Matt Ferguson's Linkedin Analytics

Life and sales lessons from a 4-year-old soccer practice that will make you better today. Every week, I go to my daughter's soccer practice. It's the best 35 minutes of the week. It's the worst display of sports you could watch. And also my favorite. Yesterday, as practice concluded, I heard one of the kids say he didn't get to play in the scrimmage. The coach responded: "That's because you weren't Listening or Paying Aattention." Listening and Paying Attention. Two things that seem so easy, but with all the distractions we have today, make it so hard. I catch my eyes wandering all the time. - Phone - Email/ Slack - Second screen - Someone walking past my office I also see others doing it to me; it's almost become second nature. If we just "Listened and Paid Attention" to the person we were talking to, it makes us better: -Leaders -Sellers -Friends -Parents Join me today as I turn my phone face down and turn off my second screen during calls. 2 good steps to "Listening and Paying Attention" to the person I am talking to, which I know will make me better.

Here is the best way to get someone to do something they don't want to do or are resisting change. How would you like to be in this situation? Thirty-year-old Sales Manager Trying to change a fifty-year-old rep Here was the conversation yesterday. They are implementing a new CRM Process. "Who are you most worried about?" "Mike- He's been doing it his way forever." "How are you gonna handle it?" "I'm just gonna TELL him this is how it has to be." I knew this was a terrible idea. "I responded, SELL, don't TELL." New (and even seasoned) managers forget this. You used to sell change to prospects—why stop now? You walked them through a process. You helped them see why change was in their best interest. It's the same play here. Change sticks when it makes sense to them, not just to you. That's your real job now. Don't forget it.

Imagine getting sick and realizing how far you have come as a Boss. Everyone has had good and bad bosses. Good Bosses make you feel: -Aligned  -Valued  -Trusted  -Part of the plan They take care of their People. Bad bosses make you feel: xDisconnected  xIgnored  xUnproven  xConfused My client below had many traits of a bad boss. One thing stood out. His expectations of every one were too high. He was frustrated all the time. When you're never satisfied, people feel that. Because of it, he had a hard time keeping people. We worked on setting the right expectations. And a funny thing happened. People stayed, improved, and performed. I don't think he realized it until he returned to work this week. He was sick for one of their biggest weeks of the year. Not only did they perform. When he returned to work, everything was done right. He had been taking care of his people. They, took care of him. Funny how that works.

With all the responsibilities a Sales Manager has, it's easy to lose track of the two most important ones. Best-selling Sales Management Author Mike Weinberg defines them as: 1. Your most important job is ensuring people do their job (Accountability). 2. Your second most important job is helping people do their job better (Coaching). After 3+ years of coaching sales managers, these are the two areas I see sales managers need help with most. Why? Because no one ever showed them how. Most just teach the way they used to sell, or do everyone's job for them. We will share our best practices, along with: - Why most 1-on-1s are a waste of time - Biggest challenges we see developing new business - Bonus- Our top 5 Favorite Golf Courses we have ever played We will go live on LinkedIn on May 27th at 11:00am PT/ 2:00pm ET. Click attend below, we will see you there!

Most sales managers need to micromanage more. Yep, I said it. Here’s the definition: “To manage with excessive control or attention to detail.” The control part I can do without. But the part I like is "Attention to detail." Most managers lack this. Here’s the real issue: They assume everyone knows what to do. Most don’t. When I dig into expectations with a new client, I usually hear: “Isn’t that micromanaging?” I ask: Have you actually shown and coached them what to do to hit their number? Every time we get clear on that, something funny happens. Like last week, a client told me: “Most of my team appreciated the direction.” People want a clear path to success, not guesswork. Don’t skip the details and leave your team in the dark. Most managers aren’t over-managing. They’re under-explaining. If that’s micromanaging, maybe we need more of it.

Same process. Different dictionary. 5 questions to define your sales process. I coach a few sales reps each year to keep sharp with managing real reps versus just coaching sales managers. It makes me better as a coach. Recently, while reviewing a sales process, I helped revamp, I was surprised. I thought we had it dialed in. Then, I noticed we weren't speaking the same language. We have a simple 5 step process we measure: 1. Touchpoints -Calls, Emails, Visits *240 per month 2. Opportunities Created -We speak to someone who gives us info *10 per month 3. Appointments -Meet with the right person *4 per Month 4. Proposal  -Meet and shared pricing *2 Per Month 5. Deal -Signed contract  *1 per month Yesterday, when we met, I noticed we were behind on appointments, but way ahead on opportunities created. When I asked him about it, he got a little defensive. I stopped him, "Hey, I see the effort is there; the purpose of my question is to see where the roadblock is getting to the appointment." I noticed we weren't speaking the same language as we talked through it. We needed to get on the same page. I reset and started from the beginning and went through these 5 steps: -Why are we reaching out? -How are we reaching out? -When do we count something? -Whats next? -Then what? More details are in the slides below. You have to make sure you are aligned on -Definitions -Measurement -Success The more simple and specific you are, the easier it is to track, measure and stay on the same page. If you have reps struggling, go through the questions. Sometimes, you have to Reset to Rebuild.

Great sales leaders lead by Data Not-so-great lead by Drama Data = Facts Drama = Opinions Data = Action Drama = Complaining Data = Direction Drama = Confusion Data = Results Drama = Excuses If you can't measure it. You can't manage it. But you have to measure the right things. Stroller and walk video below has an example. How are you leading your team? Hopefully, by Data, not Drama!

When I saw the play below, I recorded it and sent it to my nephews, who all play sports. Imagine being one of the best 200 basketball players in the world and missing an easy shot that bad. My message- Hey Boys everyone has a: - Bad Swing - Bad Pitch - Bad Shot Just like in Sales- Everyone has a  - Bad Day - Bad Demo - Bad Cold Call Shake it off Onto the next Sales and Sports are full of ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like there are a lot more downs than ups. Your perspective is everything. You either let them keep you down Or learn from them and get better. My dad always reminds us. It's ok to be down. Just don't be down for too long. Even the best have bad plays and calls. Use them to get better!

Mistakes I see small sales teams make. 4 Groups of 3's and 3 things that fix it. 3 No's -No defined sales process -No Ideal Customer Profile -No Metrics- or just an end result (Quota) 3 Leadership Challenges -Leadership has no sales background. -Has top performer lead the team. -No training and still carries own quota. 3 Performance Issues -Leadership says sales should sell more -Sales think they sell enough -Nobody knows what good is 3 Things That Happen -A divide between leadership and sales -People get frustrated- leave or get fired -Not as many sales as there should be Imagine if you were aligned on: *Sales Process- what to do *Tracking Metrics- how much to do *What good looks like- what success was My definition of small is 1-15 sales reps. If you are struggling with these issues, I can help. Send me a DM that says "Alignment." and I can give you more info on my process.

The longer you wait, the worse it gets. Conquering Crisis has a common theme that we could all get better at when handling problems. HANDLING THEM EARLIER Which always reminds me of the story of buffalo and cows. Buffalos- charge towards the storm, Cows- Run away. As I leader, I have been both. Ask yourself are you: ✅ Proactive ✅ Play offense ✅ Stay ahead of issues ✅ Use problems to grow Or: ❌ Reactive ❌ Playing defense ❌ Can never catch up ❌ Let problems break you We all have problems, how you handle them is everything. The longer you put them off, the worse they get. If you have been putting off a problem. Get started on it today. Your future self will thank you for it. PS- Highly reccomend this book.

Who knew I would find the best company culture I have seen in a while before 7:00am on Saturday. My kids were both up before 6:00 am. So I put them in the stroller. Murphy wanted a muffin, so we walked down to Sprouts. The only problem was that they don't open until 7:00 am. We got there a little early. I figured on a Saturday, if anything, they would open a little late. To my surprise, at 6:57am, the door popped open. As we walked in, we were greeted with smiles and hellos. As we walked around, I noticed everyone was in a good mood, interacting with each other and having a good time. Let me remind you- it's 7:00 am on a Saturday, not Friday afternoon. Not really a time fake culture would come up. You can tell a lot about the culture you are building by the mood people are in all the time. Its a lot easier to perform better when you are in a - Good mood - Like where you work - Like what you do Vs the opposite Take a lesson from Sprouts Farmers Market. What type of mood are your people in? It usually follows the leader.

Quit treating your sales team like shi*t 10:00 yesterday, my phone rings. A top performer is asking if I know any sales leaders hiring. I was curious why; I knew he was doing well at his company. *I can't take it here anymore. *Always a moving target. *I get paid commissions late. *Never get the help I ask for. 30 minutes later- call with a client What's wrong, I can see it in your eyes: *Im exhausted *Everything is the sales team's fault. *I don't want to do this right now, and I've never said that. Both people above any company would be lucky to have. Their companies don't treat them that way, tho. One is actively looking. The other is close. Good people are hard to find. Treat them like they're replaceable—and they'll prove you wrong. If you're looking for a talented, young, and hungry salesperson in the Phoenix area, send me a DM, and I'll make an introduction.

What do golf, momentum, and sales slumps have in common? More than you'd think. My college football coach used to say: "Life is like a golf shot; it's never as good or as bad as you think." After years of playing golf, I catch myself saying: "Oh, it's not that bad." "I thought I was closer than that." Sales works the same way. Most people think sales is a roller coaster. The truth? It’s a pattern. You're more consistent than you give yourself credit for. When it feels like nothing's going right, ask: Is it really that bad? Then: -Do the next right thing -Get the next small win -Stack another -Build momentum The way out isn’t some big heroic moment. It’s small wins, stacked daily. Small wins=Big wins

I recently shared 8 things I shifted as a manager—these two had the biggest impact. My boss told me I was too subjective. I nodded—had no clue what he meant. Subjective = Opinion. And my opinion of my team? - They sucked. - Most should be fired. - Why can’t they just do what I did? I never thought anyone booked enough meetings. Which led to not selling enough AKA- as much as I did. Then came the moment that opened my eyes. An Objective (factual) Exercise We pulled 4 years of meeting data of over 50 reps. The average- 5 meetings a week. That fact stopped me in my tracks. Most of my current team was above average. The exercise did two important things: 1. Showed me how important the "Facts" were 2. Helped me understand what "Good" was That moment flipped a switch: Subjective (opinion) → Objective (fact). The facts tell everyone where they stand. The more you can define "Good" the easier it is. I created a scoring system to help people understand how they are really doing versus aiming for a number and either hitting it or not. Sales isn't just Pass or Fail. If you're frustrated with your team, ask yourself: Are you managing facts—or just your feelings?

8 WRONG things I did as a new manager that I see managers do every day and what you should do instead. -1 on 1=pipeline Review -My way or the highway -Focused on weaknesses  -Only metric was end goal -Judged reps vs what I did -Tried to turn reps into myself -8:00 Meeting Monday Mornings -Subjective - Opinion - Emotional What to do instead *1 on 1= coaching *What's the best way *Focused on strengths  *Multiple metrics as goals *Tried to turn reps into best self *Judged reps vs What was good *Had a meeting when I needed to *Objective - Facts - Less Emotional The first 8 made me feel important.  The second 8 actually worked. Don't make the same mistakes! Your team will thank you for it. Add anything mistakes you made I may have missed in the comments.

Recruiting is to Sales Managers what Prospecting is to Account Executives. It’s: - Critical to success - Time-consuming - Full of rejection - Easy to avoid And let’s be honest—who loves onboarding reps. That’s why so many managers hang onto bottom performers. Not because it’s smart—because it’s easier. But what’s it costing you? For most- Shaq and Kobe aren't knocking on our doors. My old CEO used to ask: "Who’s on your bench?" Just like reps need a pipeline, so do you. Build your network. A little a day goes a long way. You never know when you’ll need it. Or what it’s costing you if you don’t.

How the sales team feels about their new, even higher quota — when nobody hit it last year: Another year of being a Browns fan. Nothing like it. How did your team do?

When I sat down for Easter dinner last night, I had the same feeling I did after my first year as a sales manager- Exhausted. Why? I did the entire thing myself. Whenever someone asked, if I needed help. Nope- I'm good. 2 ovens- 1 grill - Prime Rib - Horseradish sauce - Filet - Scallops - Twice-Baked Potatoes - Salad - Corn I even set the table. I wanted everything to be perfect. And everything turned out great. But I was almost too exhausted to enjoy it. It reminded me of my first year of management. -On every call - In every meeting - Ran every training - Never took a day off I thought if I wasn't involved in it. It wouldn't close or be any good. Similar to my meal, the results were great. Revenue grew over 150%. But, I was  -Exhausted - Frustrated - Emotional And nobody was getting better. It took me too long to figure out I didn't have to do it all. If you're doing it all, you aren't doing your job. Most do this because it is all we know. Nobody teaches us how to do it. If this is you, get some help, just like I should have. It makes everything a lot more enjoyable. Just like my meal should have been.

If you run the same boring Sales Meeting every week because your Manager did- try one of these 5 things to change it. 1. Cancel it 2. Have a rep run it 3. Have a vent session 4. Dont talk about sales 5. Take everyone to Breakfast You don't have to have a sales meeting every week. Just because your Manager did. Your reps will thank you for it!

The biggest thing salespeople battle isn’t what most people think. It’s not: - Competitors - Budget - Timing It’s the Status Quo. Doing nothing is easier. Finding problems isn’t hard; everyone has them. The hard part is finding the right ones: *The ones that cause real pain. *The ones that actually matter. If you can’t help them see that And agree with you— They’ll stick with what they know. Most people hate change. They won’t move until the pain of now Feels worse than the fear of change.