Self Development

We’re heading into holiday season. Whether we’re celebrating Diwali, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Thanksgiving or the myriad other holidays celebrated around the world between now and January 1 we will be consuming a lot of calories in the next little while (also a great double entendre as we will soon see).

At some point during our week, we will face doing an activity that we’d rather avoid. Could be making a prospecting call, doing a performance review, having a conversation with a difficult client or role playing.

To maintain control of our sales process there is great power in accepting what our prospect says. There is also great power in ignoring certain things our prospect says.

Mike Montague interviews Jaclyn Schiff on How to Succeed at Podcast Marketing In this episode:

Winners make choices and take action to implement those choices. We’ve been socialized in North America to believe that “action” equals a massive expulsion of energy, which can be paralyzing when making a choice then choosing what action take.

Selling for a living in the twenty-first century requires coming to terms with a dizzying array of interconnected, hard-to-anticipate changes in the areas of technology, marketplace trends, and client agendas. Falling behind in any one of these areas means losing relevance and with it, your competitive edge.

Often, we’re frightened when we come to terms with a problem that has grown out of proportion and seems dangerous. As these problems manifest, we become more and more aware of the intricacies that have created it. The hardest truth to face when it comes to challenges that build up overtime is that they are typically products of our own creation. Often, built out of a lack of perspective to our own coded responses that come from the autopilot of repeated behavior.

Mike Montague interviews James Abraham on How to Succeed at Dealing with Uncertainty.

Listen Time: 20 Minutes

This year, on Fridays, Dave talks about the attitude, behavior, and techniques of successful sales managers as he shares his thoughts on the 49 Sandler Rules for Sales Leaders.

Listen Time: 7 Minutes

This year, on Fridays, Dave talks about the attitude, behavior, and techniques of successful sales managers as he shares his thoughts on the 49 Sandler Rules for Sales Leaders.

Listen Time: 8 Minutes

Mike Montague interviews Olympic Gold Medalist Garret Weber-Gale on How to Succeed at Mental Preparation.

Listen Time: 26 Minutes

Summer Solomonsen is Head of Cornerstone Studios at Cornerstone OnDemand, Sandler's Microlearning partner. Cornerstone and Sandler have partnered to deliver the world-famous Sandler Selling System in a proven Microlearning format. 

This year, on Fridays, Dave talks about the attitude, behavior, and techniques of successful sales managers as he shares his thoughts on the 49 Sandler Rules for Sales Leaders.

Listen Time: 11 MInutes

In the land of “sometime” and “someday” live unqualified prospects. Whispering sweet nothings into the ears of salespeople, who, if they believe those sweet nothings, become hopium addicts.

Diane, a recent sales hire, got an email from her manager, Luis, suggesting that he accompany her on an initial sales call with a prospect – and then debrief with her on what he’d observed. Diane replied that she thought that was a great idea.

SMART Goal Setting with Mike Crandall: Mike Crandall, Sandler Trainer from OK, and Mike Montague, VP of Online Learning discuss SMART goal setting strategies.

Watch Time: 56 Minutes

This bonus episode is brought to you by the Sandler Annual Sales and Leadership Summit in Orlando, FL March 20th-22nd. To join our trainers from around the world and about a thousand of your high-performing colleagues, go to here for more information. 

Listen Time: 13 Minutes

Learn how to overcome self-limiting beliefs with Antonio Garrido.

Watch Time: 56 Minutes

This bonus episode is brought to you by the Sandler Annual Sales and Leadership Summit in Orlando, FL March 20th-22nd. To join our trainers from around the world and about a thousand of your high-performing colleagues, go here for more information. Tickets are limited.

Listen Time: 18 Minutes

Brent Chapman, CIO of RoundPoint Mortgage and speaker and upcoming author, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful in building a winning company culture. Get the best practices collected from around the world.

Listen Time: 29 Minutes

Nick Tokman, also known as Sunshine as seen on Discovery Channel's Emmy-winning show, Deadliest Catch, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful in finding your passion and choosing a direction for your life. Get the best practices collected from around the world.

Dave Mattson, President and CEO at Sandler, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful in sales. Get the best practices collected from around the world.

John Fazio, Sandler trainer, and Mike Montage, VP of Online Learning, play a game of Role-Play Roulette. In this unusual episode and training exercise, John and Mike practice sales role-play situations in a fun and low-pressure environment.

Stephen J. Cloobeck is a self-made business leader with over 30 years of experience across every aspect of hospitality design, development, and deployment. As the original founder and former CEO and chairman of Diamond Resorts International - a business that grew to become one of the largest vacation ownership companies worldwide - Cloobeck made a name for himself as the industry's most adamant advocate for radical customer service, which he calls embracing the Meaning of Yes.

Dan Huddock, a long-time Sandler trainer, joins us to talk about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques for breaking a slump. Learn how to stop negative spirals and start positive ratches that get you going in the right direction!

Summer Solomonsen is CLO at Grovo, Sandler's new Microlearning partner. Grovo and Sandler have partnered to deliver the world-famous Sandler Selling System in Grovo's proven Microlearning format. Sandler will also be offering Grovo's massive Microlearning collections for leadership, management, modern compliance, and professional skills as part of our online offerings.

Eric Warner talks about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques that drive client success. Learn how to improve your client retention, drive more cross-sells and upsells, and grow your business by helping your clients succeed.

Clint Babcock, Sandler trainer from Tampa, joins us to talk about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques of negotiations. Learn how to find, understand and use sources of leverage in your sales negotiations. Learn the advantages and disadvantages of salespeople in final negotiations.

Jon Denn, Vistage Chair from Boston and author of Drumbeat Business Productivity, joins us to talk about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques of being more productive. Learn how to avoid distractions, be disciplined, and get more done. Learn how to great a steady drumbeat of productivity.

Amy Woodall, Sandler trainer from Indianapolis and host of our online course for Dealing with Difficult People and Situations, shares her thoughts about how to handle challenging situations in business.

Dan Stalp, Sandler trainer from Kansas City, joins us to talk about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques to help get out of your own way and stop beating yourself up. This is a tough subject, but sometimes, the biggest obstacle to success is ourselves. Learn how to succeed by not bullying yourself.

We took another look back in our vintage audio vault and found this gem from David H Sandler, our belated founder, on how to manage your time and your priorities in the sales profession. Managers and salespeople should give this a listen and ask themselves hard questions about how and where they spend their time.

As we enter Q4, sales professionals in all industries are likely pondering the same question: Am I on track? If the answer, based on the best available hard numbers and the most objective real-world assessment, is “no,” then it’s likely that another question is looming in the shadows behind the first one: How do I get back on track?

Leo, a new sales hire, was having a hard time making quota. He asked his colleague Sam for some help.

David H Sandler, our belated founder, shares his thoughts  why to choose sales as a career and how people are motivated. Learn the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques of top performers, who have a reason to succeed.

JB Andrews, Sandler trainer, shares his thoughts about personal and professional growth and how to get outside your comfort zone. Learn the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques of top performers, who get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Mike Montague, VP of Online Learning, shares his thoughts about success in a new audio blog. These demotivational lessons are designed to show you how to succeed without motivation. This podcast is all about taking personal responsibility for your own success and taking action.

What if Sandler Training wasn’t about sales, management or customer service? What if it wasn’t even about communication skills or learning how to succeed? What would it be about?

Sandler provides an easy way to remember the five key components of getting a mutually beneficial conversation started: the simple mnemonic PLATE. 

Tina Phillips joins the podcast for the first time to talk about improving your listening skills in sales and in your personal life. Learn the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques of great listeners, and learn how to incorporate them into your conversations. 

There's been a lot written in recent years about making the health of your employees an organizational priority, and that’s as it should be. An individual employee’s wellness correlates directly to that employee’s quality of life, to their overall job satisfaction, and, of course, to their productivity.

Learn how to quiet the inner fears and overcome your own self-limiting beliefs. Rochelle Carrington, Sandler Trainer from New York City and featured speaker at the Sandler Summit talks about how to get out of your own way and get moving towards your goals.

Learn how to practice your sales skills in your personal life to break through learning barriers, but also improve your communication with your friends and family. Karl Scheible, the author of Succeed the Sandler Way, talks about how Sandler clients are finding success in their personal lives.

Learn how to improve your communication in any situation. Dave Hiatt, talks about his new book, From the Board Room to the Living Room: Communicate with Skill for Positive Outcomes, and how to improve your attitude, behavior, and techniques in communication. Learn how to use Sandler's sales skills and rapport techniques in your everyday life.

Learn how to properly introduce yourself and your company in a way that drives more interesting sales conversations. Mike Montague, VP of Online Learning and host of the How to Succeed podcast, shares a special audio blog to help you make the most of your elevator pitch.

We’re all motivated by different things. Some people may be motivated by money, while others may be motivated by feeling valued. And then there are some who are fired up purely by internal pride and self-affirmation. Wherever you draw your energy from, and whatever you feel your purpose is, it shapes the way you approach your business, and ultimately accelerates or undermines your success.

Today’s sales professionals find themselves facing unprecedented, and often uncomfortable, change. More and more salespeople have larger territories than they used to have, and are responsible for selling a wider range of products and services than they’ve ever sold. They've got a lot to do, and they usually have less time in which to do it than they had last year.

You may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and it is. But here, it takes on an entirely new meaning. To ensure sales success, you should always start your day with B.A.G.E.L.S.

Dr. Cathy Ferguson, 2-time gold medalist swimmer in the 1964 Olympic Games and CEO of Girl Scouts of Central California South, talks about the success principles needed in the pool and the boardroom!

In this special audio blog, Mike Montague, our VP of Online Learning and Development, talks about how we structured five different types of online learning into Sandler Online. You will learn how each type is different and how they can help you get to the next level.

In this special audio blog episode, Dave Mattson shares his thoughts for sales leaders. He discusses the importance of translating corporate goals into meaningful, personal ones for yourself and your team.

Susan Sykes talks about the attitude, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful and improve your self-concept. Learn whether attitude or behavior plays a bigger part in your self-esteem and what to do about it.

If you were to go to the dictionary and look up the definition of the word “Success,” you’d be likely to find something like this:​ SUCCESS (n): the accomplishment of a desired aim or purpose.

With the year winding down, perhaps it’s a good time to take stock of what you have accomplished so far this year, file away the lessons of your successes and failures, and begin thinking about what you’d like to accomplish in the coming year. 

The How to Succeed Podcast is a public and free podcast from Sandler Training, the worldwide leader in sales, management, and customer service training for individuals all the way up to Fortune 500 companies with over 250 locations around the globe.

Today’s sales professionals find themselves facing unprecedented, and often uncomfortable, change. More and more salespeople have larger territories than they used to have,  and are responsible for selling a wider range of products and services than they’ve ever sold. They've got a lot to do, and they usually have less time in which to do it than they had last year.

The How to Succeed Podcast is a public and free podcast from Sandler Training, the worldwide leader in sales, management, and customer service training for individuals all the way up to Fortune 500 companies with over 250 locations around the globe.

The Who, one of my favorite classic rock bands but funny enough that exact question comes up a lot in my role as a Sandler trainer. Who are you? One of the first things that we do with new clients at Sandler is an online behavioral assessment. There are a few reasons for this, but in short, it tells you and us more about who you are.

We just finished watching the first total eclipse of the sun since 1979. It got dark, it got cool, and it looked fascinating through the eclipse glasses. Which got me thinking, an eclipse is a blockage. It doesn’t let the sun come through to the earth.

Day in and day out, sellers are inundated with sales tips, new technologies, and industry updates. It’s easy to get caught up in the newest trends and forget about the basics. Today, I’ve outlined five simple tasks that salespeople can perform to improve their daily efficiency and make them more effective.

How many times have you faced a task and the first thought that came to mind was something like “I can’t…,” “That will never work…,” “What’s the point of…,” or “I’m afraid that…”?  More times than you’d care to admit, perhaps? Each time you entertain a negative thought about your ability to achieve a goal, solve a problem, or deal with any situation, you’re poisoning your own well—filling your subconscious with negative unproductive thoughts that it eventually accepts as FACTS, despite the lack of any evidence as such. 

Rule 14: Risk failure to achieve growth. I-10's learn from failure. Wow, I'll tell you what. This rule is action packed with Sandler philosophies and tactics. First of all, we have to embrace failure. Everyone's going to fail. You failed when you were a kid learning how to ride a bike. We fail in all the different roles that we have throughout the day.

In our constant pursuit to arm you with tools to become a sales master, we recently released a new book titled, Winning From Failing, by Sandler Trainer, Josh Seibert. While there are entirely too many teachings in the book to list here, below we have highlighted a few that encompass the essence of the book and are important takeaways for managers.

Summer can be a challenging time for businesses. Reduced productivity from individuals going on vacations or taking time off can lead to slow sales. This common phenomenon is a subject we’ve covered before on the Sandler Blog, with tips on how to combat the slow season.

Frequently people ask me how do I get better? How do I grow? How do I improve? Which are all good questions – and if you don’t ask yourself these questions – you should!

Josh Seibert is a long-time Sandler Trainer and our latest author. He joins us to talk about the lessons from his new book, Winning Through Failing. He shares why failure is a critical part of success, not the opposite of success. Learn how to set the stage for failure and use it to grow faster and expand your comfort zone.

There’s an adage that rings true for sales careers, “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” Proficient salespeople have some of the highest job satisfaction across all industries and can have very rewarding and lucrative careers. On the other side of the coin, selling — especially commission based selling — isn’t for everyone. Inexperienced or ineffective salespeople may have a hard time breaking into the profession.

It’s already the second quarter; is it too late to discuss sales mistakes to avoid in 2017?  Or lessons learned in 2016?  It matters not what month or year it is, for some sales lessons are timeless, and furthermore, we need to revisit them on a regular basis.

Need some motivation? Look no further than this group of TED Talks, from experts in a variety of fields. From the aid worker who battled hippos (and lost) to the analyst who discovered the power of drawing toast (and how those drawings revealed simple solutions to complex problems),” this roundup of TED Talks is ideal for motivating yourself or your sales team.

In his recent book, Change or Die, author Alan Deutschman claims that although we have the ability to change our behavior, we rarely do.  In fact, the odds are nine-to-one that when faced with a dire need to change, we won’t.  Most smokers who are presented with a wealth of scientific data on the dangers of tobacco do not quit smoking.  Our beliefs are what we feel in our gut and those beliefs are hard to change; we spent a lifetime developing and defending them.  This explains why providing information rarely changes how people think or act.

What do the first seven seconds of meeting you say about you, your work ethic, and your ability to be successful? Every fiber you zip, shrug, or button into tells a story about you. Smart business people understand this and use it to craft a strong personal brand. While you don't need to wear a business suit every day of your life, unless you are in a super-professional industry, it's critical to selectively choose your clothing. 

It's almost always the decision maker that makes the decision work or not work – not the choice.  You can make decisions – better decisions – and you can make them work.  If you are not feeling “up to it,” no amount of concentration or wishful thinking will make your dreams come true.  Things in motion tend to stay that way and things at rest do too.  When you stop spending so much time THINKING IT OVER, and start making decisions, your prospects will too.

2016 has been a year of many successes. Whether you are a sales representative, a sales manager, or simply interested in learning more about trending topics in the sales industry, we hope you have gathered some key insights from our blog this year. Before moving into 2017, we would like to take a look back and highlight some important topics from 2016.

Betty’s quarterly numbers were low. Her manager, Milt, asked her to do some role-plays so they could identify potential areas for improvement. They spent about 20 minutes role-playing through various scenarios – at which point Milt called a time-out and asked, “Betty, do you realize you’re positioning us in exactly the same way with every person to whom you speak?”
Betty looked at her boss quizzically and asked: “Is that a bad thing?”
Milt gave a little smile and said, “It could be.”

You have an inventory to take, a phone call to make, and a report to write. But instead of diving in and getting the tasks completed, you put them off. “I’ll get to them soon,” you tell yourself. But your definition of “soon” and Webster’s definition have little in common. Can you relate to these situations…or perhaps other recurring situations of similar thought and behavior?

Stress reactions have also been shown to be beneficial in business situations — in small doses. A recent study even states that short periods of stress can increase a person’s cognitive functions, resulting in brain power improvements. As long as we’re able to channel stress to solve problems, the body’s stress reactions can help us focus, get more done, and think more clearly.

Anyone can become a salesperson. There’s no real barrier to entry and no barrier to continuing a career in sales. As with most professions, anyone can become a “subject matter expert,” but that does not automatically make that person a good salesperson.

When the economy takes a dip, like the recent drop in the price of a barrel of oil, leaders and salespeople alike typically stop doing their behaviours out of fear or frustration. Fear of "stretching themselves thin" and frustrated because "nobody is buying." The former is hilarious and the latter is ridiculous.

Stress is a natural response of the body to challenge, fear, attack, excitement and other external stimuli that gets our heart racing and the blood vessels pumping. However, too much stress, which happens regularly in a stressful workplace, and the body starts to break down. It’s not a good formula for a successful career, no matter how hard a person works. 

Clients, vendors, sales representatives, and products fill up most of your time, leaving few minutes each day to organize yourself and clear the clutter from your desk or mind. January is “get organized month,” but busy sales representatives and managers can’t devote an entire day to administrative tasks without losing potential profits. Here are seven ways you can create organization to drive success in ten-minute increments any day of the year.

We know from some extensive research on goal setting that most people make a New Year’s wish instead of a resolution. Proper goal setting requires commitment to your dreams. It gives you a road map to follow, allowing you to focus your efforts on the right thing at the right time, and holding you accountable for progress. If you are committed to succeeding in 2016 and want to do something about it, then follow these 6 steps to a perfect goal setting plan for this year and the rest of your life.

When someone hands you a business card and says, "you should call this person", it's not really a referral. Without more information, it is more like they're sending you on a cold call. Cold calling is way down the list of favorite prospecting activities for most salespeople, and sometimes that frustration can spill over to referrals.

Effective communication plays one of the biggest roles in a functional work environment, but the ability to interact well with one's peers is one of the hardest skills to master. Develop stronger relationships with your coworkers using these seven tips to improve your professional communication skills.

As a salesperson, here is something you probably already know: people don't feel a strong connection with companies. So in this day and age, having a personal brand is no longer an option; it is a requirement. If people do not see you as a relatable individual and instead starting viewing you as simply the voice of a corporation, you aren't going to last long in the fast-paced world of sales.

High-performing sales teams are led by strong sales managers who embody leadership skills that motivate and empower the team. Exceptional sales professionals display certain traits that allow them to stand out from the rest and achieve great sales success.

I had a position coach during my freshman year in college that made the comment, "Point the thumb, before you point the finger," and it has stuck with me ever since. Our football team was in a transition period, new coaches, new players, new strategies and we stunk pretty badly.

People make buying decisions emotionally and justify those decisions intellectually – Sandler Principle 6

Your mindset has more to do with your success than almost any other single element. There are plenty of salespeople who possess extensive product knowledge, have numerous influential business contacts, are well-spoken and have appealing personalities, yet their sale performances are average...sometimes, only marginally acceptable.

I often get asked by prospects and clients to give them the secret ingredient that will help them get motivated or how to motivate their sales teams. I hear comments like, "Most of us know what we need to do, why don't we just do it?" I chuckle when I hear this because we all know that the only person who can motivate us to do something is ourselves. It's like going to the gym: friends and family can encourage and suggest that we go, however the ultimate decision lies with the individual.

Why? Why do we get up every day and go to work? Because we have bills to pay: Really? Listen to the news-not paying your bills is now as much a status symbol as a Gold Card in the 1980's. Because that's what is expected: Really? In most companies, the last time you saw your job description was the day you interviewed-and you don't know what is really expected, do you? Because employees depend on us: Really? Management texts say a great manager implements systems that will operate well when management is not there. Really it's because Mom or Dad said so