Self Development

Frequently people ask me how do I get better? How do I grow? How do I improve? Which are all good questions – and if you don’t ask yourself these questions – you should!

Josh Seibert is a long-time Sandler Trainer and our latest author. He joins us to talk about the lessons from his new book, Winning Through Failing. He shares why failure is a critical part of success, not the opposite of success. Learn how to set the stage for failure and use it to grow faster and expand your comfort zone.

There’s an adage that rings true for sales careers, “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” Proficient salespeople have some of the highest job satisfaction across all industries and can have very rewarding and lucrative careers. On the other side of the coin, selling — especially commission based selling — isn’t for everyone. Inexperienced or ineffective salespeople may have a hard time breaking into the profession.

It’s already the second quarter; is it too late to discuss sales mistakes to avoid in 2017?  Or lessons learned in 2016?  It matters not what month or year it is, for some sales lessons are timeless, and furthermore, we need to revisit them on a regular basis.

Need some motivation? Look no further than this group of TED Talks, from experts in a variety of fields. From the aid worker who battled hippos (and lost) to the analyst who discovered the power of drawing toast (and how those drawings revealed simple solutions to complex problems),” this roundup of TED Talks is ideal for motivating yourself or your sales team.

In his recent book, Change or Die, author Alan Deutschman claims that although we have the ability to change our behavior, we rarely do.  In fact, the odds are nine-to-one that when faced with a dire need to change, we won’t.  Most smokers who are presented with a wealth of scientific data on the dangers of tobacco do not quit smoking.  Our beliefs are what we feel in our gut and those beliefs are hard to change; we spent a lifetime developing and defending them.  This explains why providing information rarely changes how people think or act.

What do the first seven seconds of meeting you say about you, your work ethic, and your ability to be successful? Every fiber you zip, shrug, or button into tells a story about you. Smart business people understand this and use it to craft a strong personal brand. While you don't need to wear a business suit every day of your life, unless you are in a super-professional industry, it's critical to selectively choose your clothing. 

It's almost always the decision maker that makes the decision work or not work – not the choice.  You can make decisions – better decisions – and you can make them work.  If you are not feeling “up to it,” no amount of concentration or wishful thinking will make your dreams come true.  Things in motion tend to stay that way and things at rest do too.  When you stop spending so much time THINKING IT OVER, and start making decisions, your prospects will too.

2016 has been a year of many successes. Whether you are a sales representative, a sales manager, or simply interested in learning more about trending topics in the sales industry, we hope you have gathered some key insights from our blog this year. Before moving into 2017, we would like to take a look back and highlight some important topics from 2016.

You have an inventory to take, a phone call to make, and a report to write. But instead of diving in and getting the tasks completed, you put them off. “I’ll get to them soon,” you tell yourself. But your definition of “soon” and Webster’s definition have little in common. Can you relate to these situations…or perhaps other recurring situations of similar thought and behavior?