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As a group, sales managers are not big on “managing by the numbers.” Only a very few use more than a half-dozen or so measurements to monitor the quality and effectiveness of sales performance. Most rely on two, revenue and profit. They are the ultimate indicators of success, right? Why would anyone need to know any more Read More

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” Samuel Johnson

Make the effort when you write an e-mail, a proposal, a meeting summary, whatever. Writing is permanent. It’s your reputation. It’s your credibility Read More

There is always a danger in focusing on the tools used to get a job done. (We all know the cliché about the six-year old with a chain saw…) That said however, a robust CRM system just might be the most powerful tool a sales team can have Read More

Wisdom from a race care driver: “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” Mario Andrett Read More

There’s no way an outside consultant, or even a VP of Sales for that matter, can tell an experienced rep how to do his or her job. It’s like the old joke about trying to teach a pig to dance. It frustrates you and annoys the pig Read More

The examples used throughout this series of “Selling With Finance” posts show a five year time horizon. Does anyone actually think a financial projection stretching out that far could possibly be accurate? Frankly, even financial professionals find making accurate one-year forecasts to be a challenge. As sales reps, therefore, we need to be careful about implications regarding precision. Read More

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill

Don’t ever forget how easy it is to get lost in our own brilliance and lose site of the real objective. Read More

This is a story about risk, but a bit of background is necessary, so please bear with me through the first paragraph.

Eleven years ago, when The YPS Group was launched, “we” made a strategic decision to focus on serving small to mid size customers, from $5 to $500 million in revenue. “We” also decided to stay small ourselves; to be a boutique consulting business; to not hire any employees and to use contractors sparingly. “We” are still here. (OK, OK, “I” am still here…), proving, at a minimum that the strategy is at least valid Read More

Principle 1: Continuous improvement of the sales process is a fundamental necessity.

Principle 2: Objective metrics are required to determine the amount and rate of improvement.

Principle 3: A well defined sales process is a pre-requisite for determining meaningful sales metrics Read More

Every now and again I get blown away by a great demonstration of sales and customer service. Had to share this one.

In August, it’s hot in Georgia. The thermometer has topped 90 nearly every day for what seems like forever, and as I write this, it’s 94 degrees out there. The A/C in my house never seems to shut off. This morning, I decided to do something about it. (OK, it was actually my wife who decided I was going to do something about it. Read More