Force Management

Discover the mantra you can use to successfully navigate opportunities that require you to move up and down in organizations. Hear John Kaplan’s tips for continually building a business case that maps the technical capabilities of your solution to the required capabilities for different decision makers in an organization. He explains what the mantra is, how you can build it through customer conversations, and leverage it to get champions to sell on your behalf.Here are some additional resourcesAlign with the Buying Process: The Power of the Mantra https://bit.ly/3tFoUZ5Why You’re Struggling With Metrics in the Sales Conversation https://bit.ly/3lgdoQgNavigating the Decision Process With Multiple Buyers [Podcast] https://spoti.fi/3AhqEKUCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .

Sales kickoffs can take many different forms -- the good, the bad, and the game changers. The Force Management team has helped countless sales leaders execute meaningful Sales Kickoffs that launch organizational change and impactful results. What separates the best from the rest? What are the steps leaders can take to make their SKOs a game changer? Facilitators Brian Walsh and Antonella O'Day share what they've seen work best and key mistakes to avoid.Here are some additional resources on SKOs:Sales Kickoff Resources https://bit.ly/3jQL4Do5 SKO Mistakes to Avoid On-Demand Webinar https://bit.ly/37Etw7FCritical SKO Concepts Sales Leaders Must Communicate https://bit.ly/3iFBlAiCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or our website .

For those of you planning your next Sales Kickoff, use our resources, everything you need all in one place:Sales Kickoff Resource Guidehttps://www.forcemanagement .com/sales-kickoff-resources

If you want to be "the top 2%", become an elite seller in your organization, and propel your career to the next level — take spirit from Brandon Burlsworth's UnCommon story. Sales leaders, share it with your sales reps and managers.Told in the movie Greater, Brandon's life was one of grit, dedication and hard work. But, he didn't start out that way. He started out as a young player, with a big goal, not unlike most sales athletes. Brandon went from a walk-on freshman football player at the University of Arkansas to become a 1st-Team All American, who was drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts. It's speculated that just 2% of all football players make it into the NFL. Hear the story to see how you can be greater every day.Here are additional resources and ways to can support:Greater the movie IMDB Page https://imdb.to/3zCbzDaMore on the Brandon Burlsworth Storyhttps://bit.ly/3kIqipO Brandon Burlsworth Foundation https://bit.ly/3gO1eN8Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at App

If you’re looking for quick tips to improve your ability to execute the fundamentals of elite selling — this is the episode for you.Force Management Facilitator and Director, Dale Monnin joins us to chat about helping salespeople move from good, to great to elite in their sales careers. He covers a variety of tips you can apply immediately to your sales process and approach including:- What areas of your skill set to improve if you want to be elite- What indicators to look for to know when you’ve done effective discovery- Ways to ask bold discovery questions and use silence to your advantageCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.Here are some additional resources on building an elite sales organization:- How to Move Yourself Beyond Mediocrity [Podcast]- https://apple.co/3gspW4H- Stacking customer requirements in your favor [Podcast]- https://apple.co/35auU0y- Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations [Podcast]- https://apple.co/358p

Our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales”, continues as John Kaplan talks with Force Management Senior Partner Tim Caito. As always, Tim shares valuable insights, including: - How to stay connected to your customer’s projects post-sale to ensure their success- The time a customer left him and his colleagues in the middle of an oil field- The common characteristics of the best sales managers he’s worked with- A motto he uses to differentiate his sales approachTim’s passion for sales and coaching is energizing. Tune in to this episode to hear valuable takeaways you can use to drive positive impacts for your customers and your sales team.Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.Here are some additional resources based on the conversation with Tim:- Tim Caito - Meet the Facilitator Bio- https://bit.ly/2U14OL4- On-Demand Webinar | Selling and Negotiating on Value- https://bit.ly/3wSAile- Negotiation FAQs & Best Practices [Podcast] - https://a

In-person customer conversations have dwindled over the past year. While we are getting back to face-to-face meetings, many sales conversations are happening virtually. How do you get your customers to open up in a remote conversation? How do you gain that trusted advisor status over a video call? John Kaplan shares his best tips. Here are some additional resources”- Purpose Process Payoff- https://forc.mx/3B4liDx- Finding the Business Pain Podcast- https://forc.mx/36F2YCE Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Your buyers have likely experienced a lot of bad QBRs — so differentiate your company by making them truly valuable for you and your buyer. Tim Caito joins us to talk about how sales leaders can equip their account teams to flip the script on negative buyer perceptions and get customers to see value in a QBR. He covers the pre-sale, during-sale and post-sales steps sales reps need to take to improve QBR execution, long-term account monetization and most importantly, customer outcomes. Here are some additional resources based on making QBRs Valuable- How to Make QBRs Valuable for Your Customers    - https://bit.ly/3jgyr4i - Overcoming Sales Challenges: A Buyer Focus on Seller Deficit Disorder - https://bit.ly/3in54xG - How To Negotiate Early [Podcast] - https://apple.co/3s3fDcR Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Part 2 of our conversation with Author and Sales Leader Veteran John McMahon. He joins John Kaplan to discuss themes in McMahon's new book, “The Qualified Sales Leader”. McMahon has been the Chief Revenue Officer at five public, enterprise software companies – PTC, Geo-Tel, Ariba, BladeLogic and BMC. Now he sits on the board at several public software companies including Snowflake and MongoDB. More Information: - BUY THE BOOK: The Qualified Sales Leader - https://amzn.to/3zOwQt9  - How to Ensure You’re Selling for a Great Company - https://bit.ly/3i9RTQN  Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Author and Sales Leader Veteran John McMahon joins John Kaplan to discuss themes in his new book, “The Qualified Sales Leader”. McMahon has been the Chief Revenue Officer at five public, enterprise software companies – PTC, Geo-Tel, Ariba, BladeLogic and BMC. Now he sits on the board at several public software companies including Snowflake and MongoDB. More Information: - BUY THE BOOK: The Qualified Sales Leader - https://amzn.to/3lflri3 - How to Ensure You’re Selling for a Great Company - https://bit.ly/3zFLO4p  - The Secrets to Aligning Your Company on Customer Value and Differentiation - https://bit.ly/3eXCHnO- The Right Methodology to Ensure Your Technology Sells - https://bit.ly/2VgrpEk 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 Facilitator Marty Mercer. Marty shares some great stories, including: - How he became a seller and he didn’t even know it- A beneficial lesson in patience that he learned that drastically shifted his sales career- Why he didn’t sell anything in the first nine months of his career- How a colleague nearly broke their computer fifteen minutes before a presentationThis episode is packed with lessons that both reps and managers can use to propel their careers forward in the right direction.Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Marty:- Virtual Selling Tips & Tricks [Podcast]- Stacking Customer Requirements in Your Favor [Podcast]Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Our final episode in our “Skill/Will” series (link to the diagram below), takes a deep dive on your people with low will, level 1s and 2s. Low-will people aren’t who you want on your teams, but you may be dealing with some of these people right now. Hear how you can manage low-will people to the best of your ability and avoid people losing will while they’re on your teams. Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:- The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]- https://bit.ly/3ftMTDS- The Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]- https://bit.ly/3hP2X6hCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Continuing our series on the “Skill/Will” Model (link to the diagram below), this episode covers people with high will, level 3s and 4s. High-will talent are the people you want to have on your team, they’ll improve your ability to succeed and maintain competitive advantage in your market. This episode shares what you can do to keep and leverage your level 4s (high will, high skill) and how you can help your level 3s (high will, low skill) become top performers as well.Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]https://bit.ly/3ftMTDSThe Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]https://bit.ly/3hP2X6hFour Questions Every Sales Organization Needs to Answerhttps://bit.ly/3c3jfnzCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Sales leaders can achieve great success when they take ownership of their talent and coaching process. Maximize your talent efforts and coach your people in a way that takes into account their skill level and motivation. This episode kicks off our three-part series on coaching the “Skill/Will” model (link to the diagram below). In this episode, John Kaplan covers how sales leaders and managers can use this model to adjust their coaching cadence and tailor it to the individuals on their sales team. Here are some additional resources on Skill/Will:- The Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]- https://bit.ly/3ftMTDS- The Skill/Will Model Explained [Article]-https://bit.ly/3hP2X6hCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Unlock the full potential of your Customer Success teams by building alignment with your sales teams and your buyers. Kathleen Schindler, Force Management Managing Director of Customer Success, takes a deep dive on how sales and company leaders are equipping post-sale teams to execute on critical buyer outcomes. Tune in to hear real-world examples of how these leaders enable their entire customer-facing organization to have value-based conversations that drive company-wide impacts.Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.Here are some additional resources on aligning Sales with Customer Success:- How Sysdig Built Sales & Customer Success Alignment - Sysdig Customer Case Study- Building a Culture of Buyer Alignment 

Our second episode of our podcast series “Lessons Learned in Sales”, John Kaplan talks with Force Management Facilitator Antonella O’Day about her sales career including:- How she got a deal done in 8 minutes- A mistake she was grateful to have happen early in her career - How she found Force Management by looking for the top sales training companies- One piece of advice that has helped to elevate her careerYou won’t want to miss the lessons that made an astronomical impact on her sales career.Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.Here are some additional resources based on the conversations with Antonella:- Making Discovery Uncomfortable [Podcast]   - https://bit.ly/35rzbNa - Overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder  - https://bit.ly/3gnFjwr  

Attaching to a big business problem gets you access, funding and urgency. How do you find the pain and then how do you attach your solution to it?John Kaplan covers: - How salespeople can get credit for helping buyers solve big business problems.- How to attach decision makers and champions to their company’s big business pains in a way that supports your success.- How to align your differentiation to solving business pains to improve your ability to beat competition and win.Here are some additional resources on attaching to business pains:- Helping Buyers Reach Their Own Conclusions [Podcast]-https://apple.co/2S7lfop- Executing Effective Discovery [Podcast]- https://apple.co/3xqbstD- How to Enable Reps to Sell Higher [Podcast]- https://apple.co/3gEgexPCheck out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

In this episode, we wrap up our conversation with Coach John Mosley Jr, from East Los Angeles College and featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U: Basketball. John Kaplan pulls out some of the top takeaways for sales leaders — and how they can use some of these coaching techniques to create value for their sales team. If you haven’t listened to parts 1 and 2, tune into those first, then come back here.More on the conversation and how to support the ELAC’s Men’s Basketball Program: Links to Support the ELAC Basketball Programhttps://bit.ly/3tYLYknThe Skill/Will Model Infographic [Diagram]https://bit.ly/3u7qp17Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

Don’t miss — part 2 of our conversation with Coach John Mosley Jr, from East Los Angeles College and featured on Netflix’s Last Chance U: Basketball. Coach Mosley shares more insights on coaching a team to success in another energetic episode. If you haven’t listened to part 1, you may want to listen to that episode first! You can support Coach Mosley and ELAC Student Athletes here:- Donate to the ELAC Men’s Basketball Program- https://org.eteamsponsor.com/ETS/supportUs/311056148- Donate to the ELAC Student Athlete Fun- https://elacfoundation.com/elac-student-athletes-fund/Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website. 

From the Last Chance U: Basketball series, and East Los Angeles College, Coach John Mosley Jr joins John Kaplan for a conversation on—you guessed it—coaching. While they operate in different courts, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Support Coach Mosley and ELAC Student Athletes:- Donate to the ELAC Men’s Basketball Program- https://org.eteamsponsor.com/ETS/supportUs/311056148- Donate to the ELAC Student Athlete Fund- https://elacfoundation.com/elac-student-athletes-fund/Check out this and other episodes of The Audible-Ready Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.