One of the most common mistakes sales leaders make is coaching everyone the same way. It feels fair. It feels efficient. And it’s completely ineffective. High performers and struggling reps need fundamentally different coaching approaches. When leaders blur that line, two things happen: top talent gets frustrated or disengaged, and struggling reps feel overwhelmed, micromanaged, or misunderstood. I learned this lesson the hard way. The Moment It Clicked Early in my leadership

Timing Is Everything – Career Growth and Leadership Readiness We often talk about what role we want next and where we want our careers to go. Less often do we talk about when. Yet timing—more than talent, ambition, or even opportunity—is often the deciding factor in long-term career success. I’ve seen great people stall because they moved too early. I’ve also seen high performers get passed over because they waited too long. In a career, timing isn’t luck. It’s a skill—one th

Clear Vision and Strategy in Sales Leadership Leading a large sales team isn’t about charisma, hustle, or even experience alone. Those things help—but they’re not what sustains performance at scale. What separates consistently successful sales leaders from everyone else is clarity: a clear vision of where the team is going and a strategy that translates that vision into daily action. Without clarity, even the most talented teams stall. With it, average teams outperform expect

Sales leadership is often judged by lagging indicators—quota attainment, pipeline coverage, forecast accuracy. I’ve written before about diagnosing pipeline risk before results miss and the importance of sound judgment long before the numbers show up. That discipline matters. But here’s something I learned the hard way: you don’t get disciplined execution without people who feel seen, trusted, and valued. And one of the most effective—yet overlooked—ways to build that environ

How Great Sales Leaders See Trouble Early—and What They Do About It Most sales leaders don’t miss results because they’re careless. They miss results because they see the warning signs too late. By the time a quarter is officially “off track,” the real problem has usually been in motion for months—hiding in the pipeline. Strong leaders don’t wait for lagging indicators like revenue and close rate to tell the story. They diagnose pipeline risk early, when they still have time

A Practical System for Raising the Bar and Changing Sales Culture Most sales management systems fail for one simple reason: they are inconsistent. Not because leaders don’t care. Not because teams lack talent. But because coaching is reactive, priorities shift, and expectations aren’t reinforced the same way every week. High-performing sales organizations don’t rely on heroics or motivation. They operate with a clear, repeatable framework that aligns leadership behavior, coac

Every sales professional knows the moment. You’re at a conference, on a call, in the lobby of a customer site—and a potential buyer asks the seemingly simple question: “So… what does your company do?” Most sellers treat this as small talk. It’s not. This question is one of the biggest gateways to new conversations, deeper relationships, and more revenue. When answered well, it expands your reach inside an organization, earns you more meetings, strengthens your pipeline, and e

Discover the six most common sales leadership failures—accountability gaps, weak pipeline discipline, poor coaching—and how to avoid them

In today’s sales organizations, there’s a growing divide between leaders who coach to pipeline performance and those who manage to activity metrics . Both have their place, but one drives sustainable growth while the other can create a culture of micromanagement and burnout. Top-performing sales teams share a common trait — their leaders focus on pipeline creation, advancement, and closure as the true indicators of success. Activity metrics like calls made, emails sent, and

Discover how to embrace career challenges as opportunities for growth through agility, mentorship, and curiosity. Turn setbacks into leaders

As a sales leader, one of your most powerful tools isn’t a dashboard or a CRM report — it’s the pipeline review. When done right, a pipeline review doesn’t just track deals; it sharpens focus, reinforces accountability, and coaches your team toward consistent, repeatable performance. Unfortunately, too many pipeline meetings turn into status updates instead of growth conversations. The key to a killer pipeline review lies in asking the right questions — questions that uncover

Artificial intelligence has shifted from buzzword to business driver almost overnight. In sales, tools powered by AI can write emails, analyze buying patterns, forecast pipeline health, and even suggest next best actions. The temptation is to believe technology will “do sales” for us. Yet, amid the hype, the most successful leaders keep their teams anchored in timeless fundamentals while leveraging new capabilities to amplify, not replace, human performance. Here’s how to lea

In today’s ever-evolving career landscape, taking chances over your career can be the key to unlocking your potential and achieving remarkable success. Yet, stepping outside of your comfort zone often feels intimidating, risky, or uncertain. Many people hesitate to make bold moves because of fear of failure, self-doubt, or the comfort of a steady routine. However, embracing calculated risks can lead to career breakthroughs, personal growth, and opportunities you may never hav

Leadership is a concept that has been debated and analyzed for centuries, yet there is no single definition that fully captures its essence. At its core, leadership involves the ability to guide and inspire others towards a common goal or vision. However, the best definition of leadership goes beyond this basic description and encompasses the qualities, skills, and behaviors that make a great leader. One of the most widely accepted definitions of leadership is that it is the

Over my time in leadership, examples from my leaders, and learning from others; there elements to leadership that span the work regardless of the work they lead, tenure of team, etc. Also, I believe leadership is a life long pursuit. Certainly, there are stronger leaders than others, but mastery is difficult as it involves other people that are diverse in background, experience, and beliefs. Leadership is a complex and multifaceted concept, but some key elements that are ofte

In a typical week, I have 2-3 connections to talk career and development with someone in our business. These conversations are something I thoroughly enjoy! Usually, we are talking about the next role they want. Even as I reflect on my career there was a time that I was much more role or job title focused. This changed with a conversation I had with one of my mentors. Up to that point, I had success in promoting into the titles I wanted. I was in a sales executive role leadi

Self-awareness is the ability to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It is the foundation for personal growth and development, and is essential for effective decision making, problem solving, and achieving personal goals. Self-awareness is a complex and multi-faceted concept. It includes being aware of one's own emotions and how they affect one's thoughts and behaviors, as well as being aware of one's own thoughts and how they shape one's perceptions of th

Gratitude is a powerful emotion that has the ability to transform our lives in many ways. It is the feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for the good things in our lives, and it has been shown to have a wide range of benefits for our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. One of the most powerful effects of gratitude is that it can help us to appreciate the present moment. When we are grateful, we are able to focus on the positive aspects of our lives and let go of n

Discipline is a key ingredient to achieving success in any area of life. Whether it's in your personal life, your career, or your fitness goals, discipline is what helps you stay focused and motivated when things get tough. At its core, discipline is about making a commitment to yourself and sticking to it, even when it's hard. It's about putting in the effort and taking the necessary steps to reach your goals, even when you don't feel like it. One of the most important aspec

For much of my life, comfort was what I sought and fought for. As a young person, I tried to find the path of least resistance to get what I wanted. What I found as I got out in the world, is that life was a struggle when I was not willing to do the uncomfortable. In fact, I found myself with less, the less I did. Giving the minimum, resulted in less. Shocking, I know!! Interestingly, I found my first test of discomfort in my first sales job. At that point in my life, I neede