Brad Trnavsky

Brad Trnavsky is a sales coach and trainer that specializes in assisting top sales people transition into top sales managers and helping current sales managers achieve greatness. He also hosts and administrates the site Sales Management 2.0 and is the host of the the Sales Management 2.0 Podcast where he interviews the top minds in sales, management, and marketing every week.

Retail Therapy… or is it therapy for retail sales?

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People LOVE to buy… There is no question this is true. A little research on Retail Therapy supports the idea that when people feel bad they want to go out an buy things. The real question is why dont retail sales people help people buy? This is going to [...]

Presentations… What are they REALLY about?

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I know you are going to think I am weird when I say this, but your presentation is NOT about your product! It’s about your client, silly!
The trick to giving a rock solid presentation is not to memorize every feature and benefit of your product and puke them up on your [...]

It's about people not products...

It’s about people not products…

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One of the most difficult thing to get new (and even some seasoned) salespeople to remember is that sales is not about pitching. It’s not fair to say pitching rarely works because it does and there are instances where it is perfect. Example of this are the county fair and TV [...]

In Sales, Process is Everything...

In Sales, Process is Everything…

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In Sales, process is everything. By nature I am not a process-oriented guy, I am more of the fly by the seat of my pants gut-reaction type. However, not everyone works well like this (including me). I learned early in my sales career that processes, as much as I hate [...]

Managers... What are you doing to motivate your staff?

Managers… What are you doing to motivate your staff?

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Two weeks ago I wrote a post called What Is The Primary Role Of A Sales Manager?. In that post I basically asserted the primary role of a sales manager is to facillitate an enviroment where people can be productive, but in retrospect I missed one key point. In addition [...]

What is the primary role of a sales manager?

What is the primary role of a sales manager?

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The answer to this question may seem quite simple: Drive revenue! but the reality is we carry a heavy burden. We have to plan training, observe our teams in action, coach, mentor, attend meetings, run reports, do projections and forecasts, many of us even take on marketing and PR roles in [...]

Are we here to qualify or create opportunity?

Are we here to qualify or create opportunity?

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Much like Karl, for me this post is a bit of a rant, because I too do not think most sales people “get it” when it comes to qualifying. We get so wrapped up in the process of “being efficient” and “not wanting to waste time” the we start looking for reasons NOT [...]

Why are sales people afraid to ask for referrals?

Why are sales people afraid to ask for referrals?

As a sales manager, blogger, and podcaster I talk to a lot of sales people, and one question that comes up over and over again is: “How do I generate more referrals?” My simple response is ask more often. Sales people in general are looking for a silver bullet. What I believe most of them [...]

When it comes to follow-up - Don't be this guy!

When it comes to follow-up – Don’t be this guy!

I had just transitioned from inside sales to my first outside sales position where I was selling some high end estate planning vehicles in the home. My clients all had net worth’s in the 5-10 million ranges, and appearance was everything. After a week or so it became clear to me that my lifted Jeep [...]

Isn’t Closing a Funny Name For it?

Isn’t Closing a Funny Name For it?

Closing is one of the most important things we do as sales people. Immeasurable volumes of deals that could have been signed were not, simply because no one ever asks for the business. If you take a second to reflect on it though… Isn’t closing a funny name for it? Let’s think about it [...]