Post written by Jeremy J. Ulmer

As I was doing research on the sales coaching industry, I discovered there is a great deal of garbage about sales coaching on the internet. People who are posing as sales experts are infiltrating minds with myths that are absolutely false!

And, that’s exactly why I’ve written this article… To make some waves in my industry by debunking 10 of these myths right now.

Sales Coaching Myth #1: “Successful sales professionals and sales leaders do not need coaches.”
Sales Coaching Fact: Professionals have coaches and amateurs do not. Sales coaching helps the best get better, the good to become great, and the struggling to breakthrough. (more…)

Many studies, such as Amen Clinics Research, illustrate the importance of a positive mind for physical health, mental health, creativity, productivity, focus, discipline, fulfillment, imagination, and dedication. All of these benefits have a direct impact on living more fulfilling lives and experiencing better results in business.

Brain scans show that a positive mind is much more active than a negative mind, and active in the areas critical for many of the benefits above. My focus here is on how to be more positive and if you are already in a positive state, how to enhance it further.

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Picture: Make sure you add one if you don’t have one on your profile yet. Headshot is best.

Personal Tagline: Write one, and update it. Click on the blue text, “What are you working on”  Maybe place your elevator pitch here?

Don’t Cut and Paste Your Resume: Describe experience/abilities.

Elevator Pitch: Make sure it is within your introduction section. You have 5 seconds to grab attention.

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“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their full potential.” - Bob Nardelli, CEO, Home Depot

“Many of the world’s most admired corporations, from GE to Goldman Sachs, invest in coaching. Annual spending on coaching in the U.S. Is estimated at roughly $1 billion”. - Harvard Business Review

“Recent studies show business coaching and executive coaching to be the most effective means for achieving sustainable growth, change and development in the individual, group and organization.” – HR Monthly

“A major benefit of coaching is having someone who helps you see your strengths and weaknesses and uses them to accomplish your goals.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune (more…)

Sales Interview Questions

I have posted sales interview questions for various sales positions below. These questions will be helpful when interviewing a sales professional or leader of any level.

(If you are a sales professional or sales leader looking for how to answer any question an interviewer could ever throw at you, please visit here!)

Sales Representative, Sales Executive, Account Manager, Account Executive, Sales Manager, District Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Director of Sales, VP of Sales, Executive Vice President of Sales, Chief Sales Officer. (more…)

1. Most people do not enjoy cold calling, but they need to realize it has to be done. It really is a mind-set. You have to set time daily to call, and make it part of your daily behavior/activities.

2. Not everyone will be a fit and that is ok! If they say “No” or “No Thanks!” that is totally fine. You are simply finding out who might be a fit or not. There will be less pressure on you if you keep that mind-set.

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How Life & Business May Look Without Accountability

It is essential that when setting up accountability you cover these 3 simple, yet powerful questions:

1. What are you going to accomplish?
Make sure to get very specific. (more…)

“strong consideration needs to be given to using external coaching programs to enhance internal results.”

“The study also indicates that using internal coaches to coach managers or executives is not correlated with coaching success. It appears that using external coaches for those groups is more effective and perhaps confirms that the higher cost of using an external coach may be well worth it.” (more…)

Many people new to professional coaching wonder how the great majority of it is done on the phone.
In coaching the focus is all on you and here are some reasons why coaching on the telephone is so effective.

1. It helps you really focus hearing yourself.

2. Less distractions, no visual distractions, total concentration.

3. Telephone coaching is much more efficient. You and your coach will get into coaching right away.

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SPIN Selling By Neil Rackham, Huthwaite, Inc. McGraw-Hill © 1988, 197 pages.

Buy This Book – SPIN Selling

This book is a classic sales book and I have provided my own summary below.

Below are the key points from this book – SPIN Selling Summary

“There’s no doubt about it, questions persuade more powerfully than any other form of verbal behavior. And this is not just in selling.”

(I would agree that powerful questions are key, but note that “persuasion” in the traditional sense is out-dated when it comes to selling effectively. Persuasion can put the prospect on the defensive and can make the sales person uncomfortable as well. Learn more about my Sales Coaching Programs) (more…)