Today’s topic is Emotional Intelligence and why it is going to be one of the hottest job skills needed by 2020. I kicked off the conversation by having Jennifer tell me who she got started with the work she does today. We then talked about:

What emotional intelligence means.

Why emotional intelligence is important, especially today.

Why assessments are important.

How emotional intelligence can be a tool for success, for both sales leaders and salespeople.

About Jennifer:

Jennifer Leake is Certified Management Consultant, speaker, and trainer - and one of the most experienced authorities on employee selection, engagement, and performance.

Her clients are leaders who embrace the related concepts of Employee Engagement and Emotional Intelligence for a competitive advantage and greater results and profits. With the World Forum's prediction that Emotional Intelligence will become one of the top 10 job skills required by 2020, Jennifer is on a mission to educate and assist clients who want to master this secret weapon for success.

Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferleake

Emotional Intelligence with Jennifer Leake

I talked with Tim Hughes about social selling and why integrating the use of social channels into your selling mix is a must. You'll hear from Tim how he defines social selling. Why using social as part of your sales strategy is important in today's business landscape. Tim will also share his views on where social selling is most successful, some of the common mistakes and pitfalls, as well as what it will take for you to become a successful social seller.

About Tim:

Tim is a transformational leader, best-selling author and top 10 Social Media influencer.  With a background in sales and sales management, Tim has been involved in Social Media for over 7 years, having built a following of Twitter of 170,000.  His book "Social Selling - Influencing Buyers and Changemakers" is a bestseller.  He is also an internationally renowned speaker, blogger, and writer.
Tim is the co-founder of Digital Leadership Associates a company designed to help companies make a transformational move to embrace digital and social. http://www.digitalleadershipassociates.com/

Connect with Tim on Twitter @Timothy_Hughes
Connect with Tim on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/timothyhughessocialselling

Social Selling: Influencing Buyers and Changemakers

Sales enablement as a discipline is growing although it still means different things to different people. In 2013, only 19% had such a program, function or initiative. And in 2016, 33% reported having an enablement program, initiative or function. But at the same time, quota attainment is decreasing (from 63% in 2012 down to 55.8% in 2016).

In a nutshell, only one-third of all enablement initiatives meet or exceed their expectations, but two-thirds are not. That’s a problem, and Tamara shared her views on why that is happening.

Enjoy the interview!

About Tamara:

Tamara Schenk is research director at CSO Insights, the research division of Miller Heiman Group, focused on all things sales force enablement, frontline sales managers, and collaboration.

She enjoyed more than twenty years of experience in sales, business development, and consulting in different industries on an international level. Before becoming an analyst in a research director role in January 2014, she had the pleasure to develop sales enablement from an idea to a program and a strategic function. At T-Systems, a Deutsche Telekom company, she the global sales force enablement and transformation team.

Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraschenk
Connect on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tamaraschenk

Sales Enablement Growth and Declining Sales Performance with Tamara Schenk

In this episode, I talked with Ken about how to build predictable revenue in their sales organization. It all first starts with hiring the right people every time. Ken also talks about the importance of having a solid recruitment process in place to be building their talent pipeline consistently. We also talked about taking the emotion out of hiring, how to build a solid process, the elements of great onboarding, sales assessments and more.

Enjoy the interview!

About Ken:

Ken provides keynotes, consulting services, training and products designed to improve business and revenue performance. His company Acumen Management Group Ltd. “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 17 years, our consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for organizations throughout the world.

Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kenthoreson
Connect on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KenThoreson

Sales Management: 5 Traits to Building Predictable Revenue with Ken Thoreson

The sales profession is in the midst of a perfect storm. Buyers have more power, more information, more at stake, and more control over the sales process—than at any time in history.

Legions of salespeople and their leaders are coming face-to-face with a cold, hard truth: what once gave salespeople a competitive edge—controlling the sales process, command of product knowledge, an arsenal of technology, and a great pitch—are no longer guarantees of success.

Yet, in the eye of this storm, an elite group of top 1 percent sales professionals are crushing it. These Ultra-High Performers are acutely aware that the emotional experience of buying from them is far more important (and powerful) than products, prices, features, and solutions.

Do you want to know how ultra high performing sales reps do it? This is the episode for you.

I sat down with Jeb Blount to talk about his latest book, Sales EQ. In the book, Jeb shares the specific strategies that ultra high performers use leveraging sales-specific emotional intelligence to close complex deals.

It was such a great conversation that I didn't limit this one to 20-minutes. So, strap in and plug in for the next 45-minutes. It will definitely be worth your time!

About Jeb Blount:

Jeb is CEO of Sales Gravy and a Sales Acceleration expert who helps sales organizations reach peak performance fast by optimizing talent, leveraging training to cultivate a high-performance sales culture, developing leadership and coaching skills, and applying more effective organizational design. Jeb has written a number of books including Fanatical Prospecting and his latest book Sales EQ.

Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jebblount
Connect on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/SalesGravy

Sales EQ with Jeb Blount

Jeff shared his expertise with me about the psychological factors at play in the purchase decision. We talked about:

Some of the things salespeople do in a typical sales presentation that makes it difficult for a customer to make a purchase decision.

Whether or not you need to adjust your sales presentation when selling a complex product.

A few of the common mental shortcuts that customers take when they are making a purchase decision.

And the point when you cross the line from being an advocate to an adversary. In other words, how do you know when to stop pushing a customer to a purchase decision?

Enjoy the interview!

About Jeff:

Jeff is a highly sought-after sales expert, speaker, author, and consultant whose innovative and real-world selling strategies help you to change your mindset and change your world. His latest book, "Closing 2.0," is now available. Learn more at jeffshore.com and follow Jeff on Twitter www.twitter.com/jeffshore

Psychology of the Purchase Decision with Jeff Shore

Being able to clearly communicate value to potential buyers is a real art and a key opportunity for you to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In this episode, I talk to Lisa Dennis of Knowledgence Associates about:

How value propositions are important to both marketing and sales people – and why this topic led Lisa to write her book.

Lisa's primary research on value propositions and what she found.

The differences between the value props salespeople use versus what marketing uses.

The top 3 ways to make a value proposition really “speak” to a buyer.

The most important thing to consider as a marketer or salesperson when developing or upgrading a value proposition.

Enjoy the interview!

About Lisa:

Lisa Dennis who is President of Knowledgence Associates, brings to the table over thirty years of marketing and sales experience as both a practitioner and a consultant. The core focus of her business is to help clients to “see the world through their customers’ eyes.” She has consulted to companies like Citrix, CSC, Dell, FedEx, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Verizon, Wipro and many others.

She is co-author of the book 360 Degrees of the Customer: Strategies & Tactics for Marketing, Sales and Service. Her new book: Value Propositions that Sell: Turning Your Message into a Magnet that Attracts Buyers is due out in the Spring 2017.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/knowledgence
Twitter: www.twitter.com/knowledgence
www.knowledgence.com

Value Propositions that Sell with Lisa Dennis

Conversations about sales, marketing, social selling, customer experience, social media, technology and doing business in a digitally disrupted world.

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