Accelerate! With Andy Paul

That saying about failing to plan is from Ben Franklin. And, while Mike Weinberg may or may not be Ben Franklin, he is one of the smartest people I know in sales. And, in our conversation, Mike describes the two essential planning steps that every sales manager and sales rep must take at the beginning of a new sales to increase their chances for success. He provides a simple framework for creating an effective individual sales plan that sales reps should use as a roadmap throughout the sales year. Mike also talks about why an important element of the sales plan is a personal investment plan; meaning that every sales rep should have a detailed strategy for how they will invest their own time and money in their own success in 2016. Mike reveals why he continues to invest his time and money in hiring coaches and outside experts to help him improve as a consultant, and consultant and consultants, speaker and author. He does this for the same reason that you need to invest in your improvement: so that he can conti

In this episode, Tom Ziglar, CEO of Ziglar Inc., builds on the words of his father Zig Ziglar, to cut through the noise and help you focus on what’s really important in 2016. Tom describes the basics of sales that will never change. Those have to do with trust integrity and reputation. And, hope. He defines two incredibly effective strategies for sales managers to help motivate their sales teams and kick off 2016 in a more productive fashion. Do you know what dream alignment is? If you're a manager you need to understand this. And in our conversation, Tom reveals exactly how you can use that to help your salespeople achieve their goals, both in work and in life. And he explains why they have found from their decades of training hundreds of thousands sales reps that the most successful individual salespeople are those who invest in themselves (and why the top performers invest 3% to 5% of their income in their own personal and professional development). If you're a sales leader, you definitely want to listen

In this special first episode of 2016, Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy and best-selling author of multiple books including his latest best-selling book Fanatical Prospecting, describes the most essential changes that sales reps must commit to making to in order to achieve their goals in 2016. He describes why every seller needs to have a sales plan for 2016 and why that planning needs to be completed right now, at the start of the sales year. Jeb details the two courageous sales resolutions that every sales rep should commit to making this year to continuously improve their performance. And, he sets the expectation for every sales rep, right here at the beginning of this sales year, in terms of the level of investment they must make in their own success. If you want to be a top performer, Jeb will tell you exactly how much you should expect to invest in your own success this year. If you're a manager, or an individual sales professional, this is a must listen episode to kick off your new sales year. Don't mi

One of our most popular episodes in the past 90 days was my conversation with Deb Calvert, President of People First Productivity Solutions. Deb is on a mission to transform how sellers view their roles in a sales transaction. In this episode Deb describes the powerful research findings about the leadership mindset that all sellers should adopt to inspire and lead their prospects to making favorable decisions. She also provides great insights into how leaders in sales build trust and use collaboration and the co-creation of value to help buyers challenge, and change, their own status quo. We all know that sales is changing. Deb provides a great framework for sellers to unlock the leader within. All sales leaders and sales reps need to listen to this game-changing episode.

Kelly Riggs is the creator of The Business Locker Room and author of Quit Whining And Start Selling. In this episode, Kelly breaks down why, despite all the changes that are occurring in B2B selling, sales success will always depend on the ability of a sales rep to effectively communicate one-on-one with a potential buyer. He describes why most salespeople misunderstand the nature of the relationship that buyers want to have with them, and the negative impact this has on their ability to win business. And, he defines the steps that every sales rep must take to increase the value that can deliver in order to maintain their relevance to their prospects and their buying processes. It is tough work that requires a level of commitment that winners will make. And, whiners won’t. If you're involved in B2B sales at any level, then you need to listen to this show!

Jack Malcolm, is President of the Falcon Performance Group and the author of Bottom-Line Selling and Strategic Sales Presentations. In this episode, Jack identifies the single biggest barrier to effective, persuasive communication that exists in sales, and in business in general. He describes a streamlined communication process that he teaches, based on lean manufacturing principles, that enables sellers and presenters to deliver more value in less time to the recipients, or target audience. Jack also provides actionable recommendations about how to assess the effectiveness of your communications, as well as exercises that you can use to ensure that your pitches, stories and presentations are focused on meeting the needs of your customers. If it’s a part of your job to effectively and persuasively communicate with customers, then this episode is a must listen!

Babette Ten Haken is the author of Do You Mean Business? Technical, Non-Technical Business Collaboration, Business Development And You. In this episode, Babette discusses the challenges of melding sales and technical resources to effectively and efficiently win new business. She describes how the future of sales will belong to the hybridized seller who can effectively combine sales and technical strengths to help buyers meet their objectives. And, Babette talks about the steps that sales teams and sales reps must take to develop these strengths in order to maintain relevance to their buyers. If you are a CEO, business owner, sales leader or sales rep, you should listen to this show!  

Jeff Beals is the author of Selling Saturdays: Blue Chip Sales Tips From College Football. Imagine a sales situation in which there are only 100 prospects in the entire country that fit your ideal customer profile. And, imagine that you have at least 30 competitors fighting tooth and nail to win the order from those same 100 prospects. That's sales environment that big-time college football coaches face on a daily basis competing to win a commitment from 17 year old athletes to attend their school. In this episode, Jeff Beals shares with you the very real lessons you can learn about sales, including focus, planning, commitment, intensity and competition, from the coaches that walk the side lines on Saturdays. If you sell in a highly competitive market, then this show is a must listen!

Jim Keenan, otherwise known as Keenan, is A Sales Guy, a widely read blogger and the author of a new book, Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century that Nobody's Teaching You. In this episode, which is Part 2 of my extended conversation with Keenan, we talk about his new playbook for success in the 21st century. He describes how the conventional career rules that we all have been taught, have become obsolete. It doesn’t matter which generation you’re part of or what stage of your career you’re at, if you’re not listening to Keenan’s recommendations for taking charge of your own success, then you’re going to fall behind. This is a must listen episode.

My regular guest on front line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is the key of corporate sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about five common sales objections and how to work with the buyer to get to yes. We also dive into the subject of trust; why it's essential to take the steps to quickly build trust with prospects and help critical buyers first perceptions of you are in that process.

Townsend Wardlaw is a sales transformation architect. In this episode, he talks in depth about the fears that paralyze many sales reps and provides effective strategies they can use to overcome them to transform their sales results. Townsend describes the common rationalizations that sales reps use to justify inaction in the face of their fears; whether it is fear of prospecting, fear of presenting or fear of asking for the order. He talks about the lessons he learned overcoming his own paralyzing anxieties of public speaking, and how you can use them in your own selling. Everyone in sales has fears about some aspect of selling. But they don’t have to hold you back! You definitely want to listen to this episode!

Adam Honig, is the Founder of Spiro Technologies. In this episode, Adam talks about the need to provide sales reps with real-time data-driven insights and actionable recommendations they can use to boost their productivity. He describes how CRM systems are perceived by sales reps to be “command & control” systems for management, not a productivity tool for them. And, he provides an introduction to a new generation of sales productivity tools, including his own product, Spiro, that have specifically been designed for use by sales reps to help them increase win rates and deal size. This is a must listen episode for sales reps and managers

Joanne Black is the best-selling author of No More Cold Calling and Just Pick Up The Damn Phone!  In this episode, Joanne describes why sales reps must commit to making referral selling their primary prospecting outreach. But it's not as simple as just asking for referrals. Creating a predictable flow of referrals is a skill that needs to be learned. In this episode, Joanne details the essential steps required to build an effective referral selling system, and the necessary reinforcement coaching to successfully integrate it into your selling. As Joanne explains describes in our conversation, if you’re not building the relationships and expanding your network, referrals won’t happen. If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, sales leader or sales professional you need to listen to this episode.

Jim Keenan, otherwise known as Keenan, is A Sales Guy, a widely read blogger and the author of a new book, Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century that Nobody's Teaching You. In this episode, which is Part 1 of my extended conversation with Keenan, we talk about his new playbook for success in the 21st century. He describes how the conventional career rules that we all have been taught, have become obsolete. It doesn’t matter which generation you’re part of or what stage of your career you’re at, if you’re not listening to Keenan’s recommendations for taking charge of your own success, then you’re going to fall behind. This is a must listen episode. And come back next week and listen to Part 2 of our conversation.

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about a variety of essential sales topics for sales leaders: why it’s important for sales leaders to celebrate the small successes; the importance of helping sales reps develop patience; how to develop and maintain a positive attitude; why sales reps need to physically practice every sales interaction before they talk to the prospect; and, how sales reps can become better listeners. Be sure to listen to this episode today!

Todd Schnick, is the founder and CEO of IntrepidNow Media. He learned about accelerated sales and marketing strategies from his experience as a senior political operative and campaign consultant in the front lines of some of the most competitive campaigns ever. (Think “hanging chads”). In this episode Todd talks about the steps required to sell a candidate, which takes place in a very compressed period of time, and how it relates to selling your product or service. He provides a fascinating look at the process campaigns use to identify the ideal customer profile, conduct in-depth discovery of customer needs, construct and test a compelling message, and effectively qualify and communicate with the right prospects. And he shows how it all relates back to selling your product or a service to crazy busy prospects who are pressed for time. You definitely want to listen to this episode.

Nancy Munro is the Founder/CEO of Knowledge Shift. In this episode, Nancy talks about the impact that the quality of your speaking voice makes on a prospect. She discusses research that demonstrates that prospects are making judgments about your trustworthiness and credibility just by hearing you say the word “hello.” Kind of scary, isn’t it? Successful selling is about paying to detail. And one detail you can’t overlook is how you are perceived by your prospects. Nancy describes not only how you can assess your voice, but also how you can control how you use your voice to influence the outcome of a sale. She also describes the tools and technologies that are available to help you with all of this. If you’re in a customer-facing sales or service role, then you definitely must listen to this episode.

Dan Waldschmidt, is the best-selling author of Edgy Conversations, and President of Waldschmidt Partners International. He is a dynamic, inspirational and motivational thinker who forces you to examine how you set about succeeding in your work and your life. In this episode, Part 2 of an extended conversation, Dan, a record-setting ultra-marathon champion, talks about how to build the necessary confidence to succeed in life, and in sales, by setting outrageous goals and achieving them. It’s not enough to be good. You have to be great. Dan shares his secrets to achieving these goals through his concept of mastery. And he shows how this mastery extends to being a success in every aspect of your career and life. If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, sales leader or sales professional you need to listen to this episode.

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about how the sales profession, and the demands that are placed on salespeople, are continually changing. We discuss the steps salespeople must take to adapt to these changes and achieve consistent sales success in the 21st century. Many of the old rules for sales and salespeople are being thrown out. What are the new rules? Make sure to listen as we talk about what modern sellers and sales managers are doing to create differentiation and position themselves as trusted advisors that co-create value for their buyers. You’ll want to listen now!

Karen Dietz, author of “Business Storytelling For Dummies”, is a master storyteller and presentation coach. In this episode, Karen talks about how she turned her PhD in folklore into a successful business career, by helping leaders, entrepreneurs, and sales people, increase their impact, influence and income with the power of storytelling. She relates how stories help you develop better, more sincere relationships with prospects and how stories can deliver unique value that help prospects make the decision to buy from you. Most importantly, Karen provides a simple 5-step framework, using her acronym CHARM, which enables any salesperson to easily structure and tell a story that delivers the maximum impact. Do you want to learn how to use stories to win new business? Then make sure to listen to this episode today!