Sales [UN]Training

In this thought-provoking episode of the Sales [UN]Training podcast, host Kelly Riggs delves into a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of sales training: the role of sales leaders. Kelly opens by confronting a harsh reality - sales leaders can be the weak link in sales training. He argues that despite their responsibility to develop salespeople's skills and outcomes, many leaders make critical mistakes that hinder the effectiveness of sales training. Kelly emphasizes the substantial investment in sales training ($70 billion annually in the U.S.) but points out the low percentage of elite salespeople (5%), highlighting a systemic issue in sales training and development. He asserts that the problem lies in how salespeople are trained and developed, attributing much of this to the attitudes and practices of sales leaders. Throughout the episode, Kelly identifies three critical mistakes made by sales leaders: Mindset: Riggs challenges the defeatist attitudes often adopted during economic downturns. He criticizes leaders who use the economy as an excuse for poor performance, urging them to foster a culture of resilience and opportunity-seeking, irrespective of external conditions. Skills Development: He observes that sales leaders often 'tell' rather than 'coach', lacking in providing practical, hands-on guidance. Kelly advocates for a more involved approach, where leaders actively engage in developing the skills of their team through practice and repetition, rather than just giving instructions. Process and Planning: Kelly notes a significant gap in strategic planning and execution. He emphasizes the need for detailed, account-level plans to bridge gaps between projected and actual sales figures, criticizing leaders for not requiring or assisting in such detailed planning. Kelly's narrative is not just critical but also constructive, as he provides actionable insights and strategies for sales leaders to rectify these mistakes. He underscores the importance of a mindset shift, enhanced coaching techniques, and rigorous planning processes to improve sales outcomes. The episode serves as a wake-up call for sales leaders, urging them to reevaluate their approaches and adopt more effective strategies to boost their teams' performance. Timestamped Show Notes: [0:00] Introduction: The Harsh Truth About Sales Leaders in Training [6:43] Mistake 1: Mindset Issues Among Sales Leaders [16:34] Strategies for Overcoming Critical Mistakes by Sales Leaders [26:27] Mistake 2: Ineffective Skills Development and Coaching [29:35] Closing Remarks and Episode Wrap-up Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by @dougbranson

In this enlightening episode of Sales [UN]Training, hosted by Kelly Riggs, the spotlight is on what is often termed the 'magic bullet' in sales. Riggs challenges the common quest for quick fixes and revolutionary techniques in sales, directing attention instead to a fundamental yet frequently overlooked aspect: planning. He argues convincingly that effective planning is not only essential but can be transformative for sales professionals. Kelly begins by debunking the myth of a singular, revolutionary tool or technique that will skyrocket sales success. He emphasizes that while many salespeople and leaders are searching for this elusive 'magic bullet,' they often ignore the most powerful tool at their disposal: meticulous and strategic planning. He candidly shares his personal experiences, illustrating how a robust planning approach significantly contributed to his success as a salesperson and manager. He recounts his journey from a novice in sales, handed a stack of leads with little direction, to becoming a top-performing salesperson and later a sales manager, largely due to his rigorous planning and execution strategies. Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining The episode delves into the common reasons why sales professionals and teams neglect planning. Kelly points out that while planning might seem daunting or tedious, its absence is a key reason for stagnant or declining sales figures. He underlines that planning is not merely creating a to-do list or setting revenue targets; it is about developing a detailed, step-by-step strategy to achieve specific goals. This process involves understanding one's territory, identifying key accounts, and meticulously outlining the actions required to succeed. Key Points: Planning is often overlooked in sales but is crucial for success. Effective planning involves a detailed, step-by-step strategy. Sales success requires more than just hard work; it requires strategic action. Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by @dougbranson #sales #selling #salestraining

One of the most difficult things on the planet is consistently identifying and hiring high performing salespeople. We get fooled. A LOT! In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, host Kelly Riggs tackles the challenge every sales manager faces: hiring and developing effective salespeople. From the dangers of elevating top sales reps to managerial roles without proper training, to the pitfalls of the hiring process, Kelly provides insights that will make you rethink how you identify high-performing talent. Discover the rigorous methodologies that can significantly improve your chances of hiring salespeople who are not just skilled but committed to the craft. Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Kelly also discusses the imperative of onboarding and training with purpose and rigor. Learn why most sales training programs fail and what you can do to turn the tables. Kelly shares compelling data on what sets top 10% salespeople apart and offers actionable strategies for developing a sales team that's not just filling seats but is truly geared for success. Tune in for an episode that promises to reshape how you think about sales talent development. Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by @dougbranson

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, host Kelly Riggs talks with James Muir, author of The Perfect Close, about the common reasons sales deals get stuck and how to prevent or unstick them. They discuss how poor sales training leads reps to focus too heavily on product features rather than uncovering the customer's core problems and facilitating good decisions. Muir explains that salespeople often wrongly assume stuck deals are due to issues on the buyer's end, when in reality it's usually because of mistakes in the sales process - like bad targeting, not properly qualifying leads, and failing to address client concerns. He outlines the main reasons deals get stuck - sales issues, client indecision, and business case problems - and provides tactics to diagnose and address each one.  Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Today's podcast stresses the importance of training reps to lead conversations with discovery rather than leading with product info. Salespeople tend to overlook the emotional drivers in buyer decision making, and sharing ways to minimize risk and uncertainty can get stalled deals moving again. Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by Doug Branson  

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Are you frustrated that your company's sales training doesn't seem to be working? In this episode, host Kelly Riggs explains why sales training often falls short and what needs to change. Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Kelly draws an interesting analogy between ineffective sales training and leadership training. Just as many leadership training programs fail to boost employee engagement, sales training initiatives frequently don't improve sales rep performance. Kelly argues that in both cases, the objectives are unclear and the training is too abstract and conceptual. He advocates for more contextual, experiential training focused on driving behavioral change. Kelly lays out four specific things organizations can do, from hiring learners to effective coaching. If you want to understand why sales training fails and how to make it more impactful, don't miss this episode. Leadership training and employee engagement. (3:51) Leadership training challenges and objectives. (9:21) Sales and leadership training challenges. (13:14) Effective sales training and coaching. (19:00) Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by @dougbranson #sales #selling #salestraining

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training with your host, Kelly Riggs, dive deep into the transformative challenges facing the modern sales world. Kelly delves into the stark realities of sales teams in an average economy and stresses why only a few can achieve consistent growth year over year. Drawing parallels with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders' radical approach to rebuilding a struggling football program, Kelly discusses the importance of hiring unique talent, the distinct difference between a great salesperson and a great sales leader, and the need for a bulletproof sales process. Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Tune in to hear why transformation is a daunting but achievable task, and discover the systemic problems in the corporate world that often go overlooked. If you're committed to understanding and redefining your sales approach, this episode promises to completely rewire your sales brain. Don't miss it! 3:43 - Deion Sanders' radical leadership and what it means for your sales team 6:05 - Transforming sales results through drastic changes. 11:41 - 3 areas you can address RIGHT NOW to improve sales results Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions and Doug Branson

Dive into this enlightening episode as Kelly Riggs challenges the age-old beliefs surrounding the quintessential skill every salesperson should master. For years, the common notion was that listening took the crown, but Kelly has an unexpected twist to share. Is simply listening enough, or is there a deeper art to creating dynamic dialogues in sales? Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining  Unpack the true essence of creating a productive back-and-forth, the pitfalls of mere question-asking, and the intriguing concept of 'whitespace' that has salespeople on edge. Kelly warns of the unforeseen dangers lurking in conventional sales training methods and offers invaluable insights that just might reshape your entire sales strategy. Don't miss this game-changing discourse! Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.  Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.  Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.  Music and Editing by @dougbranson  

In the latest episode of Sales [UN]Training with Kelly Riggs, we're diving deep into the truths and myths about sales training with special guest Larry Levine from Selling From the Heart. Do you ever wonder why most sales training seems to fail and why so many salespeople can't meet their revenue targets? Larry has some candid thoughts on why traditional sales training is a recipe for disaster and how being 'product-centric' can actually be a setback.  Larry Levine is the best-selling author of Selling from the Heart and the co-host of the Selling from the Heart Podcast. With 30 years of in-the-field sales experience within the B2B technology space, he knows what it takes to be a successful sales professional. In a post-trust sales world, Larry Levine helps sales teams leverage the power of authenticity to grow revenue, grow themselves and enhance the lives of their clients. Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining  We also get real about what it truly means to build relationships in the sales world. Larry shares invaluable insights on why many salespeople miss the point of relationship-building and end up getting ghosted by prospects. If you've ever been puzzled by the disconnect between what sales training preaches and what actually works in the field, this episode is for you. Prepare to unlearn what you think you know about sales, because we're about to turn your approach upside down. Don't miss it! Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.  Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.  Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.  Music and Editing by @dougbranson  

In this episode of Sales [UN]training we dive into the vital yet often overlooked world of practice within the sales industry. Kelly begins by likening the importance of practice to Allen Iverson's famous press conference, emphasizing that true success doesn't solely happen on the game floor but starts with repetition, consistency, and comfort with your product. He also tackles the common excuses that prevent sales teams from engaging in roleplay, thereby hindering their growth and performance. Listen in to learn how a process-driven approach, guided by real customer interactions, can build a solid foundation for your sales conversations. But Kelly doesn't stop there; he goes deeper into the systemic issues within many sales organizations, explaining the importance of allowing sales teams to perfect their craft rather than merely practicing on potential customers. With personal anecdotes and proven strategies, Kelly stresses the need for sales leaders to rewire their sales brain, empowering and giving time to coaching and training, rather than relying solely on sheer willpower. Whether you're a sales leader, a beginner in the field, or a seasoned professional, this episode promises to transform the way you approach your craft, offering valuable insights to help you get the results you deserve. Subscribe to Sales [UN]training and don't miss out on this enlightening conversation! The excuses that prohibit sales leaders from roleplaying. (2:13) Roleplay doesn't have to be embarassing (8:27) Developing a practice process (13:17) Why you should be practing WITH your sales staff (19:36) Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales. Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com. Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019. Music and Editing by Doug Branson and Pod About It Productions.