Salesforce Skill Development

🧠 Most sales coaching fails because it’s built for performance management—not pressure management. We’ve confused sales coaching with forecast control. 🛑 What reps need in today’s high-pressure environment isn’t more visibility or micromanagement. They need help navigating internal friction—the part of the process where mindset and emotion override tactics and product knowledge. Here’s the difference: ❌ Traditional coaching script: “Walk me through the deal. When are they closing? What’s the next step?” ✅ Transformational coaching script: “What felt off in that conversation?” “What were you protecting when you didn’t ask the pricing question?” “What did you make their resistance mean about you?” 🔥 High-performance coaching today happens at three levels: LEVEL 1: Tactical Decompression 🧭 Help them zoom out and name what’s actually going on. Often, they don’t need more advice—they need to *hear themselves think*. Coach: “Let’s pause. What pattern do you notice when pressure ramps up?” Rep: “I rush. I stop listening. I try to save it instead of solve it.” Coach: “Perfect. That’s your signal. Let’s build from there.” LEVEL 2: Emotional Recalibration 💥 When pressure spikes, logic drops. Your job is to help them re-center before behavior takes a hit. Coach: “You’re selling from contraction, not conviction. Take 60 seconds. Let’s reset posture, tone, and breath. Your nervous system is part of your toolkit.” LEVEL 3: Identity Integration 🧘 Reps who need to win the deal to feel worthy will always sell from tension. The shift? Help them detach performance from identity. Coach: “You don’t need to earn your value in this call. You already have it. Let’s sell like that.” 🎯 Coaching isn’t about making someone better at deals. It’s about making them stronger under pressure, so performance becomes sustainable. Follow me for more B2B sales insights. Repost if this resonates. Subscribe to my B2B Sales Sorcery Newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/dgdPAd3h Explore free B2B sales playbooks: https://lnkd.in/dg2-Vac6

❓QUICK QUESTION: What's one thing you do when your confidence wanes, even for a few moments? It often does, even for the elite performers. 🙋🏻♂️ I'm asking because on today's #SalesGameChangersPodcast, I was fortunate to interview one of the world's foremost experts on #confidence. I have a technique I've been using for years when mine wanes. I call it BMfamCaf. Breathe, Meditate for a minute, Call a friend. 🎤 EPISODE 627: Building a Confident Mind for Sales Success with Dr. Nate Zinsser 📖 Read the transcript at https://lnkd.in/dJDE9CWR. 🦻🏻 Listen to the show at https://bit.ly/3PzqJUc. 🎙️Subscribe and rate the show at http://bit.ly/sgcitunes Find his book "The Confident Mind: Inside Mental Toughness Training at West Point" at https://lnkd.in/drE5wG2D. I read it twice and then invited him on the show. He's trained elite athletes, military personnel, and business leaders and we go very deep on the show on his techniques. Here's one approach he suggested when I asked for advice for #salesprofessionals. NATE'S ADVICE FOR SALES LEADERS: 🧠 Create an affirmative, skill-related statement such as “I easily complete my daily reports." Then come up with a similar present tense, first person statement about a quality that you would like to have in performance. “I am comfortable fielding difficult questions,” for example. Then those two statements just become an ongoing mantra for oneself. 👍🏻Simply repeat that kind of simple statement throughout the day as you walk through a doorway. We walk through a heck of a lot of doors in the course of our days. If you are repeating a statement like that 50-100 times in the course of the day, you’re making a lot of deposits into that mental bank account. 🙆🏻♀️ Repeating to yourself one of your affirmative statements, while you are slowly but deliberately exhaling, slowly deliberately inhaling, you do that three or four times, you have the opportunity to create a pretty grounded, pretty solid sense of yourself. Then it’s a matter of opening your eyes, attaching your attention to the environment, to your customer, to your client, to the room. ❔Share one thing you do to boost your confidence. 👩🏻🦰👱🏻♀️👩🏻🦱 [REMINDER, the IES Women in Sales Leadership (WISL) Elevation Conference is on October 11-12 at the Carahsoft Conference Center in Reston. The theme is "What’s Won and Lost for Companies and Salespeople--Especially Women!--in Our Semi-Hybrid, increasingly AI-Driven World? More info at https://bit.ly/3sExBqh]

The number one reason top sales reps burn out isn't quota pressure. It's because they work incredibly hard at their job but completely neglect working hard on themselves. Here's what I discovered managing a $195M sales organization: The reps who lasted and thrived weren't the ones grinding 12-hour days in their CRM. They were the ones who built systematic approaches to their entire life. Sales is a game of habits, not just hustle. When you only focus on quota, you're building a house on sand. When you work on yourself systematically, everything improves. The top performers I mentored used what I call the four-part productivity system: #1 The PACER Calendar Method. They color-coded their calendars into five buckets: Personal (purple), Admin/Action (red), Creation (deep work), Enrichment (learning), and Recovery (yellow). This prevented them from being reactive to whatever hit their inbox. #2 12-Week Planning. Instead of annual goals, they broke everything into 12-week sprints with clear micro-steps. They knew exactly what to focus on each week to hit their biggest goals. #3 Daily Win System. Every night, they spent 5 minutes journaling three wins, decisions made, and lessons learned. This prevented the "what did I even accomplish?" spiral that kills motivation. #4 Weekly Reset Protocol. Every Friday, they did a 30-60 minute review of energy vs. time, cleared their workspace, and planned the next week intentionally. When they did these, they showed up with more energy, clearer thinking, and better resilience. Your prospects can feel the difference between someone operating from burnout versus someone operating from a place of systematic strength. Stop treating personal development like it's separate from sales performance. When you become a better version of yourself systematically, everyone benefits. Your family, your team, your prospects, your bank account. — Want to build an ELITE routine and mindset? Watch this: https://lnkd.in/gbpFye_t

Sales "training" rarely works. That data doesn't lie: - Sellers forget almost 90% of information within 30 days of training (Gartner) - 85-90% of sales training has no lasting impact after 90-120 days (RAIN Group) Most sales orgs. use an outdated method to train their reps ⛔️ Multiple day-long trainings around SKO ⛔️ Only train the reps ⛔️ Measure lagging indicators (like revenue) in 1-2 quarters ⛔️ Growth through headcount vs. increase in efficiency But the best sales orgs. train their team in this way: ✅ Bite-sized learning delivered over multiple weeks or months ✅ Train reps AND front-line leaders ✅ Measure leading indicators weekly ✅ Growth through headcount AND increase in efficiency ~~~ If you're rolling out a new outbound motion, sales plays, methodology, etc.—here's a 4-part process to maximize retention and results: 1. Standardize — Create common language on what "good looks like" 2. Train — Teach new strategies & tactics 3. Practice — Facilitate weekly practice (in 1on1s, team calls, etc.) 4. Observe & Coach — Ride shotgun, listen to calls, provide feedback, etc. Rinse & repeat. ~~~ More sales training won't fix your problem. Spend 80% of your efforts & budget on executing and reinforcing the training. You'll see 2-3x the results. 💬 Agree or disagree? Comment below

Here's how your #coaching methods may be impairing your SDRs' ability to succeed: ⤵️ Common strategies like shadowing, manager-directed feedback, and scenario coaching can actually limit an SDR's growth. They spoon-feed answers, stifling reps’ ability to solve problems on their own. You can only simulate so many scenarios though; the reality is, SDRs swim in uncertain waters each time they interact with a lead. Here's a better framework that allows SDRs to further their own development: 👉 Replay - Have SDRs listen to a call recording alongside their manager. 👉 Reflect - Ask them to suggest improvements on how to make it better. 👉 Resolve - Fine-tune their suggestions and reinforce the outcome with role-play. ***** This process allows you to shift the coaching dynamic and empower your reps. Encourage active self-coaching; in return, you'll cultivate quota-crushing sales talent. #salestraining #SDR

“We want more role play” ~ That was feedback I got on a recent post training survey from a few participants. Why would any sales person ask for role play? Sounds contrary to what any typical person would request. Most people hate being put on the spot and asking to practice their skills in front of all their colleagues. But, the way I do role play in my training not only makes it fun, but impactful. So impactful they want more. The key to making a role play effective is to live coach as the person is practicing. Don’t just let them fall of the cliff. Here is how I do that: When you hear the person make a misstep, stop them and ask the group what the person missed. This forces the other participants to apply what they have just learned. I reinforce what the participants say by providing feedback immediately. Allow that person to reframe what they have said based on the feedback they have heard. At some point the brave soul that volunteers gets stuck, so one of their colleague taps them out. We do this round robin role playing continuously with sales people tapping each other in and out until we reach the point where I feel that the group has sufficiently learned the key concepts. When I wrap my training up, I remind all the salespeople to not practice their new skills on their prospects. Practice at “home” because your colleagues are so much kinder than your prospects will be. ***** Hi! My name is Wesleyne. I am a mindset and skill-set sales trainer. What does that mean? I work with leaders and their teams together to build the mental fortitude they need to succeed in sales while equipping them with the tactical skills they need to crush their quota monthly. Sound intriguing? Let’s chat #wesleynewisdom #salestips #salestraining

It's hard to perform at a high level in sales when your personal life is a mess. Someone asked me: "How do you compartmentalize sales from what's going on in your life?" In sales, you're prospect and customer-facing every single day. Every call requires you to show up positive, engaged, and ready to lead. There are constant ups and downs - it's an emotional career. But life doesn't stop because you have quota to hit. Family issues. Financial stress. Health problems. Relationship drama. The show must go on. Here's what I've learned: you can't compartmentalize what you haven't taken care of first. You can't fake energy when you're running on empty. You can't project confidence when your personal foundation is shaky. The solution isn't about being a better actor. It's about being a better steward of yourself. What this actually looks like: → Prioritize sleep: Good sleep isn't negotiable when your income depends on your performance; for me, it's 8 hours → Get your finances right: Money stress bleeds into everything; when your money's a mess, it creates pressure you carry into every call → Find your anchor: My faith gives me peace and a solid foundation, even when things don't look great → Move daily: I strength train 4-5x per week and walk 2+ miles every day; it physically gives me energy and resets my mind → Fuel your body: Eat protein & real food that gives you sustained energy → Clear the clutter: A clean, organized home and work space creates mental clarity & sharpens my focus When the fundamentals are solid, compartmentalizing becomes natural. You're not pretending to be okay - you actually are okay. You're not forcing positivity - you have genuine energy to give. Prospects can feel the difference. Your personal life will always have ups and downs. But when you've built a strong foundation, those waves don't knock you off course. Sales is emotional - how do you manage the mental side of it?

84% of sales training is forgotten within 3 months. So stop training them. You are wasting your team's time and your company's money, unless: You are willing to commit to the change as a habit. That means your one-time sales kick-off The one you invested $$$ into Is mostly gone by the end of Q1. So right about now, if you didn't reinforce the learning, please don't say, "Well, we trained you on this just a few months ago." The human brain doesn't work that way. The key to effective development in anything is ongoing practice. Not singular training events, or big hype sessions. Your salespeople are your most valuable asset. They need continuous reinforcement. Here are some best practices for your sales coaching: 1. Make it a regular, ongoing process using micro-learnings 2. Find and focus on individual competencies using IDPs 3. Ensure all levels of leadership are driving the change 4. Do video call coaching for in-game feedback If you aren't spending time weekly helping your reps manage deals and watching game film with each individual to improve exactly where they need to improve, stop whatever else you are doing, and do that instead. By investing in ongoing coaching, you: → Get real behavior change → See measurable outcomes tied to those behaviors → Turn training into a habit, and habit into a culture that lasts 👋 If you liked this, give me a follow ♻️ Repost if this landed with you.

Here's what a basic mental skills program might look like if I were working with a coach: 1. Mindfulness 2. Goal-setting 3. Confidence-building 4. Energy management 5. Self-talk 6. Preparation 7. Resilience Here's what that would look like in practice: 1. Mindfulness This isn't some airy-fairy exercise all about "letting go." This is attention training. And it only takes 12 minutes a day for maximum impact. So, set aside 12 minutes. Turn down the lights. Focus on your breath. Come back when distracted. Repeat. 2. Goal-setting Each individual on your team has something they're working toward. Honor that. You can have team and individual goals. Meet with them 1:1. Ask them what success looks like for them this season. How will they know they're making progress? What do they need to do daily? You've given them outcome, performance, and process goals. 3. Confidence-building Confidence comes from 4 sources: - Mastery experiences - Vicarious experience - Self-talk - Appraising our physiology Ask your athletes to reflect on what they've done well in the past, and how it can help them today. Ask them to catch their teammates succeeding. Have them fill out a confidence resume (https://lnkd.in/ghp6C92a) 4. Energy management You need to know when to ramp up or ramp down. Long exhale breathing = ramp down Short inhale/rapid breathing = ramp up Teach basic tools to control physiology. Teach them how to recover in short bouts in game. Teach them when to take a break. 5. Self-talk You need good self-talk to stay confident and focused. Good doesn't mean all postiive. Good means helpful. Teach them how to: - self-motivate - self-start - stay up - cope with adversity All using how they talk to themselves. Then, teach them framing. Nerves are: - Excitement - A sign you care - A sign you're determined - Enhancing your performance Changing the frame changes perception. Changing perception changes performance. Bonus: Lesson: How you talk to them will be how they talk to themselves. 6. Preparation Pair purposeful practice: - repetition - variation - representativeness With psychological preparation - Goals for the game - Competition plan - Imagery Players need a goal for each game. It gives them something to focus on. It should be something they can control. Develop a plan. What should they do if they hit an obstacle? How should they execute? Plans build confidence. Imagine success in execution. Get in mental reps. 7. Resilience No plan survives first contact. How can they respond when the chips are down? What should they actually DO to be resilient? My 2 cents: - Teach them to increase effort - Narrow focus to a specific challenge - Pick 1 behavior you can do when adversity strikes

Training design for #Sales reps: don't do this... "In this session, we'll discuss demo best practices and what needs to take place before we agree to a demo: Blah Blah Blah Quiz Blah Blah Blah Rushed breakout activity” 😴 Do this... "You booked a meeting with a prospect with the intent to do some early discovery and present our perspective. You included a detailed agenda on the invite and even sent a reminder before the meeting. Even still, as soon as introductions are over, your prospect asks 'Do you mind if we just jump right into the software? I have a good idea of what would work for us so I'd really like to see what you can do.' What do you do? [insert feedback in the form of natural consequences].” 😅 Then repeat (as needed): - what’s the context? - what’s the challenge? - what’s the action? - what’s the feedback? We're wired to pay attention to urgent and relevant things. We learn when we apply knowledge/skills and receive feedback. Don’t tell your reps what they need to know. Put them in realistic situations and help them solve challenging problems. #salesenablement #salestraining