There is a fundamental skill that sets apart the good sales managers from the great.

Can you guess what it is? 

WE always know when a company decides to cap their commissions, because their top producers start to call, saying they want to jump ship.

I think it is a pretty fair statement that nothing you can do will destroy a star players motivation  more than announcing that regardless if they are at plan or 200% OVER their quota, they will be rewarded with the same amount of money.

Peak sales performers are a unique breed of employee, with strong intrinsic, competitive motivators that need to be acknowledged and appealed to in order to keep them content and most importantly, engaged.

We are often asked what types of compensation  plans make the most sense and I think this article,  which clearly outlines the 5 most common ones may be helpful in building those all important  sales payment models.

Once you have a solid comp plan in place that will serve to motivate and reward peak performers, give ISC a call if you want to see a strong group of sales candidates for all of your critical hiring needs. ISC Sales Recruiters

Check out this powerful list of words that will help you get a positive reaction from your prospects. Becoming aware of the tremendous  power of words, and the negative or positive effect word choice can have on your audience, can result in substantially improved results when consistently implemented.  

Like most business owners, I receive dozens of sales calls per week, and a solid 99% use one of these 5 phrases as an intro to the call. Most every salesperson I come into contact with is guilty of using one of these words or phrases if not more on a consistent basis. Becoming  cognizant of the negative effects these commonly used  phrases have on your ultimate goal of engaging your potential client, and then practicing the alternatives listed below, should dramatically increase the response rate with prospects -- not to mention, your sales. 

Today's buyers have dramatically changed from decision makers from even 15 years ago, and to effectively sell to them, sales professionals need to  change the way they approach decision makers. It amazes me how many veteran sales professionals are still attempting to influence buyers with methods that may have worked 'back in the day' but are woefully inadequate in today's market. #salestechniques 

There have been countless articles written about the most common HABITS of successful sales people. Lately there have been some fascinating studies done on the science of intrinsic motivators....those inbred characteristics that drive some people to succeed. Any seasoned sales manager will tell you that while you can train many selling skills, you simply cannot train 'fire in the belly'.  As one of my all -time favorite trainers ( Steve Finkel) once told me, you cannot pour a gallons worth of knowledge into a quart container. Being able to decipher someones innate abilities, can give you a huge edge when making hiring decisions. We advocate using Predictive Testing/  to evaluate a candidates innate drivers and see if they match up with those known predictors of star performers. 

If you have chosen a career in sales, you should be committed to constantly be refining your selling  techniques to give you the very best results possible.   Skilled sales professionals have literally uncapped earning potential, and by improving your initial questions when reaching out to prospective customers, you can dramatically improve your bottom line results. Check out this terrific article which highlights the most common questions that sales people ask, and suggests a fundamental shift in how you approach your targeted audience, which if implemented correctly, will undoubtedly improve your net results.