Dave Stein's Blog for Sales Leaders

Since this will be my last post for 2009 I wanted to cover a few subjects and provide you with a list of my most often-read posts for the year.

First, on a personal note, my heart reaches out to those in need.  I’m very fortunate.  Life has dealt me as perfect a hand as one could ever ever expect.  The same goes for my family.  So, in lieu of sending holiday cards and gifts, ESR has made a special contribution to Save the Children.  I’m happy about saving the paper and even happier that some kids will have a slightly better life than what they were dealt.  If you have the means, we hope you’ll make a contribution as well.

Second, I want to thank ESR’s clients for their business, and for being true partners with us.  In 2009 we had the opportunity to work with some of the smartest, committed, and successful people in the business community in the U.S., Australia, and Europe (especially Ireland)—from sales reps to account executives to VPs of sales to senior executives running divisions of large companies to CEOs.  I’ve learned a lot from each of them.  I know the feeling is mutual and that makes me feel like I’ve accomplished a lot.

Third, a thumbs up to the sales training community.  It’s my job to point out the challenges training companies face, how they are faring, and to educate the buying community about vendor evaluation and selection.  I’m often critical.  On the other hand, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the CEOs of many of the larger training companies, owners of mid-size firms, and many wonderful, individual sales trainers.  Most of those I’ve met are hardworking and strive to help their clients improve the sales performance of their teams.  Those of you who know me understand that elevating the profession of selling in the eyes of the overall business community has been a driving force behind my career for the past two decades.  I’m delighted to have numbers of sales trainers and consultants working with me or in parallel toward the same goal.  I look forward to further collaboration in 2010.  Stay tuned for some exciting announcements from ESR in January.

Finally, according to the blog stats, here are the top eleven posts for 2009.  Many have insightful comments.  You might want to read those as well.

1. Selling Through the Customer’s Organization (Chart) This was the most popular blog post of the year.
   

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2. We Live in a World That Requires Revenue A video.  An oldie, but a goodie. Catch the note at the bottom of the post.
   

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3. What Salespeople Need To Know, But Don’t. This is an important post.  There is also a link to an important podcast.
   

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4. Predictive Testing For Salespeople. No Reason Not to Do It. A favorite subject of ours at ESR.
   

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5. Come On, Dave. Which Is The Best Sales Training Company? I get asked this question all the time.  Read my answer.
   

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6. Sales Meetings. Is There A Nap On Your Agenda? This topic has been coming up more frequently recently.  The blog stats bear this out.
   

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7. Sales Kick-off Meetings: Are Results on The Agenda? Another favorite of mine, having spoken at hundreds of sales kick-off meetings all over the world.
   

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8. GE’s CIO on Reverse Auctions Some interesting points to ponder made by GE’s CIO—a powerful person who lives on both the buying and selling sides.
   

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9. More Excuses For Not Doing The Right Thing About Sales Effectiveness I was pretty frustrated when I wrote this one, as you’ll see.
   

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10. Inside The Sales Training Industry (Part 1) The widely-discussed interview I did with Tom Martin.
    

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11. Sales Performance Measurement.  ESR will be driving the importance of measurement in 2010.  I’ve written a feature article on the subject for ASTD’s magazine.  It will be out early in 2010.
    

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Please, have a healthy and successful 2010.

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Filed under: Sales Training Companies