Manage Better: How to Coach the “Not So Nice” Salesperson

Manage Better: How to Coach the “Not So Nice” Salesperson

You know this salesperson. She (or he) is really strong as a salesperson, but she just isn’t that likable. The unlikable salesperson doesn’t care much what people think of her. In her mind, she needs to do the job she was hired to do.

She might be highly driven to success. She might be highly motivated by money. But she doesn’t do things for your reasons. She does them for hers. Closing business is more important to her than whether people like her. She commands respect and her clients value her. Internally, though she might cause issues. She might be demanding […]

Sales Management Challenge: He’s Just So Nice

Sales Management Challenge: He’s Just So Nice

Do you have someone on your sales team who is “so nice”? He is the guy or gal that everyone likes. This individual gets along well with everyone. The service staff likes him, the customers like him, he is a team player. He is great. Except for the fact that he wastes too much time on opportunities that never seem to close. He isn’t meeting his goals consistently.

This is the sales manager’s plight. We like some people that don’t produce and we obsess and stress over those that do produce if they have difficult personalities. I see it all the time. […]

Sales Team Leaders: The Way You Say It and Your Intentions Matter

Sales Team Leaders: The Way You Say It and Your Intentions Matter

I was on a plane today and ran into an old friend who is also a very successful business leader and has been running organizations for years. She is similar in age to me and at one point we had been managers together inside a large organization. At the time we were unique in our organization in that we were both female and young – under 40 running large segments of the business. Needless to say, the two of us have spent many hours over the years talking about management issues.

On this particular plane trip, we were able to arrange […]