Sales Management. Simplified.: The Straight Truth About Getting Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team

Why do sales organizations fall short? Every day, expert consultants like Mike Weinberg are called on by companies large and small to find the answer–and it’s one that may surprise you. Typically, the issue lies not with the sales team–but with how it is being led. Through their attitude and actions, senior executives and sales managers unknowingly undermine performance. In “Sales Management. Simplified. “Weinberg tells it straight, calling out the problems plaguing sales forces and the costly mistakes made by even the best-intentioned sales managers. The good news: with the right guidance, results can be transformed. Blending blunt, practical advice with funny stories from the field, this book helps you: Implement a simple framework for sales leadership – Foster a healthy, high-performance sales culture – Conduct productive meetings – Create a killer compensation plan – Put the right people in the right roles – Coach for success – Retain top producers and remediate underperformers – Point salespeople at the proper targets – Sharpen your sales story – Regain control of your calendar – And more Long on solutions and short on platitudes, “Sales Management. Simplified.” delivers the tools you need to succeed.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: Blunt Truth from the Front Lines: Why So Many Sales Organizations Fail to Produce the Desired Results
CHAPTER 1. As Goes the Leader, So Goes the Organization
CHAPTER 2. A Sales Culture Without Goals Is a Sales Culture Without Results
CHAPTER 3. You Can’t Effectively Run a Sales Team when You’re Buried in Crap
CHAPTER 4. Playing CRM Desk Jockey Does Not Equate to Sales Leadership
CHAPTER 5. You Can Manage, You Can Sell, but You Can’t Do Both at Once
CHAPTER 6. A Sales Manager Either Wants to Make Heroes or Be the Hero
CHAPTER 7. Sales Suffer when the Manager Wears the Fire Chief’s Helmet
CHAPTER 8. The Trouble with One-Size-Fits-All Sales Talent Deployment Is That One Size Does Not Fit All
CHAPTER 9. Turning a Blind Eye to the Perennial Underperformer Does More Damage than You Realize
CHAPTER 10. COMPensation and COMPlacency Start with the Same Four Letters
CHAPTER 11. An Anti-Sales Culture Disengages the Heart of the Sales Team
CHAPTER 12. The Big Ego Senior Executive “Sales Expert” Often Does More Harm than Good
CHAPTER 13. Entrepreneurial, Visionary Leaders Forget That Their People Can’t Do What They Can Do
CHAPTER 14. The Lack of Coaching and Mentoring Produces Ineffective Salespeople
CHAPTER 15. Amateurish Salespeople Are Perceived Simply as Vendors, Pitchmen, and Commodity Sellers
CHAPTER 16. Sales Leaders Chase Shiny New Toys Searching for the Magic Bullet

PART TWO: Practical Help and a Simple Framework to Get Exceptional Results from Your Sales Team
CHAPTER 17. A Simple Framework Provides Clarity to the Sales Manager
CHAPTER 18. A Healthy Sales Culture Changes Everything
CHAPTER 19. Sales Managers Must Radically Reallocate Their Time to Create a Winning Sales Culture
CHAPTER 20. Regular 1:1 Results-Focused Meetings Between the Sales Manager and Each Salesperson Will Transform Your Sales Culture
CHAPTER 21. Productive Sales Meetings Align, Equip, and Energize the Team
CHAPTER 22. Sales Managers Must Get Out in the Field with Salespeople
CHAPTER 23. Talent Management Can Make or Break the Sales Leader
CHAPTER 24. Strategic Targeting: Point Your Team in the Right Direction
CHAPTER 25. The Sales Manager Must Ensure That the Team Is Armed for Battle
CHAPTER 26. Sales Managers Must Monitor the Battle and Be Ruthless with Their Time