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SALES PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSIGHTS FROM AMY FRANKO
Pillar Award for Community Service: Nonprofit Board Executive of the Year
One of the core values that guided me throughout my journey, both professionally and as an entrepreneur, is the importance of giving back and community service. So it's incredibly meaningful to me that I was recognized as the Nonprofit Board Executive of the Year at the 2024 Medical Mutual Pillar Awards for Community Service. The Pillar Awards celebrate leaders who bridge the gap between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, creating a positive impact in our community. I am incredibly grateful to have received this recognition for my contributions as the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland (GSOH). The most memorable achievement during my tenure was leading governance efforts surrounding the Dream Big Transformational Initiative. Dream Big is a monumental $16...
Accelerating Angels: Fueling Female Founders
Did you know that female founders historically produce 35% higher returns to investors than male founders? Accelerating Angels is a female-founded investment startup that is working to close the funding gap for early-stage technology companies. As one of the firm's first investors, I share insights in this new article from Columbus CEO Magazine. Angel investing has a ripple effect. I'm so proud to help fuel female founders and advise them on sales strategy through Accelerating Angels. Read more about the firm and my role here. Amy Franko is an ideal board director candidate for growth-oriented mid-market technology, manufacturing, and professional services firms. Please download her board resume for additional information.
Are Your Sales Processes Preventing Sales
Unveiling the silent threat to sales growth: Sales Prevention. CEOs and sales leaders, take note. Are Your Sales Processes Preventing Sales? This article exposes common barriers hindering sales growth and urges proactive measures for an improved client experience. ***** Every client I work with has a goal to improve sales growth. There might be several paths to get there: Designing a sales strategy, improving sales processes, coaching sales leaders, or helping companies hire the right team. No CEO, sales leader, or professional seller I work with has a goal to stall, prevent, or decrease sales. But it can happen regularly, and they likely don’t even know it. In the last few months, I’ve observed buying experiences that have either created a strong barrier to a sale or outright prevented a sale. I’m betting you’ve experienced a variation of these yourself: “We aren’t taking any phone calls right now....
Want Better Sales Results? Offer Your Clients Fewer Choices.
Less is often more. Learn how to improve B2B sales results by drawing insights from retail and supply chain challenges. Offering fewer choices enhances trust, empowers clients, and drives informed decision-making for lasting sales success. ***** While I work primarily with B2B sales teams, there is much to be learned from our peers in the B2C selling marketplace. One of those takeaways comes from retail. The pandemic and ensuing supply chain problems forced retailers into significantly downsizing or eliminating the number of options provided to consumers. But even when supply chains started to get back on track, that choice didn’t automatically return. In many ways, it has been better for retailers and consumers alike. What can B2B sales teams take from this lesson? Offering more choice to your clients isn’t the answer; in fact, it’s creating confusion and hurting your sales growth. There’s a tipping...
Sales in Manufacturing Podcast: The Modern Seller’s Landscape
Navigating modern selling challenges in manufacturing requires strategic acumen, as it involves intricate processes, complex products, and the imperative to build lasting relationships. In this episode of A Broadcast for Manufacturers, Amy Franko joined the hosts to delve into topics shaping the manufacturing sales landscape. As the leader in modern sales strategy, she shared insights on navigating intricate sales processes and discussed the distinct challenges and opportunities for women in manufacturing sales. Listen for a deep dive into pivotal discussions in the manufacturing sales space! Some highlights: Amy's experience in manufacturing and tech sales: Amy shares her background, starting in manufacturing and tech sales, working for IBM and Lenovo. Emphasizes the importance of sales structures, processes, CRM, and skills data for understanding team strengths and opportunities. (4:47 - 6:25)...
A Surprising Truth About Positive Mindset and How Elite Sellers Use It
Modern sellers, take note. Novak Djokovic's mindset revelations for elite athleticism are also applicable for sales professionals and sales leaders. Embrace the reality that constant positivity is impossible, view mental strength as a skill, and conquer the fear of success. ****** Novak Djokovic is one of the winningest tennis players in the history of the game. He has earned 24 Grand Slam singles titles in men’s tennis, including seven at Wimbledon. He got his start in tennis around the age of 5, on a tiny tennis court where his first coach invited him to play when she saw him looking through the fence. The court was next to a pizzeria that his parents ran on the property of a very modest ski resort. His coming of age in tennis and in life was surrounded by civil war during the 1990s as Yugoslavia disintegrated, and he lived in what is today Serbia. His time on the court and in school was interrupted by...
Unwind Your Mind: Year-End Reflection Questions to Jumpstart 2024
This article offers a reflective approach to achieving significant sales goals in 2024, presenting a series of questions for leaders and professionals to guide their strategic thinking. In my sales strategy and board directorship work, I’m working with leaders going after significant goals – the kind that are game changing for their organization or the community. It has been a busy season for me as well… the past several months have seen new clients and new projects. That had me thinking: Where will I find time to allow for new ideas? Time to let my mind unwind a bit? These have been the sentiments for many that I’ve connected with over the past year. Accomplished leaders and professionals running from one thing to the next. Busy, and trying to make sure it’s productive. This article isn’t a set of strategies, but instead a set of questions that you can use as a guide to unwind your mind and provide...
Best Sales Strategy: Trusted Advisor To Best Clients And Prospects
If you’re in a professional selling or leadership role, you’re no stranger to the phrase "trusted advisor" and needing to be that advisor to your best clients and prospects. I see the trusted advisor role as part of a successful sales strategy-- synonymous with modern selling and the evolution from past approaches that no longer work with today’s buyers. What are some practical ways you can become that trusted advisor and continue to stay sharp and relevant? This article will share the foundations of being a trusted advisor, three relationship phases of the trusted advisor, and nine trusted advisor traits. The Foundations of Being a Trusted Advisor The most obvious foundation of being a trusted advisor is that your clients and prospects trust you to give them solid advice and ideas. There are two other foundations of being a trusted advisor that aren’t talked about as much: you as the advisor need strong...
Does Your Sales Commission Incent the Right Behaviors?
Your sales commission philosophy and sales commission structure are key tools to create both a healthy sales culture and a profitable organization. Sales leaders should read this article for a checklist to help you determine your strengths and weaknesses in your current plan. ***** A federal court recently handed down a landmark decision impacting commission structures in the real estate industry. Cited in the WSJ, “The National Association of Realtors and several larger residential brokers were found liable for about $1.8 billion in damages for conspiring to keep real estate commissions high for both buying and selling agents and eliminating competition for commission rates.” Your commission plans play a big role in creating the right sales growth and a healthy sales culture. As we’re seeing play out in several industries there can be significant consequences if they don’t get the focus they deserve....
Business Podcast: Fueling Your Creative Side
Catherine Lang-Cline of Portfolio Creative is one of Columbus' rockstar business leaders, and I am so happy she invited me to join her on The Secret Art of Business podcast. Sometimes we are prone to separate business and creativity... but I love bringing them together because they do enhance each other! In reflecting about this discussion, I realized I have never really thought of myself as a creative person in terms of traditional art and design. But sometimes we need to change our own narrative. We are *all* creative, we just have different ways of expressing it! This was a fun discussion, and I hope everyone will listen in to it. Some highlights: Entrepreneurial Calling: A bit about my strong entrepreneurial calling and my pivot into entrepreneurship. It was a "winding road." Tapping into Leadership: How I get my leadership "fix" as a board director for the Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland. Tapping...
Our Strategic Selling signature sales training program is now available online. This online sales learning program is ideal for professional services and B2B sales. Get started with 2 free lessons.
