Professional Growth

Discover invaluable insight on finding your ideal job role, developing appropriate attitudes for success, and setting achievable goals that will help you make an impact in today's competitive world!

Onboarding sales talent has never been more important, given the tightness of the current labor market. Yet the most effective, proven best practices for shortening the runway to success for new hires remain largely unknown and unimplemented.

The Sandler Summit is a powerful two-day hybrid event where successful business professionals across all industries learn, collaborate, and network.

Mike Montague interviews Kevin Hallenbeck on How to Succeed at Sales Certification.

Many salespeople focus on behavior that is comfortable … and shun behavior that creates discomfort, even though it may drive higher performance.

Mike Montague interviews Paul van den Hoven on How to Succeed at Being Assertive.

Mike Montague interviews Janice Lintz on How to Succeed at Changing the World.

Mike Montague interviews Mark Herschberg, author of Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You, on How to Succeed at Creating a Toolkit. From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia.

Spring is here. It’s brighter later. It’s getting warmer. It’s a time for growing things. While planning our Summer harvest, let’s consider 10 Laws for Planting Seeds of Personal and Professional Growth.

Mike Montague interviews Josh Linkner on How to Succeed at Big Little Breakthroughs. In this episode:

Mike Montague interviews Steve Sims on How to Succeed at Making Things Happen.

Every year, in early January, the local gym is packed full of New Year’s fitness converts. And every year, In February, at that same gym, only the dedicated remain. What makes the difference? What do the people in the second group have that most of the people in the first mindset do not have?

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent months about exactly what the road to recovery looks like, doesn’t look like, or should look like. And there are a multitude of competing opinions on this subject.

In the world of Sandler selling, “Pain” is a compelling emotional reason to do something different.

Mike Montague interviews Randy Seidl on How to Succeed at Being Part of a Sales Community.

Mike Montague interviews Akshay Nanavati, best-selling author of Fearvana, on How to Succeed at Finding Bliss.

Michelle Prince is the best-selling author of her first book, “Winning In Life Now” and is a highly sought after Zig Ziglar Motivational Speaker.

Mike Montague interviews Wade Rowan, Sandler trainer from Chattanooga, on How to Succeed at Identifying Your Personal Advantage.

Mike Montague interviews Keith Kong on How to Succeed at Doing the Impossible.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

Mike Montague interviews Kevin Shulman on How to Succeed at Achieving Your Goals.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

Mike Montague interviews best-selling author, Nir Eyal, on How to Succeed at Being Indistractable.

Mike Montague interviews Mark Hayward on How to Succeed at Having a Side Hustle. 

Here is the reality – if you want to emerge stronger from this crisis environment and into the recovery, you’ve got to be spending this time “watching the tape.” That means, analyzing what you’re doing and identifying what you need to change to do better.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

Mike Montague interviews Brian Jackson on How to Succeed at Active Fundraising.

In today’s current market conditions, leaders need to accept that the success of their teams and their companies will rely heavily on striking a collaborative, coordinated balance between creative strategic thinking and effective implementation.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

Mike Montague interviews Dr. Benjamin Hardy on How to Succeed at Understanding Your Personality.

Mike Montague Interviews Bill Cates on How to Succeed with Radical Relevance

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

Episode 400 features Mike Montague interviewing Todd Herman, author of The Alter Ego Effect, on How to Succeed at Embracing Your Alter Ego.

David Mattson, President and CEO of Sandler Training and 6-time Author, talks about his Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek best-selling book, The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them.

Mike Montague interviews Clint Babcock on How to Succeed at Three Hidden Traits of Successful Salespeople.

Training Industry, one of the most trusted and respected sources of information on the business of learning, recently selected Sandler Training as one of the top 20 sales training companies. This selection marks the eleventh consecutive year that Sandler Training has been so honored.

Mike Montague interviews Sandra Crozier-McKee on How to Succeed at Emotional Intelligence.

Mike Montague interviews Bob Burg on How to Succeed at Being a Go-Giver.

Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, the go-to online resource for creative professionals who want better projects with bigger budgets, through which she offers business coaching to small groups and 1:1.

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book, Dave will revisit each of the original 49 Sandler Rules and give updated takes on their relevance to salespeople and sales leaders.

There are many articles this time of year about how to improve individual productivity, thereby accelerating company growth over the course of the year. I’ve written my fair share of these articles and, of course, they have their place. 

Mike Montague has been involved with Sandler for over 20 years as a client, certified trainer, VP of online learning, and now global head of content.

As 2019 draws to a close, it makes sense to survey the landscape and take note of the ideas and innovations that are most likely to affect markets, and sales teams, in the year to come. With that in mind, here are five emerging trends we at Sandler believe sales professionals should be on the watch for in the year 2020.

Dave Mattson, President and CEO of Sandler Training, interviews Chris Underwood, the most recent winner of CBS’s Survivor, on how he used Sandler sales techniques to win the show and win more deals. Chris attends Sandler Training in Chicago.

The 2020 Summit will be held March 4-6 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Here are three reasons you should book your slot today.

Mike Montague interviews Doug Cohen on How to Succeed at The First 30 Seconds of a Prospecting Call. 

Mike Montague interviews Wayne Dehn on How to Succeed at Overcoming Childhood Messages.

Mike Montague interviews Dan Stalp on how to succeed at redirecting prospects’ head trash. 

There’s a wise saying popularly attributed to baseball legend Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” Here’s how I unpack that wisdom: We have to know what our goals are, and we also have to know the specific behaviors that support those goals… otherwise, we may end up supporting someone else’s plan, rather than our own. With that sobering thought in mind, consider this list of five behaviors that are essential the achievement of any worthwhile personal goal.

Mike Montague interviews Karl Schaphorst on how to succeed at being a purpose-driven salesperson In this episode:

• What it means to be a purpose-driven salesperson
• Attitudes to adopt and avoid
• Embrace pain and suffering

In his book Blink, author Malcolm Gladwell contends that people make their best and most accurate decisions in the first two seconds of facing a situation—in other words, in the blink of an eye. It seems inherently suspect, though, this notion that people can make correct decisions quickly. Is it? You were probably taught from an early age that haste makes waste; don’t judge a book by its cover; and look before you leap.

Mike Montague interviews Nema Semnani on how to succeed at storytelling. In this episode:

• The right attitude for effective storytelling
• Imagined realities are powerful motivators
• How to tell a compelling story

Selling for a living in the twenty-first century requires coming to terms with a dizzying array of interconnected, hard-to-anticipate changes in the areas of technology, marketplace trends, and client agendas. Falling behind in any one of these areas means losing relevance and with it, your competitive edge.

Often, we’re frightened when we come to terms with a problem that has grown out of proportion and seems dangerous. As these problems manifest, we become more and more aware of the intricacies that have created it. The hardest truth to face when it comes to challenges that build up overtime is that they are typically products of our own creation. Often, built out of a lack of perspective to our own coded responses that come from the autopilot of repeated behavior.

Selling to major accounts, also known as enterprise accounts, is radically different from selling in other spaces. For one thing, the major account selling cycle is a continuous process – continuous because there’s no end to the cycle of selling to and serving large accounts. And the streams of transactions over time between buying and selling organizations constitute a client journey with a distinctive itinerary along a clear roadmap, a roadmap that delivers value on an ongoing basis.

Collectively over the years I've heard every excuse as to why people don't need to track metrics. "You don't understand I'm just too busy to track that type of thing," or "what is that really going to do for me in the long run."  Well, in the long run, if you truly understand what the outcomes are statistically every time you pick up the phone or attend a networking event, couldn't you predict the future?  Wouldn’t that make life a little less stressful?

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I love sales!  It is a career where you, the sales professional, determine your income based on how skillful you execute the duty.  It has a feel of independence, ownership and entrepreneurship and it can be extremely rewarding.  Professional selling is regarded as one of the top earning careers on the face of the planet.  Note to you business owners out there: If your salespeople are making more money than you, don’t be jealous, be excited because they are building your business and increasing its value!

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In the past couple of decades, our workplaces have gone from the office to mostly virtual spaces. We get our jobs done and we communicate in the cloud. However, we still struggle with the same issues in communication which we had decades ago. Here are a few effective ways to overcome communication barriers in the workplace which you can apply right now.

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Below, you will find some DON’Ts, some DOs, and some concise guidance TIPS on getting the very most out of the extraordinary learning and reinforcement tools available via online learning portals like Sandler Online.

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Clint Babcock, Sandler trainer, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to beat the competition. Get the best practices for locking out the competition and winning in a competitive space, collected from around the world.

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How effective are you at distinguishing your company from those you are competing against in the marketplace? Here's a quick reality check. Suppose you were talking to your number one prospect. And suppose that person looked you in the eye and asked you, "Why should I buy from you?" What would you say?

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The 2019 Sandler Summit, which took place at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida, was the best-attended Summit yet, both in-person and online. We covered a lot of ground, but I’d like to share with you two takeaways, in particular, from this year’s Summit.

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What is the ideal mix of daily and weekly activities – the mix that best supports our income goals? We should know. If we have a personalized daily “recipe” for daily and weekly progress toward key activity benchmarks, also known as cookbook or a behavioral plan, we can identify exactly how many dials we need to make, how many conversations we need to have, how many referrals we need to ask for, and so on… every single working day.

If you are a Sandler client, and you’ve never attended a Summit, let me share four powerful reasons to consider joining us in Florida March 20-22.

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The second decade of the twenty-first century is approaching its finish line. As it does, sales as a profession is going through a period of extraordinary change. In this post, we will look at some of the biggest changes on the horizon for salespeople.

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Dave Mattson, President and CEO of Sandler, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful in Human Resources. Get the best practices collected from around the world.

Pat McManamon, a longtime Sandler trainer from Jacksonville, FL, explores how to be more intentional in your sales management. Learn the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques of top leaders for managing salespeople. 

As we approach Q4, it’s important to identify the strategies that will help us to make sure we are on track to hit or exceed our sales goals by the end of the year. With that goal in mind, consider the following four steps, which can help you set yourself up for a great fourth quarter.

Dave Mattson shares his thoughts about the new Leadership for Organizational Excellence training program by Sandler. Learn the structure and methodology to create real, lasting, positive change in your organization.

Are your sales presentations more like a Gettysburg Address or a Gettysburg Oration? Few people know that President Lincoln was actually the secondary speaker at Gettysburg. The program for the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery, four months after the famous 1863 battle, listed Dedicatory Remarks, by the President of the United States after Oration, by Hon. Edward Everett, the main speaker. 

A lack of confidence when interacting with potential buyers is a sure way to sabotage a sales discussion. Here are four ways salespeople can improve upon their interpersonal skills and become more confident when dealing with prospects.

One of the most challenging aspects of a successful career in sales management is knowing when to let your foot off the gas, assess you and your team’s status, and regroup before hopping back into the fast lane. While difficult, this is an imperative skill for a sales leader to possess. 

I never thought of the late, great baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra as much of an expert on sales and sales management. Then I came across this memorable quote attributed to the legendary Yankee catcher and manager: “If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else.”

The challenge of consistent growth is ever-present for small businesses. It’s difficult for all organizations, but especially for businesses that don’t have as many resources to devote to growth. For this reason, whenever you can develop or implement habits to improve your new business growth, you should do so. Below are six methods that you can deploy while networking to grow your team and its success.

The biggest turning point in my career and in my personal life came when I realized my true value. When I broke through the mental barrier of self-imposed doubt, I truly began to shine. This breakthrough led me down the successful career path I have followed today, and it started with a change in focus.

John Storm, Founder of the Brainstorm Network, joins us to talk about how to get the most out of a brainstorming session. Whether ideation or innovation is your goal, you need to know the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques of an effective brainstorming session.

The challenge of feeling comfortable and in control in your first “real job,” is almost as difficult as getting the job itself. The prospect of integrating yourself into the smoothly-running machine of a corporate workplace can be daunting and intimidating. While there’s nothing that will alleviate these fears and tensions overnight, there are a few ways to combat these feelings of anxiety and worry. Examine the four points enumerated below to gain a better perspective on how to successfully navigate the first stage of your career.

Picture this; you’re a 22-year-old business school graduate looking for your first job. You know you want to go into sales and have managed to secure an interview with a company high on your “places I want to work” list.  So what do you do next? Below we have identified 6 tips and tricks to help you crush your sales interview as a millennial entering the workforce.  

There are three tools that are particularly effective and easy to use in making people feel good about themselves: stroke, struggle, and validate. You can use one, two, or all three of these tools in interactions with patients—it depends on the situation.

Any professional can benefit from a strong LinkedIn profile and plan, but if you are interested in expanding your network or cultivating prospects, a presence on the busy site is a must. This professional network is just too big to ignore. Positioning yourself for success on LinkedIn means starting with a compelling profile, sharing relevant and useful content and joining industry groups and discussions.

What does it take to be an effective leader? Do the skills that make you an effective manager—planning, organization, and communication—make you an effective leader? Or, does it take something else—something more?

It’s that time of year again. During the month of January, we’re likely to make promises to ourselves about how we’re going to do better, how we’re going to shake things up in the year to come, how we’re going to make a positive, lasting change in our lives and our careers.

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.

Today’s career market is not your parent’s version, and it’s light years from what your grandparents probably first faced in the 1950s. That’s because your professional brand image is just as important as your experience, education and your resume feathers. The modern job market is as much about brand development and awareness for the individual as it is the start-up trying to generate name recognition on a viral basis with potential customers.

There is something nearly magical about this time of year.  No, it isn’t the snow globes, the gifts, or the brightly colored lawn ornaments.  It is the changing of the New Year.  One simple turn of the calendar page evokes the mental sensation of a fresh start. 

The best and fastest way to get a better team and better results is to become a better manager. Investing time, money, and energy into building your leadership skills can show a return-on-investment for the rest of your life. 

Most managers wait until the end of the year to reflect on their sales team’s accomplishments (as well as the roadblocks, speed bumps, and detours encountered), analyze their findings, and identify areas for improvement in the coming year. That’s a good strategy. But, why wait until the end of the year. 

Strategic leaders don’t settle for minimum achievement today. They are regularly looking forward, anticipating needs, and preparing for new goals tomorrow. That outlook always places these leaders one step ahead of others, and it supports why they are seen as leaders and the go-to people for an organization.

As organizations grow, they realize that there are numerous different ways to define success. A new business, for example, will be immensely satisfied the first year the operation returns a profit. On the other hand, a more established company may expect to see a specified rate of growth year over year. Defining what success means to you and establishing goals based upon these criteria can be an important step in monitoring your business’s development and making productive decisions based on the criteria that matter the most to you.

Sales success depends on building a solid, growing client base. The first impression you make while prospecting for new clients can make or break your ability to secure new business. You only have seven seconds to make your first impression with a client. Here's how to make those seven seconds count!

You might reason that with the appropriate education, training, direction, and encouragement, any one of your sales team members can become a top performer—a “superstar.” Is that true? It’s likely that everyone has the ability to improve. But not everyone will become a superstar, regardless of the resources and opportunities made available to them.