Fixing Poor Sales Leadership

MY STORY: Hindered by Poor Leadership, I took matters into my own hands.

I'd been in sales for 20 years and with a new company for more than a year, and I'd just hit a brick wall of rejection.

I sat in my car, totally frustrated. I knew I had a decision to make: continue to listen to my boss and follow his poor sales advice and leadership, or do what I knew in my heart was right.

This decision would change the trajectory of my life and the lives of all the people around me.

But let me back up 12 months to give you context before I talk about the life-changing decision I was facing at that moment. One year earlier, I was in my office making calls when the company CEO walked by and stopped to listen in.

After I hung up the phone, he asked me to come into his office. I was thinking, "What did I do now?" My CEO was a former Marine, 6'4" and 350 lbs. He was either calm or screaming - and you never knew which version of him you were going to get.

His leadership legacy with salespeople was a revolving door. He hired salespeople, and they were usually gone within 12 months. It frustrated him, but I was an exception; I'd made it 18 months at that point.

I walked into his office and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "Chaz, are you calling on the C-Level?" he asked. "Yes," I replied." I saw his jaw clench. "DON'T," he said. "It's a waste of your time and a waste of their time." He continued, "Our products are at the bottom of their priority list, and they won't take your calls. You have to talk with the organization's buyer, purchasing, and materials managers. That's who we have success with" I pushed back, but not hard enough.

I followed his directions and called on a purchasing manager of a manufacturer, a new prospect for me. Over the next 12 months, I had in-person meetings, a 90-minute drive there and back, and many emails and phone calls. I spent a good 20 hours in meetings, travel time, and additional communications. And I had nothing to show for it.

Sidebar—Click?on the picture below to Pick up a complimentary copy of my book,?The B2B Blueprint To Predictable Sales.

To my story...

Back to me sitting in my car. I had just concluded yet another meeting with the purchasing manager - the same one I'd been communicating and meeting with for the entire past year. As I sat, frustrated and alone in the silence, I could hear her last words to me ringing in my ears.

"Chaz, we just don't need your services or products." I looked at my phone in my car. I was more than frustrated—I was furious! And I'd had enough. At that moment, I decided to call the purchasing manager's CEO from the parking lot. I got through to him, scheduled a meeting, and arrived back the following week.

45 days later, they became our customer, with orders of $50k—$100k per month. I continued to follow my gut and my sales process, disregarding the advice from my CEO. My sales went up, and my sales cycle reduced by 50%.

My CEO noticed my sales soaring and invited me back into his office. This time, his attitude had shifted. "Chaz, what are you doing differently?" he asked, genuinely curious. I said, "Can I shoot you straight without you screaming at me?"

"Sure," he said. I stopped following your advice," I confessed, "and I started calling on the C-level again. I also developed a process that works—and you can see the results." Shortly after, he promoted me to National Sales Manager and asked me to hire all new salespeople and train them in my system and process. We started retaining salespeople for an average of 5 years instead of 12 months, and our sales reps crushed it.

The decision to face my fear and challenge my boss' leadership gave me the confidence to start my own business in 2016. Since then, I've helped hundreds of clients grow their businesses by identifying and eliminating their leadership and sales flaws and giving them a proven system, process, leadership, and strategy to take their companies to the next level.

In my book, The B2B Blueprint To Predictable Sales, you'll find the culmination of my experience and lessons I've learned. They contain road-tested practices for building winning sales cultures where salespeople thrive and double their sales - or more. My hope is that this book will help you in the same way. As you'll learn throughout this book, my why is to help people like you see and realize your potential - and make your business the success you know it can be. I'm only a direct message or email away if you have any questions.

My key takeaway for you: you need the right leadership, salespeople, and proven system, process, culture, and strategy - and the lessons in this book will get you there