Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

A successful sales force transformation can mean increased revenue, increased sales productivity, and reduced cost of sales. But, up to seventy-five percent of attempted transformations fail, according to the authors of the book,  7 Steps To Sales Transformation - Driving Sustainable Change In Your Organization . Transformation failures are often a result of an organization that neglects to address the human factor (skepticism, resistance, avoidance). Equally important, transformations must focus on truly transforming and not merely making tweaks. Authors  Warren Shiver  and  Michael Perla  use their own experiences transforming sales organizations, the lessons they learned from a host of interviewed sales professionals, and original, quantitative research to show readers how to  transform and modernize  a sales force -- including ones that are typically intrinsically resistant to change. The recommended transformation  seven steps  are defin...

   How To Become A Rainmaker is a quick, instructional book that reveals the rules for getting and keeping customers and clients. Written by Jeffrey J. Fox , the handbook format provides you the best approaches to take to become a true rainmaker – one who brings clients, money, business, or even intangible prestige to an organization.  One of the real gems in the book is Fox’s The Rainmaker’s Credo , which includes:  Cherish customers at all times. Treat customers as you would your best friend. Listen to customers and decipher their needs. Make (or give) customers what they need. Teach customers to want what they need. Make your product the way customers want it. Get your product to your customers when they want it. Give your customers a little extra, more than they expect. Thank each customer sincerely and often.

You'll find the following list of the  ten most common mistakes  made by sales managers toward the very end of Kevin Davis' book,  Slow Down, Sell Faster! , about how to sync your sales approach with your customer's buying process: Failing to shift from "super salesperson" mode to managerial mindset. Fighting fires continually. Leaving your staff to sink or swim on their own. Ignoring the importance of performance standards/getting blind-sided by poor performance. Failing to leverage the strengths and resources of your team's top producers. Spending too much time working with the bottom 20 percent. Allowing senior salespeople to get stuck in an unmotivated rut. Being inconsistent in your recruiting and hiring process. Assuming your sales reps will figure things out the same way you did. Hanging on to low-producing salespeople for far too long. The chapter on  coaching for sales success  is well worth the price of the book by itself...