SkillInside

Sales coaching is the most valuable element of a sales team. If you don’t buy into this, you can stop reading. This post is about getting the most out of coaching your people to become the best they can be. If coaching is one of those things that just seems to get in the way, then you are NOT going to like this post. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of salespeople say they want more coaching. That’s over half. The problem is only thirty-eight percent (38%) of salespeople say their managers are good coaches. This is not a cocktail for success. Most sales leaders aren’t good coaches. Some, because they don’t know how to coach. They just don’t have the skills. They were the kick ass salesperson who was promoted because they could sell, but lead, manage, well not so much. For the rest of the sales leaders, it’s less an issue of not knowing how and more of an issue of not doing it right. Most sales leaders treat coaching as an ad hoc exercise. They sit in on calls and provide feedba...

Discover how positive affirmations and encouraging phrases can keep you on point. Careers and lives are too often hectic these days, making it easy to lose touch with who you are and who you want to be. Just as you'd speak positively to someone else to help keep the person on track, talking to yourself is a way to guide and motivate yourself. Positive affirmations and self-talk can be a powerful force in reminding you of the most important things. Here are 15 phrases you should say to yourself more often to create the kind of life that will help you become the best version of yourself. 1. I would rather be kind than be right.  You don't always have to be the smartest or sharpest--sometimes the best thing to do is to be kind whenever you can, realizing how much strength and restraint it sometimes takes. When you make kindness a habit, it will be returned to you 10-fold. 2. I'm never too busy.  The most successful people have time for others; it's those who h...

Through life I’ve looked up to so many great leaders in my direct circle of contacts to the respected men and women in the world. I work with energy and values and by being conscious of what I value, I’m able to choose them as I please. While admiring and respecting these leaders, I began to realise that most of them had a set of quite similar values and it all added up to what a great and effective leader should be. And not just a leader at the office but a leader by example in life. Someone people look to for direction and support. Inspired by people I’ve met I wanted to share with you the 5 values I found in a leader and why we should value them too. Along with decision making and a vision, leaders are those who are the direction and example that people will follow. Leaders guide, support and inspire others to strive for amazing things. A leader should be there for the tasks and work. In a leaders presence you should feel supported and trusted for the effort you make. Thro...

it's certainly been a rough start--but there's no doubt you can make  your self great in less than that. Below are 7 easy ways to improve yourself in the next three months. 1. Express gratitude everyday.   This is not pollyanna mumbo jumbo. Research has found time and again that being grateful for what you have leads to a happier and healthier life. Write a gratitude note everyday to yourself and watch what happens over the next 100 days. 2. Develop one new mindfulness habit.  Mindfulness has become a hot topic in work life, which is simply the state of being present in your surroundings. I've picked up one mindfulness habit from an advertising CEO who told me he avoids reading his emails every morning until he gets to the office. That way, he doesn't start of the day in a frenzied state of email hell. I started this too at the end of last year and I found my mornings so much more calm. 3. Give something with no expectation of a return .  I've talked ...

Want to impress those around you and stand out from the rest? Give the gift that no one else can give... Winston Churchill  once said, "We make a living by what we get, and we make a life by what we give." To make a great impression takes much more than just being present: It takes giving fully of ourselves. When we do, great things can happen. Here are 12 unique ways to impress your team. 1. Be true to yourself. Working with a team doesn't require a special personality or great intelligence. The secret is to be the very best parts of who you are. If you set the right example, you won't need to worry about being impressive. 2. Be appreciative. Thinking and speaking from the heart, acknowledge and appreciate those who work hard, and have passion for what they do. When you appreciate those around you, you show you care. –– ADVERTISEMENT –– 3. Be honest. Honesty is the ultimate competitive advantage, and the first chapter when...

Whether you’re convincing your boss to fund your project or your preschooler to put his shoes on, persuasion is a skill that’s instrumental to your success in life. Persuasive people have an uncanny ability to get you leaning toward their way of thinking. Their secret weapon is likability. They get you to like more than their ideas; they get you to like them. Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likeable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few—the good looking, the fiercely social, and the incredibly talented. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, being likeable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ). Talent Smart research data from more than a million people shows that people who possess these skills aren’t just highly likable, they outperform those who don’t by a large margin. We did some digging to uncover the key behaviors that emotionally intelligent people en...

Leadership isn't the same field that it was even a decade ago. Here's a map to the new landscape. Like any other field, leadership goes through trends and changes--and if you want to be successful, you need to stay on top of them. Old-school leadership is just that, and what we do today is very different. To understand leadership, you need to be able to separate historic thought from current practice. Help your thinking evolve with these concepts from contemporary leadership: 1. Authenticity and transparency rule.  In the age of social media, there's no getting away with dishonesty or cover-ups. If you or your company lies, cheats, or fudges numbers, the odds that you will be exposed are higher than ever. 2. Your brand is your reputation.  It used to be that when people talked about reputation they focused on your public character and your past. Today your personal brand is your reputation--and it's what you say and do today that defines how people perce...