“Questions from the Field" asks top sales performance leaders – practitioners and consultants, authors and solution providers – to share their expertise on building smarter, more confident sales teams.

What piece of advice would you give to a newly promoted sales manager in his/her first role leading a team?

Learn precisely what skills and knowledge are required for success as a sales manager, compare those against your own competencies, and put a plan together to close the gaps. Sales management skills include: hiring, career development, coaching, managing a pipeline, producing an accurate forecast, developing compensation plans, leveraging yourself as an asset to your salespeople in their quest to win business, conflict management, and leveraging technology to name a few.

Thinking back over your career, what would you rank as the biggest/most important innovation in sales and/or sales training?

Years ago I learned that B2B selling is all about helping your customers achieve their specific business and financial goals and objectives. If you can credibly tie your products and services to specific customer outcomes, you’ll generally be far ahead of your competitors. And price will be less, little, or no concern. This requires some understanding of how your customers measure success, which is generally specified in financial terms—what you’d find in their P&L, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow Statements.

What’s the biggest/most common sales challenge your clients/colleagues are facing this year, and how are you helping them address it?

I’ve found myself more involved in helping my clients hire the right salespeople than ever before. Research I’ve done in the past suggests that 25-33% of salespeople aren’t suited for the jobs they hold. And that includes managers. A formal hiring process, including role profiling, psychometric testing, background checks, income verification, and strategic reference checking can significantly reduce the percentage of sales mis-hires, which is at epidemic levels.

What’s the one thing you wish all your clients/colleagues were doing (that they aren’t today) and why?

Providing the appropriate sales skills training, especially business value selling as I mentioned above. Far too much product training is delivered. Once the right training is delivered on the right platforms (e.g. live, live/virtual, on-demand, blended) it must be followed by appropriate reinforcement, including coaching. Not enough companies are tooling their salespeople to be effective business-to-business sellers. That’s a big mistake.

What’s the toughest question you received from a client/colleague this year?

“What social media strategy is right for my company?” I find many executives listening to all the chatter around social media and they embark on a course without fully understanding what role social has in their customers’ buying processes. Other executives discount social entirely, missing the boat with new opportunities and losing old ones because they are no longer relevant.

Have you had a professional mentor who was especially influential in your career? If yes, what lessons or advice have proven to be most impactful for you?

I was fortunate enough to have taken a sales training program with Rick Page many years ago. From him I learned all about political and competitive selling. Over the years I became so convinced that these capabilities (among others) made the difference between winning and losing that I became a student of both. My success as a big sales opportunity strategist is a result of learning from Rick. Unfortunately Rick passed away in November 2013. We lost a major player.

Are there sales/training leaders you feel are doing an exceptional job in their organization/market? Why and what can their peers, specifically, learn from them?

I’m presently writing a book with Steve Andersen, founder and president of Performance Methods, Inc. Steve has the deepest understanding of the long-term relationships between customers and their suppliers I’ve seen. PMI’s stellar record of customer success is a tribute to what they have accomplished. Steve’s is a team to be admired.

What social media platforms do you use regularly, and, of these, which one do you find to be the most useful in your professional life?

I’m fairly active on Twitter and LinkedIn. Less so on Google+. I use Facebook for friends and family only. LinkedIn really pays off for me. I stay closer to my current and future clients, understand their changing needs, and monitor their progress.

If your sales philosophy were a movie, what would the title be?

“Selling is a Business, Not a Team Sport"

What’s the best sales or business book you read this year?

I re-read Tony Hughes’ The Joshua Principle”.  Exceptional.

Dave Stein, Principal, Dave Stein Inc., is recognized as the world’s leading independent expert on sales training. His research and advisory firm profiles, evaluates, and compares sales training programs and the companies that provide them.

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