Force Management

The idea of persuasion can give salespeople a bad rap. Instead, flip the script. The best sellers don’t persuade customers, they let customers persuade themselves. John Kaplan joins us to detail how you can get your buyer to come to their own conclusions in a way that steers the opportunity in your favor.Here are some additional resources:Improve Your Active Listening SkillsHelping Buyers Reach Their Own ConclusionsGetting Comfortable with Uncomfortable ConversationsCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Whether you’re making a career change or just joining the sales game, save this episode. Good selling is good selling, no matter your experience or age. John Kaplan joins us to share best practices for green reps who sell to people with more experience. He shares lessons he wishes he learned earlier in his sales career.Here are some additional resources:Selling to More Experienced ProfessionalsOvercoming the Seller Deficit DisorderGetting Comfortable with Uncomfortable ConversationsCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Much like progressing a deal, as you progress in your sales career, being able to position your sales skills in those interviews can help you differentiate yourself, and win the role. John Kaplan explains how to position yourself as a buyer-focused salesperson and what to look for in the company that you’re interviewing for to ensure you can be successful. After the conversation, leave us a comment on LinkedIn. Share with us, “What was that one thing that made you qualify out a company you were interviewing for?”Here are some additional resources:How to Use Your Sales Skills in Your Next Job InterviewHow to Ensure You're Selling For A Great CompanyCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Force Management is launching a new podcast. Revenue Builders is hosted by John McMahon and John Kaplan. They’ll interview C-suite leaders, PE/VC leaders and executives who’ve been there, done that and delivered results. It’s coming to you every Thursday and today we’re giving you a sneak peek of what to expect. Subscribe here: https://www.forcemanagement.com/revenue-builders-podcast Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

If you want to be a great manager, it takes a different skillset than what it takes to be a great seller. After all, being a great player of the game doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a great coach. Our own Patrick McLoughlin is passionate about building valuable sales coaches. His “Manager Tip of the Day'' gets a lot of attention on LinkedIn so we decided to have him share his most popular tips for sales managers in this podcast.Here are some additional resources:Leadership Insights to Share With Your Front-line ManagersCoaching Your Teams [Podcast]Meet the Facilitator: Patrick McLoughlinConnect with Patrick McLoughlin on LinkedIn Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Becoming elite as a sales organization demands a culture of accountability. A great sales planning process combined with a voracious qualification process builds an ecosystem of accountability across large-scale sales organizations. John Kaplan shares what these companies implement to foster a culture of accountability, detailing key steps for leaders and reps to take.Here are some additional resources:- Set A Results-Driven Sales Planning Mindset- Develop a Sales Franchise Mindset- How to Improve Qualification in Your Sales Organization Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Being able to execute memorable and impactful presentations is an often-overlooked sales skill. John Kaplan shares the key steps you can take to prepare and execute a buyer-focused presentation, even when you’re talking about yourself. Here are some additional resources:Purpose Process Payoff Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra Prepare and Practice to Confidently Execute Sales Calls Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

The last two years have exposed some flaws in salespeople’s approach to customer meetings. If you want to be successful, you can’t go back to the way you secured or conducted on-premise meetings before the pandemic. Tim Caito shares the overlooked reasons customers prefer virtual meetings (besides convenience) and how to differentiate your approach to ensure you land and execute impactful meetings with customers. He shares three ways to prepare for and secure valuable meetings.Here are the Essential Questions we mention in the episode:What problems do you solve?How do you solve those problems?How do you solve them differently or better than the competition?Where have you done it before, what’s your proof? Here are some additional resources:The Seller Deficit DisorderPurpose Process PayoffFour Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answer Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Responding to RFPs is often inevitable in many selling organizations. How do you respond in a way that gives you an edge? Brian Walsh joins us to share the importance of assessing your position and details how to determine an impactful response. He covers what to ask yourself as you qualify the opportunity, define your competitive position, and strategize around the right next steps. Here are some additional resources:Differentiate How You Sell Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations [Podcast] Executing Great Discovery  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Segment's Chief Revenue Officer, Joe Morrissey, joins John Kaplan to discuss how Segment implemented a value-based sales motion to scale their organization’s product-led growth (PLG), increasing Annual Recurring Revenue by 150% over two years. They discuss:Elevating the go-to-market approachKey challenges when scaling product-led growth and how to overcome themThe right time to invest in distribution and customer successCapturing cross-functional alignment behind customer outcomesHere are some additional resourcesSegment Case Study How to Scale Product-led Growth What CROs Prioritize to Drive Critical Company Outcomes Aligning Sales with Product: A Conversation on Alignment Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

The time period after your sales kickoff is a pivotal one. You spend countless hours planning and executing the SKO, but what’s the plan to maintain that momentum that’s created? What can you focus on as it relates to your day-to-day activities? Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day joins us to share the actions sales leaders, managers and reps need to commit to immediately following the SKO and how to build a successful long-term execution plan.Here are some additional resources on discovery:How to Set Up an Effective Adoption Plan Around Your Sales Kickoff Insights on Maintaining Virtual SKO Momentum Critical SKO Concepts Sales Leaders Must Communicate How to Equip Managers to Drive Lasting Results from a Sales Initiative Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Defining metrics demands company alignment. Getting buyers to map to and define how they’ll measure success as it relates to your solution isn’t always easy. People may hesitate when it comes to being measured. John Kaplan discusses the role both companies and their salespeople play in ensuring their solutions get the credit they deserve for driving significant customer outcomes.Here are some additional resources:Navigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers [Podcast] The Decision Process: Everything You Need to Know to Sell More Why You’re Struggling With Metrics in the Sales Conversation  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

To celebrate our 100th episode, Brian Walsh joined us to interview Force Management Co-Founders John Kaplan and Grant Wilson. They discuss the journey from starting Force Management to celebrating nearly 20 years in business. We are joined by a special guest halfway through the episode - and he shares how John Kaplan almost quit sales for Krispy Kreme. Here are some additional resourcesHow Do You Hire Elite Salespeople? https://bit.ly/3r8nsO7How to Scale Product-led Growth https://bit.ly/3nfZn6KOur Top Podcasts From This Year to Share with Your Salespeople  https://bit.ly/31Ny3p3Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Preparing for your deal is critical. Preparing others for your sales call has equal impacts on your success. If you want someone to join you on a call (product engineer, manager, etc.), you have to be able to provide them with fluency about the deal and clarity on their role in the conversation. John Kaplan covers what information you need to share and how help ensure those joining you are best prepared.Here are some additional resourcesHow to Ask for Help on Your Deals 5 Things to Do Before Your Next Sales Conversation Key Things to Do After Every Sales Call  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

A montage of the funniest sales stories covered during our Lessons Learned in Sales series. Catch up on these highlights that you might have missed and share your funny stories with by leaving us a comment or tagging us on LinkedIn: The Audible-Ready Sales Podcast.Here are the full episodes featuring the stories we shared Patrick McLoughlin Antonella O’Day Tim Caito  Brian Walsh Kamonte McCray Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Any salesperson can tell a good story. Styles may differ, but your message is what matters. A great story helps your buyers understand what’s possible and how they can achieve their desired outcomes. Understand how to improve your storytelling skills and what to focus on to have a bigger impact on your buyer. John Kaplan shares a few storytelling tactics you can use to elevate your approach and move your deals forward, faster.Here are some additional resources:5 Things to do Before Your Next Sales Conversation [Podcast] When To Use Customer Case Studies in the Sales Process Align with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra 5 Ways to Gain Trust in the Sales Process Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

In this episode, we cover key steps to make sure you hold to your committed forecast. Force Management Senior Partner Paul DeMore has conversations with sales leaders nearly every week around enabling salespeople to hold to their committed forecasts. He joins us to share what’s top-of-mind right now for sales leaders looking to reduce slipped deals and improve win rates. He also shares actionable tips your managers and reps can use to improve outcomes and speed up their deals.Here are some additional resources on sales planning:A Conversation with John McMahon How to Hold to Your Committed Forecast How to Reignite Stalled Deals Book: The Qualified Sales Leader Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Front-line sales managers this one’s for you! Your job is difficult. Often top sellers, who were promoted to managers, can find it challenging to coach the skills they excelled at. Being a great player of the game doesn’t directly translate into being a great coach of the game. The coaching skill set is completely different. If you find yourself often taking over deals for your reps, or are unsure of how to best support each individual on your team — tune in. John Kaplan shares his advice for front-line sales managers who want to have a bigger impact on their team’s growth and revenue numbers. Here are some additional resources on sales planning:Execute the Skill/Will Coaching Approach Our Top Resources For Giving Effective Feedback Five Ways to Give Better Feedback to Your Sales Teams  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales” continues this week as John Kaplan talks with Force Management’s new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Kamonte McCray. They discuss: How feeling too comfortable in a big account put his company in a dangerous position, costing him the dealA deal negotiation that involved a language barrier and a lesson he’ll never forgetA tricky negotiation tactic that reiterated the importance of staying calm and reiterating value during pricing conversations Here are some additional resources:Lessons Learned in Sales w/ Kamonte McCray https://bit.ly/3xElCaBKamonte McCray Bio https://bit.ly/3AUeqr3Sales Leadership & Accountability Webinar  https://bit.ly/2Z3Q8gUCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Ever advance a deal too quickly, only to find out you need to back up the sales process? John Kaplan joins us to discuss how to step back and work with your customer to ensure you’ve got all of the information you need to reassess and progress your deal. He walks through examples of how to back up your deals and get your customer to demand your help with solving an urgent business problem.Here are some additional resources on sales planning:Reassess Your Deals Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions How to Ensure You're Audible-Ready in Your B2B Sales Conversations How to Ask the Right Questions in Your Sales Conversation  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.