In Part 3 of the Crush Your Number series, Kelly sits down with Rich Gaffney, VP of Commercial Operations at Sentry Equipment, to explore how aligning sales with operations can drive both short-term wins and long-term success. Rich shares his insights from over 20 years of experience leading sales teams, emphasizing the critical role of integrating sales with backend functions like engineering and manufacturing. In this episode, Rich and Kelly discuss why sales teams often fail when they operate in silos and how building business acumen—rather than just focusing on sales tactics—can transform a team from good to great.

Throughout the conversation, Rich breaks down the importance of empathy, communication, and ownership in the sales process. He shares strategies for developing salespeople who think like business leaders, not just closers, and how delivering on promises after the sale is just as important as securing the deal. Whether you're a sales leader or a sales professional, this episode is packed with actionable advice on how to create a holistic, customer-centric approach that fosters trust and future opportunities.

Key Topics:

• Breaking down the silos between sales and operations for better results
• The importance of business acumen in creating well-rounded salespeople
• How empathy and communication can prevent deals from going sideways
• The value of staying engaged with customers post-sale to ensure delivery success
• Developing a robust training program that includes internal collaboration and business-wide understanding

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

In this third installment of the “Sales Training Dumpster Fires” series, Kelly Riggs dives deep into one of the most persistent and problematic issues in sales management: promoting top salespeople to management roles without proper training or preparation. Kelly argues that many companies are making a critical mistake by assuming great salespeople will naturally make great managers. As he puts it, “You lose your best salesperson and, most of the time, you get a mediocre sales manager.”

Kelly explores the reasons behind this common misstep, from the lack of training to the drastic difference between the skillsets needed for sales success and leadership success. He emphasizes the need for proper assessment and development before promoting salespeople into leadership roles. “To be a great salesperson is completely different than being a great sales leader,” Kelly explains, urging companies to change their approach and invest in leadership training. Tune in for actionable strategies to avoid this dumpster fire and build strong, effective sales leaders.

Key Topics:

• The common mistake of promoting top salespeople to management without training

• The significant differences between the skillsets of a great salesperson versus a great sales manager

• The detrimental impact of promoting the wrong person, including losing top salespeople and creating ineffective managers

• Why many top salespeople struggle to transition into leadership roles (e.g., lack of patience, coaching skills, and time investment)

• The importance of assessing leadership capabilities before making promotions

• How companies often fail to provide proper leadership training and development

• Effective coaching and team development as critical responsibilities of a sales manager

• The necessity of setting clear expectations and offering leadership training in advance

• The importance of sales managers developing a team culture of excellence and accountability

• Strategies for identifying and hiring talent, with a focus on training managers to effectively recruit and develop their teams

Follow the audio podcast and watch OR listen wherever you are: https://linktr.ee/salesuntraining

Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and business consultant for executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada. He has written two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.

Get more Kelly: www.BizLockerRoom.com.

Widely recognized as a powerful speaker and performance coach in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning, Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a business owner, and a member of the Forbes’ Coaches Council since 2019.

Music and Editing by Pod About It Productions @dougbranson

In this episode of Sales [UN]Training, Kelly delves into the crucial role of goal setting in driving sales performance. He explains how setting high, specific goals that align with personal motivators can significantly outperform the traditional approach of simply assigning sales quotas. Drawing on his early experiences with iconic sales figures like Zig Ziglar and personal anecdotes, Kelly highlights the power of written goals and their ability to elevate performance. His unique approach to letting salespeople set their own goals not only encourages ownership but often leads to exceeding expectations.

Kelly also stresses the importance of breaking down long-term goals into short-term, manageable steps, comparing it to the incremental progress needed to train for a marathon. He shares insights on the value of short-term objectives and well-structured sales contests as effective tools to keep teams motivated and focused. If you’re seeking ways to engage your sales team more effectively, this episode provides actionable strategies on how personal goals and clear planning can transform sales outcomes.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to the problem of poor sales performance
01:23 - Why sales training often fails
02:20 - Kelly’s early sales influences: Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins on goal setting
04:00 - How modern sales teams have abandoned proper goal setting
06:00 - Why quotas aren’t true goals
09:10 - The importance of letting salespeople set their own goals
13:00 - Personal story about marathon goal setting as a metaphor for sales
15:45 - Smart goals: The formula for success
17:30 - The importance of a written goal and a plan
21:10 - Breaking annual goals into manageable chunks
22:44 - Why sales contests are still valuable in keeping salespeople engaged
24:00 - Conclusion and final thoughts on goal setting for sales success

Enjoy the episode, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and share! For more information, visit businesslockerroom.com or email Kelly at kelly@businesslockerroom.com.