Practical Wisdom from Kahle Way Sales Systems
289 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago -Focused on business professionals, sales leaders and professional salespeople we help you sell better, lead better and live better. Enjoy.
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Episodes
Four Most Common Mistakes Sales Leaders Make
June 22, 2023 10:30 - 11 minutes - 9.71 MBGrowing your sales is a goal for almost every business. The challenge is so great, however, that it spawns lots of mis-guided methods. Here are the four most common mistakes sales leaders make from a consultant who has worked with hundreds of them.
Focus, Focus, Focus
June 15, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 6.73 MB: “Can you boil down your advice to one word?” That’s what a seminar participant asked me. “No,” I said, “but I can boil it down to three: Focus, focus, focus.” I said that because I see ‘focus’ as the solution to a number of modern dilemmas.
Is Leverage a Key to Taking Your Business to The Next Level?
June 08, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 6.96 MBWhether you are a small businessperson or a professional salesperson, you can utilize a powerful strategy to take your performance to dramatically higher levels -- leverage. Leverage revolves around the idea of multiplying the effects of some effort to gain more value from it. Leverage will take you to a higher level.
Loss of Discipline & The Incredible Opportunity for You
June 01, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 7.16 MBIn recent years I’ve seen a deeper degradation in the learning potential of the work force fueled by a growing inability to concentrate. I’m afraid that much of the adult population in this country has become so conditioned to sound bites, texts and tweets that they have lost the discipline to “do the work.” Like an unused muscle, their ability to concentrate has atrophied. On the one hand, that is alarming. On the other hand, it is a tremendous opportunity for you.
Are Your Sales & Marketing Efforts Like Popcorn?
May 25, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 6.89 MBHow do you effectively and consistently grow your business? One common mistake is to pursue a strategy I call popcorn, instead of building a solid sales system.
How to Identify Your Target Markets
May 18, 2023 10:30 - 13 minutes - 11.8 MBFocusing on one or more target markets is one of the key processes to building a successful sales system for your business or practice. But, business people are often unsure of how to go about the process of identifying those markets that hold the greatest potential. Here are seven strategies to help you identify your highest potential target markets.
Shrink Your Market to Expand Your Business
May 11, 2023 10:30 - 11 minutes - 8.64 MBOne of the biggest decisions a business makes is the decision on which market segment to focus. ‘Market segment’ is the term that describes a group of suspects and prospects who have something in common. One of the most powerful principles of effective sales systems principles this: Define your target market as narrowly and precisely as possible. In this podcast, we unpack that powerful strategy.
Personal Responsibility
May 04, 2023 10:30What is it that empowers some people to change smoothly and effortlessly, while getting others to modify their behavior seems like moving a mountain? What is the fundamental building block for individuals which, more than anything else, equips them to successfully implement change? It is something that is becoming increasingly rare -- a motivating sense of personal responsibility. The Sales Leader's Group in the Xi Community Learn More Here.
Welcome to The Age of Turmoil
April 27, 2023 10:30 - 12 minutes - 9.33 MBWe all have a sense that things are changing rapidly these days. It is more serious than that. We have entered into the Age of Turmoil and our ability to recognize and navigate it will be the single biggest challenge for the rest of our careers. The XI Community. Learn More Here
Scattered & Unfocused? Create a VAP
April 20, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 7.07 MBThere are, in the world of sales and sales systems, certain practices that have such an enormous impact on the company and the market that they are in a special class of activities that call for executive involvement at the highest levels. One of that handful of activities is the creation of a value-added position (VAP). Next to the company’s vision, mission and values statements, a VAP contains the most important words an organization can create. It often forms the first impression the ...
Sales Management Myths: 100% Commission
April 13, 2023 10:30 - 9 minutes - 7.26 MB: For all but the new and the internally driven salespeople, straight commission plans merely reward the content sales person to maintain the status quo. Let’s consider this together.
It is The Risk, Not The Price!
April 06, 2023 10:30 - 14 minutes - 10.8 MBSalespeople are sick of hearing “Your price is too high.” But, what if the real issue isn’t the price? Here’s a secret that almost nobody knows, including all those gurus telling you to sell value. They don’t always buy the best value. But, they can invariably be counted on to buy the lowest risk! The biggest issue in the minds of your customers and prospects is not price, and it is not value – it is risk. Let’s dig into this. The XI Community. Learn More ...
How to Handle a Plateaued Salesperson
March 30, 2023 10:30 - 12 minutes - 9.44 MBOne or more of your salespeople has leveled off. Their performance hasn’t improved much in the last few years. You know that these experienced salespeople can do better, but they seem unable or unwilling to break out of a certain level of performance. You are scratching your head, frustrated, and losing sleep at night wondering how to improve the situation. What do you do? Here’s a simple, effective strategy: How to Kreate Kahle's Kalculation of Sales Productivity
Three Ways to Add Advisers to Your Business
March 23, 2023 10:30 - 10 minutes - 7.69 MB“Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when advisers are many.“ (Proverbs 15:22) This is an often-quoted verse, a piece of advice from King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. While the advice doesn't appear to be pointed only at businesspeople, the application of that wisdom can make the difference between success and failure for a businessperson. [G1] How do you apply the wisdom of this passage in a practical way to a busines...
Is Your Sales System Clogged with Accumulated Gunk?
March 16, 2023 10:30What’s gunk? Any practice that detracts from the salesperson spending time with customers. In other words, other things the outside salespeople do instead of meeting with customers. Let’s drill deeper into Gunk, determine if you, or your salespeople are guilty of any of it, and begin to fix it. The community for Excellence & Influence -- Learn more.
Is Your Sales System Clogged with Accumulated Gunki?
March 16, 2023 10:30What’s gunk? Any practice that detracts from the salesperson spending time with customers. In other words, other things the outside salespeople do instead of meeting with customers. Let’s drill deeper into Gunk, determine if you, or your salespeople are guilty of any of it, and begin to fix it. The community for Excellence & Influence -- Learn more.
Have We Lost The Ability to Say NO?
March 09, 2023 11:30 - 9 minutes - 7.72 MBIt seems like more and more business people have lost the ability to say no. That’s too bad. Being able to say no is a higher level skill that is advantageous in both business as well as life in general. Those who don’t master the art of saying no are forever doomed to an immaturity in their business skills, while those who can and do say no operate at a higher level of skill and social finesse.
Hidden Costs in a Sales Team
March 02, 2023 11:30 - 11 minutes - 8.42 MBThe biggest cost in a sales team is often invisible and unacknowledged. Yet, it costs the company more in opportunities lost than any other single issue. Many sales managers aren’t even aware of it. Let’s take a look. The Kahle Way(r) B2B Selling System: https://www.thesalesresourcecenter.com/immersion-b2b-sales/ The Kahle Way Distributor Selling System https://www.thesalesresourcecenter.com/immersion-distributor-sales/
3 Greatest Challenges for Sales Managers
February 23, 2023 11:30 - 10 minutes - 8.24 MBOver my career, I’ve worked with hundreds, maybe even thousands of sales managers, and I’ve learned some things. Regardless of the size of business, the product sold or market to which it is sold, sales managers share some common hurdles. Here are the three most common challenges for sales managers. The Sales Manager's Group The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course
Hiring a Star Salesperson -- What to Look For- Part 6
February 16, 2023 11:30 - 10 minutes - 7.53 MBEvery sales manager wants to hire star salespeople. But few do. One reason for that is we don’t know what to look for in an interviewee. In this concluding article in a series of six, I identify the qualities of character that contribute to the make-up of a superstar salesperson.
Hiring a Star Salesperson -- What to Look For.
February 09, 2023 11:30 - 7 minutes - 5.3 MBHiring a star salesperson is one of the best things you can do. But, very few people do it well. We often look for the wrong things in the interview process. We should be looking for the character of the prospect. Here's the next in my series on the qualities of character star salespeople have in common. -- A self-image of success. The sales leader's group in the XI Community. Learn More Here.
Hiring a Great Salesperson - What To Look For
February 02, 2023 11:30 - 10 minutes - 7.72 MBWe’d all like to hire great salespeople. Few of us ever do. Part of the reason may be the qualities and qualifications we look for in the interview process. In this next of a series of qualities of character of the best salespeople, I unveil the next in the list – the ability to create positive business relationships. The Sales Managers Group of the XI Community: Learn More Here.
Hiring a Star Salesperson- What to Look For
January 26, 2023 11:30 - 10 minutes - 7.52 MBWe’d all like to hire superstar salespeople. The problem is spotting one in the interview process. What do you look for? In this, one of a series on the qualities of character of superstar salespeople, I share my number three recommendation: Th Ability and Propensity to learn. Investigate the Sales Leader's group in the Xi Community here
Hiring a Superstar Salesperson -2
January 19, 2023 11:30 - 9 minutes - 7.12 MBWe’d all like to hire a superstar salesperson. But we often look for the wrong things in the interview process. Instead of product or industry knowledge, we should look for qualities of character. Here’s my second characteristics of superstar salespeople : High Energy. The X-I Community: Learn More Here
Servant Leadership
January 12, 2023 11:30 - 24 minutes - 11 MBCompanies lead by Servant Leaders more than double the return on investment when compared to other management styles. In this interview with author Max Cates, we dig into the nuts and bolts of servant leadership Serve, Lead, Succeed -- Book by Max Cates The Sales Leaders Excellence & Influence Course
How to Hire a Superstar Salesperson
January 05, 2023 11:30 - 15 minutes - 11.3 MBIf you can hire a superstar salesperson, your life will be easier and you’ll look like a hero. Easier said than done. In this podcast, I share what to not look for, and share one of six things I look for in a sales hire. The Kahle Way B2B Selling System The Kahle Way Distributor Selling System
Is It Time to Measure Sales Productivity?
December 29, 2022 11:30 - 11 minutes - 8.44 MBSales productivity may be a new concept for many sales executives. “Sales” is easy to understand, and “productivity” is pretty clear, but when those two words are combined the combination becomes a bit vague. What exactly is sales productivity, and why should you be concerned about it? Kahle's Kalculation -- Free Ebook.
Unshakeable Work Ethic
December 22, 2022 11:30 - 9 minutes - 8.01 MBGreat business leaders invariably exhibit the same qualities of character. In this first of series, I look at the qualities of character that mark great leaders, with a deep dive into the first: An unshakeable work ethic. Let’s unpack that. The Xi Community. Learn More Here.
Are You Humble?
December 15, 2022 11:30 - 9 minutes - 8.07 MBIn this sixth of a series on the character traits of successful business leaders, I identify one that might be surprising. It is, however, incredibly powerful – humility. Humility is often misunderstood. In this podcast, I describe it, and show how it is a powerful leadership trait.
Unwavering Self-Control
December 08, 2022 11:30 - 9 minutes - 8.34 MBThe best business leaders have acquired a similar set of skills. Without this set of character traits, it is difficult to lead a growing organization. In this series, I uncover a key set of character traits for great business leaders. This is number four – Unwavering self-control. The XI Community. Learn More Here.
How Should You Invest Your Sales Time?
December 01, 2022 11:30 - 13 minutes - 11.8 MBListen to my response to this question: Our “A” customers do 90% of our business. How much time or effort would you put into your “B” customers to bring them up to “A” customers? The answer will surprise you. The Kahle Way B2B Selling System
How Well Do You Learn?
November 24, 2022 11:30 - 9 minutes - 8.16 MBMore important than the business model in the long-term success of a business is the character of the CEO. In this series, I describe the top qualities of character that mark the successful business leaders. This is number two – the ability and propensity to learn. The XI Community. Learn more here.
Too Much to Do, and Not Enough Time in Which To Do It?
November 17, 2022 11:30 - 8 minutes - 7.7 MBHow can I sell more when I have so much to do?” That’s a common question with lots of different answers – all having to do with better sales time management. Here’s one key to selling more, even when you are pressed for time. Focus on this one thing. The XI Community. Learn more here.
Are You Striving for MORE?
November 10, 2022 11:30Great leaders have a number of character traits in common. This is the third in a series of posts dealing with the set of character traits that great business leaders exhibit – A continuous quest for MORE. The XI Community. Learn More Here.
Are Outside Sales People Obsolete?
November 03, 2022 10:30 - 14 minutes - 11.8 MBAre outside salespeople a thing of the past? For generations, outside salespeople thrived on face-to-face relationships. Their approach to the job was to get in the car and go see people. The world is full of businesses who have grown on that sales model. Until recently. The Covid lock-down has turned the world of outside salespeople upside down. Did the outside salesperson become obsolete. Here’s how to answer the question for your team. The Kahle Way(r) B2B Selling System...
Your Character and Success
October 27, 2022 10:30 - 10 minutes - 8.31 MBWhich is more important, the business model, or the character of the CEO? From my experience, the character of the CEO trumps everything. In this article/podcast, I dig deeply into that idea – the ultimate success formula. The Xi Community (Excellence & Influence)
How to Use Sales Processes to Unleash the Power of Your Sales Team
October 20, 2022 10:30 - 16 minutes - 14.1 MBOne of the fundamental concepts in B2B selling is this: There is a unique ‘best” selling process for every combination of markets, products and customers. Identifying that process, and using it to unleash the power of your sales team, is a major step in the growth of a B2B sales organization. In this podcast, we show you how. The Sales Masters Approach to Acquiring New Customers Blog post with diagrams: https://www.davekahle.com/power-in-the-sales-process/
One of My Greatest Life Lessons
October 13, 2022 10:30 - 14 minutes - 11.8 MBI was young, cocky and a bit full of myself when I had one of the most humbling experiences of my life, and learned a lesson that has stuck with me for decades. Personal responsibility is easy to say, but quite a bit more difficult to actually embed into your life. The Xi Community: Learn More Here
The MORE mindset & Your Success
October 10, 2022 10:30 - 10 minutes - 9.41 MBGreat leaders have a number of character traits in common. This is the third in a series of articles dealing with the set of character traits that great business leaders exhibit – A continuous quest for MORE. The XI Community.
Will Self-Delusion Be the End of Us?
October 06, 2022 10:30 - 9 minutes - 8.18 MBSelf-delusion is becoming more widespread today and threatens to damage our lives and retard our culture. It’s time we recognized it.
Q&A: Getting the Last Look
September 29, 2022 10:30Getting the last look. In this response to a question, the writer of the question wants the ability to go in after the bids have been submitted, to look at the competitive bids or at least the lowest bid prices, and to change his/her prices in order to be awarded the business. I have responses for this on several different levels. Avoiding a bid situation to begin with. Making a last look unnecessary. When all else fails, ensuring that you get a last look.
Is Your Sales Team Unmanageable?
September 22, 2022 10:30 - 10 minutes - 8.74 MBA client described this situation: Business is flat, and he’s unable to get his sales force to promote the lines that he wants to promote, he’s unable to get them to use some of the new technology that the company wants them to use, and he’s unable to get them to prospect for new customers. He’s faced with an experienced sales force, who for the most part, are unmanageable. Here’s my response. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course. Learn more. The Xi Community. Learn mor...
Which Sales Management Style is Yours?
September 15, 2022 10:30 - 9 minutes - 7.95 MBSales managers, deprived of training and solid direction, typically default to one of these styles. Look at each, and the pros and cons of each and determine which applies to you. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course
Solve Sales Force Issues with One Initiative
September 08, 2022 10:30 - 17 minutes - 12.7 MBOnly about five percent of sales organizations invest in developing their salespeople. Those that do are often the industry leaders. Creating and managing a formal program to develop your salespeople is one of your best investments. The Excellence & Influence Community. Learn more here.
Should You Use a 100 Percent Commission Pay Plan?
September 01, 2022 10:30 - 11 minutes - 10 MBThere are a lot of 100% commission sales compensation plans around. Should there be? Think deeply about this as I respond to two questions about sales force compensation. The New Customer Acquisition Course. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course
Humility & Commitment -- Uncomfortable Words
August 25, 2022 10:30 - 10 minutes - 8.43 MBJoin with me to examine a couple more of that series of words that a significant percentage of the population would rather not hear – humility and commitment. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course
How comfortable are you with Discipline?
August 18, 2022 10:30 - 8 minutes - 6.84 MBThroughout the history of mankind, successful people have been disciplined people. At some point in their development, they have discovered the power that lies in discipline. And they chose, with an act of willfulness and intentionality, to pursue disciplines. As a result, they rise above the pack on the basis of the strength of their wills and their ability to discipline themselves to do the right things, consistently, methodically and regularly. Sales Leader's Course
What Happened to Character?
August 11, 2022 10:30 - 11 minutes - 9.31 MBHigher character has been recognized, across generations and cultures, as one of the ideal qualifications for positions of leadership. Until recently. We’ve discarded the idea of higher character, and are paying the price. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course
Lower Your Price? A Q&A with Dave Kahle
August 04, 2022 10:30 - 10 minutes - 8.48 MBThe calls for "lower price" are becoming more frequent and frantic in this age of inflation. How should you handle them? Listen as I respond to three questions concerning lower prices. You may gain a perspective you've never had before. The Sales Leader's Excellence and Influence Course
Are You A Value-Added Seller?
July 28, 2022 10:30 - 11 minutes - 9.64 MBValue-added means different things to different people. If you are going to be a true value-added seller in the 21st century marketplace, you must be flexible and capable enough to offer different things to different customers, responding to the individual customer’s definition of what is valuable to him or her. The Sales Leader's Excellence & Influence Course. Learn more here.