, with all kinds of different backgrounds, become successful in sales, and many have gone on to be successful sales leaders. However there is one common element amongst all of them that can often strike, sometimes at the height of their ‘success’, and often when they least expect it – Imposter Syndrome. In today’s episode, I discuss this and why you are actually not an imposter.

As John Maxwell says, ‘Leadership is influence, and influence is leadership’. And specifically as sales leaders, we must continue to positively influence our team, to drive exceptional standards, so as to drive sustainable, predictable and replicable results. This influence presupposes that our team trusts us. Does your team trust you? And if the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’, the follow up question is ‘how do you know?’ That is the topic of today’s episode.

It is fascinating as to how many sales leaders and their teams don’t like objections, and will do almost anything to avoid them. Why? Because they often see the objection as a form of rejection, and to avoid that, a natural tactic I see is sales people bombarding the prospective customer with copious amounts of information, most of which is product information. Objections are part of business, they are good for business and they do not have to be overcome, despite what you may be told. This is what I explore in today’s episode.

Many salespeople set themselves ambitious goals to become a sales leader at some stage in their career, however, don’t necessarily think deeply about the characteristics they will need to form & embrace in order to become an effective & successful leader. They are drawn to the allure of the leadership role & the expected profile, status & prestige that they believe comes as part of the deal.  For many, when they step into the leadership role, they quickly find the role not to be what they expected, & a key reason for this, is they have not undertaken enough preparation or given the leadership role rigorous thought. Hence, they often second guess themselves, & turn their back on the role. Sales Leaders who become exceptional operate differently. They do not become exceptional the moment they step into the role. They work on it, & they are intentional. They develop the following characteristics over time and continue to work on these daily. That is what I cover in today’s episode.

Many sales leaders, when they transition from individual contributor to sales leader, continue the same behaviours they demonstrated as a sales person. They love the hunt and get excited by the prospect of winning the deal. Very often this can lead to disengagement & de-positioning of the sales team.  When it comes to leading your team, do you find yourself solving the team’s problems, believing that through solving the problem, you are serving them? Great sales leaders recognise there is a better way – servant leadership. Serving their team so that the team has the opportunity to be sustainably successful. That is the topic for today’s conversation.

When it comes to selling & business development, the vast majority of salespeople and their organisations are laser focused on their own product or service, and how it can fit the marketplace, often resulting in retrofitting into perceived or created customer needs, and not necessarily delivering tangible value to the customer. The word ’empathy’ probably doesn’t exist in their sales vocabulary. In today’s episode, I enjoyed a fabulous conversation with Grant Lira, Co-Founder of The Empathy Firm, an enterprise that is changing the way organisations can influence their marketplace, deliver tangible value, through doing things differently through the power of empathy. If you are seriously committed to increasing your organisation’s profile, credibility and reach, this episode is a must listen. And for listeners of this podcast, when you send Grant an email at [email protected] & mention this episode, he will gift you a service to have you placed in 3 online publications free of charge. A great way to increase your market reach. To connect with Grant and to learn more about The Empathy Firm, please go to: Website – https://empathyfirm.com/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-lira-73a594188/

When it comes to sales leadership, and driving exceptional performance, many talk about the importance of being authentic as a core pillar of great leadership, and yet, unfortunately, the practice doesn’t always match the theory. Some leaders talk a good game, but when the pressure is applied, they often find it difficult to maintain their authenticity. It is easy to be authentic when business conditions are great; where authenticity is tested is when business conditions change. I often talk about the fact that the team is and always will be a reflection of its leader, and today’s guest epitomises this principle. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of having a conversation with a truly authentic sales leader, Francois Cleret (or Frenchy as he is known as), the Sales & Marketing Director at AMES Australasia, a very successful & fast growing organisation. It is a great conversation where Frenchy delivers value bomb after value bomb around authentic leadership. I trust you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. To connect with Frenchy on LinkedIn, please click on this link

I love asking teams, especially sales teams about their perceptions of sales. Many of them, especially those not directly involved in a sales role, often have less than savoury things to say about sales – perceptions such as pushy, sleezy, untrustworthy, inauthentic.  Very rarely do I hear positive perceptions, which is disappointing. I often share with teams that sales is the ultimate form of service, and can be not only very lucrative, it can also be a profession of high integrity, authenticity and trust. And one of the key pillars around this is understanding that the sale actually doesn’t start until after the sale is made. That is the topic for today’s episode.

For many sales leaders, this time of year is not an enjoyable experience, particularly around having to prepare and then conduct the formalised annual performance review. One of the key reasons for this is they dust off the performance review document, and then wrack their brain on what elements can be included in the document to then be able to conduct the conversation. No wonder they don’t enjoy it. Exceptional sales leaders do not wait until the formalised review to discuss performance – they make it their priority to conduct laser focused conversations around performance next to real time, so that there are no surprises come the formalised review. This is what I discuss in today’s episode as well as provide some tips on how to make these conversations more effective.

In working with sales leaders and their teams for many years now, I’m staggered at the number of individuals, whether it be sales people, or in some cases, sales leaders, who search for the easy road – the shortcut. Many of them expect instant results and will often only apply ‘token efforts’ to achieve results. And when the ideal results are not forthcoming, they will look to external forces to justify the outcome. No matter what industry you look at, or what role within that industry, both ‘success’ and ‘failure’ leaves clues. And it is the astute individual who will be a student, who will observe and ask curious based questions, who will search for and analyse those clues, and who will tap into the one force which separates exceptional performers from everyone else – excellence. That is the topic that I explore in today’s episode.

I’m so thrilled to be able to have Doug C Brown, Sales Revenue & Profit Growth Expert from CEO Sales Strategies, back on the podcast for a second conversation. Today’s conversation is a continuation of exploring the inner sales voice that we as sales people and sales leaders must be attuned to, as well as building awareness of the labels we apply to ourselves and others, which can either enhance, or diminish our chances of being successful. If you have a desire to become a 1% sales earner in your business and industry, then we must be crystal clear on who we are, what we stand for, why we do what we do, and who is our key target customer. Doug has built a phenomenal sales & sales leadership career, and worked with some of the world’s highest achievers, so the value he brings to this episode is not based on theory, it is based on experience. I trust you enjoy the conversation. Doug is also about to release a brand new e-book on how to be a non-stop 1% sales earner, which he will be selling upon its release. However, for listeners of this podcast, if you send Doug an email at [email protected] and mention this episode, Doug will provide you with a copy of the book free of charge. If you are serious about lifting your sales performance and becoming a 1% earner, this book is a must.

Are you curious as to what it is that separates the exceptional performers, whether they be in business, sport, or entertainment, from their competitors? Many point to talent as being a key reason. Talent is a contributor but it is not the defining factor. Others point to connections – who they know – as a factor. Being connected certainly helps, but again, it is not the defining factor. Some even point to luck. Yes, luck does play a part, but again, it is not the defining factor. And many also point to hard work. Yes, not a single successful person became successful without working hard. That is a given. However, what’s really interesting about exceptionally successful people is their relentless focus on ‘one more’. It is this focus that separates them from their competition. That’s the topic for today’s episode.

Working in sales for over 20 years, I was staggered at the number of sales managers and teams that would frown upon failure – to the point where sales people would do whatever they could to avoid making mistakes. And in working as a coach & mentor to sales leaders and their teams for the last 8 years, unfortunately nothing much has changed. The pressure to hit the number is all consuming and within the sales environment, the expectation is to convert every opportunity because the forensic investigation if we ‘fail’ is more about apportioning blame, not learning so as to improve. Not a recipe for exceptional performance. In today’s episode, I explore why failure is a necessary ingredient to sales success.

I often talk about sales being the ultimate form of service, and irrespective of whether we have a sales role or not, we are all in sales. Unfortunately though, many sales people have a poor reputation because of how they approach sales, which can be off putting for many people. We can learn to love sales and even become a master of sales, if we master some fundamentals. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Gail Kasper, Author, Speaker, Producer and Sales Innovator. We talk all things sales and sales leadership, including how to be unstoppable in sales, as well as how to sell like a cockatoo. It is a fabulous conversation that I hope you enjoy. To connect with Gail, please go to: Website – https://gailkasper.com/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailkasper/ Email – [email protected]

If there is one thing that has come out of the last 3 years, it is that the world feels a lot smaller. The sheer volume of news and information being front of mind globally has been almost unlike any other time in history. And with this has come a much sharper focus on leadership. To say that there is a huge void in quality leadership around the world right now would be a massive understatement. For young people with ambitions of leading others in the future, unfortunately they do not have great examples of leaders to emulate. The role models do not model great leadership behaviours. Even more concerning, there is a fear that these young people observe the current leaders and believe that is leadership. It’s not. We need to change the narrative. We need leaders to step up and provide a different and better example of what real leadership is. And it starts with me and it starts with you. It’s time to become the Leader that your team needs and deserves.

I share with groups all the time that irrespective of the position or the organisation, every single person is in sales, whether we like it or not. Whether we are selling a product, a service or an idea, we must exert influence in order for a change to be created and an experience to be had. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Elia Donati, Personal Chef, and a man on a mission. From working in his father’s business making cold calls each day, to moving to Australia at the age of 21 without being able to speak any english, Elia’s story one of passion, enthusiasm and persistence. And today, he creates exceptional in home dining experiences for people as a personal chef. To connect with Elia, please check out his Instagram page or website: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/eliadonati/ Website – https://www.eliadonati.com/

As sales leaders, we all want to increase our level of influence – people in the team, our peers, key partners, customers and certainly senior executives. Interestingly, many believe the way to do that is through telling, through providing information, and in many cases, through trying to convince and impress people. This may work for some, but often this influence is short lived. The secret to influence is realising that it is not about you – you don’t have to try to impress or convince, just be you. It may be a cliche, but people will not necessarily remember what you told them or what content you delivered, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Influence is not rocket science, and in today’s episode, I explore 10 principles that can help you significantly improve your ability to influence. Hope you enjoy it.

Over 100 years ago, James Allen wrote the incredible book ‘As A Man Thinketh’ and in it he described the principle that we become who we think about. It was perhaps one of the first personal development books that delved into the power of mindset, attitude and emotional intelligence. The principle is still true today as it was over 100 years ago, and as sales leaders we must be constantly vigilant over the thinking patterns we choose to employ and the actions we take from those patterns. And closely aligned to these thinking patterns are the choices we make around who we surround ourselves with. This is what I discuss on today’s episode.

In working with sales leaders and their teams, I am constantly fascinated by what separates the average performers from the exceptional performers, especially when it appears, on the surface at least, that they have equal levels of talent, capability and opportunity. I have come to understand more and more, the power of the conversations we have in the 6 inches between our ears. Our inner voice is super powerful, and it can either massively enhance our ability to perform, or if we listen to it, sabotage our performance. And the great news is that we can control the conversation. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Doug C Brown, CEO of CEO Sales Strategies, and creator of the Top 1% Academy, about how we can better control the inner conversation and utilise this to drive exceptional performance. To secure a free copy of Doug’s upcoming ebook on how to become a top 1% sales earner, send an email to: [email protected] To connect with Doug and to learn more about CEO Sales Strategies, go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbrown123/ Website – https://ceosalesstrategies.com/

In many organisations, high performing sales people are often gifted with sales leadership responsibility based on their level of performance and level of potential – they sit in the ‘top right’ quadrant. It is often the next logical step in their sales journey. The challenge though is many high performing sales people are not prepared for the opportunity when it presents itself, and as such, feel thrusted into a leadership role without the transition blueprint or game plan. Many of them had not consciously considered a sales leadership role, and often find themselves floundering, especially in the first 90 days. It is why many sales leaders end up deciding that sales leadership is not for them, and instead, they return to an individual contributor role. The real reason though, is they have not yet developed their ‘Why’. That is the topic for today’s conversation.

One of the key challenges for sales leaders and their organisations is being able to identify their key market differentiation, what makes them unique, and then identifying how to exploit that differentiation to disrupt the market. Not many succeed. In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Evan Montero, the Co-Founder and CEO of DIY Blinds, a fully Australian-owned and made eServices start up that has achieved a $100m+ valuation in less than 5 years. We chat about the importance of customer service as a key differentiator, what are the key elements to building a solid sales team, as well as exploring Evan’s leadership style that has helped his organisation become very successful. A very insightful conversation that I’m sure you’ll enjoy. To connect with Evan or to learn more about DIY Blinds, please go to: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-montero-17956091/ Website – https://www.diyblinds.com.au/