All Posts by Kelly Riggs

3 Levels of Sales Leadership (only one creates top performance)

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

The most significant objective as a sales leader is the creation of action plans on specific accounts. Not plans like ‘making more calls.’ Or ‘improving closing ratios.’ Or selling more of a specific product. Which may all be great ideas, by the way, but they are necessarily incomplete.

The reason to create plans is that it is much easier to manage a salesperson’s activities when it is directed towards the right types of calls and the right size of opportunities. It is much easier to troubleshoot performance issues when you understand the intersection of results (keeping score), activities (which leads to the score), AND specific plans (the application of those activities in a context).

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Three Keys to Better Management, Right Now

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

I think people would agree that becoming a great manager requires a certain amount of time. Very few people are thrust into a management position and do it exactly right from the jump, avoiding the myriad of challenges and speed bumps that inevitably confront those who lead employees. No, it takes time to develop critical leadership skills. On the other hand, there are a number of specific things you can do to make a difference RIGHT NOW.

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The Disservice We Do to the Sales Profession

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

The reason that I love selling so much is that I love to compete. I love that I can adjust, change directions, learn new skills, and develop new ideas in order to create more success. Selling is a dynamic enterprise that rewards initiative and drive and excellence. But we in the profession are often guilty of doing a HUGE disservice to the profession.

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The No. 1 Indicator of an Ineffective Leader

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

Few managers are exemplary leaders. Proving this takes about 30 seconds. Yes, I know management and leadership are slightly different. We don’t have to have that silly argument. If you are a manager, and people report to you, then you are a leader. Period. You might not be any good at it, but you’re still the “leader.” My question is this: Why in the world do companies continue to promote top performers to management, fail to train them, and then COMPLAIN when they fail to perform as expected? Do YOU think you’re the exception?

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