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Ken Cheo shared thisMost manufacturing leaders think reactive sales teams create a sales problem. What they often miss is this: Reactive sales teams also create operational instability. That is where things become expensive. Because when sales becomes overly dependent on: • repeat business • inbound demand • distributors • reactive quoting • existing customer requests …the business slowly loses visibility into future demand. At first, nothing feels wrong. The team stays busy. Revenue still comes in. Customers seem happy. But underneath the surface: Forecasting weakens. Pipeline visibility shrinks. Production planning becomes harder. Inventory decisions become riskier. Operations becomes increasingly reactive. This is one of the least discussed problems in manufacturing growth. Sales behavior directly impacts operational predictability. And most companies do not realize the damage until growth becomes unstable. That is exactly what I explore in the latest edition of The Industrial Sales Edge. Why Reactive Sales Teams Quietly Create Operational Chaos Inside the Newsletter I break down: • why reactive selling weakens operational visibility • how forecasting problems begin upstream • why some pipelines look healthier than they really are • how stronger manufacturing firms create commercial predictability If your business feels busy but growth still feels harder to predict than it should, this will likely resonate. You can read the Newsletter below. And if you want to understand how stronger manufacturing companies create more predictable growth, improve forecasting visibility, and build more disciplined commercial systems, join tomorrow’s webinar here: https://lnkd.in/e-QY35xM We’ll be discussing the kinds of sales and operational issues that quietly weaken growth long before they show up in the numbers.Why Reactive Sales Teams Quietly Create Operational ChaosWhy Reactive Sales Teams Quietly Create Operational Chaos
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Ken Cheo shared thisHave you ever hired a salesperson who looked perfect in the interview… But six months later you were wondering what went wrong? It happens more often than most companies admit. The resume looks strong. The personality fits. The confidence is there. But once they’re in the role… Prospecting slows down. Opportunities stall. Close rates disappoint. And management spends more time trying to “fix” performance than growing the business. The truth is, recruiting the right salesperson is about far more than experience or interview skills. It’s about understanding: Can this person sell inside your environment? Can they handle your market? Your sales cycle? Your expectations? Your type of customers? Because the right salesperson changes everything. They create momentum. They generate better conversations. They uncover stronger opportunities. They improve forecasting. They help the business grow with far less stress. And when you hire correctly, leadership stops constantly worrying about pipeline consistency. That’s exactly what we’ll be discussing in our upcoming webinar: How to Know If a Salesperson Will Perform… Before You Hire Them We’ll cover: • Why some salespeople interview extremely well but struggle in the field • What manufacturing companies should really evaluate before hiring • The hidden mistakes that lead to weak sales hires • How to identify performance behaviors before someone joins your team • How to reduce guesswork and hire with more confidence 📅 Wednesday, May 27, 2026 ⏰ 12pm–1pm EST Join the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/eMQrzcQy If hiring salespeople has ever felt uncertain, frustrating, or expensive… This webinar will help you think about the process very differently.
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Ken Cheo shared thisHave you ever hired the wrong Salesperson? Here are the top 3 mistakes sales leaders make when hiring salespeople. That's why we are offering a webinar next Wednesday May 27, 12-1 EST on how to hire and recruit the right salesperson into the right job. Get more information and register here: https://lnkd.in/e-QY35xM
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Ken Cheo shared thisA high quote count can look like progress. But in manufacturing, more quotes do not always mean more sales. Sometimes they mean weak qualification. Sometimes they mean wasted time. Sometimes they mean margin pressure hiding inside the pipeline. That is exactly what this edition of The Industrial Sales Edge explores. Read the Newsletter below. For more in-depth insight on this topic, subscribe to the Email Newsletter. Link in the comments. Strategically, this is the right topic because it stays executive, practical, and low-cognitive-load. It also gives you a clean bridge. LinkedIn diagnoses the quoting problem. Email goes deeper into the management discipline behind fixing it.
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Ken Cheo shared thisMost sales teams do not suddenly fail. They slowly drift into inconsistency. That is the focus of the next edition of The Industrial Sales Edge Newsletter. Inside this issue, I break down one of the most overlooked problems inside manufacturing businesses: Why some sales teams look strong on the surface while performance underneath becomes increasingly unpredictable. We explore: • why top performers often hide deeper execution problems • how inconsistent sales behaviors quietly damage forecasting and growth • why leadership teams mistake activity for effectiveness • and how weak commercial structure creates operational pressure far beyond sales Because in manufacturing, sales problems never stay inside sales. They spread into: • operations • inventory planning • production scheduling • margin • and leadership confidence This issue is not about motivation or generic sales advice. It is about understanding the patterns that separate scalable sales organizations from reactive ones. Especially in markets where: • sales cycles are long • competition is aggressive • and predictable revenue matters more than ever If you lead a manufacturing business, sales organization, or commercial team, I think this edition will resonate with you. You can read the full Newsletter below.
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Ken Cheo shared thisMost business owners don’t hire salespeople expecting mediocre results. But somewhere along the way… Many accept it. One or two top performers carry the team. A few struggle. The rest sit somewhere in the middle. And everyone treats it like normal. The problem is… A lot of sales hiring decisions are based on interviews. Not performance indicators. Someone sounds confident. They say the right things. They have experience. Then 90 days later, you’re questioning the decision. Not because they’re a bad person. Because hiring salespeople is harder than most companies admit. Especially when you’re trying to grow. I’ve seen businesses lose months, sometimes years, because they hired someone who looked right on paper but never truly fit the role. That’s exactly why Ken Cheo and Dan Fantasia are running this webinar: Recruiting and Hiring the Right Salesperson We’ll talk about: • Why salespeople interview so well • How to identify the right fit before hiring • How to define the role clearly • And how to reduce the risk of another costly hiring mistake Because the wrong sales hire doesn’t just cost salary. It costs pipeline. Momentum. Confidence. And sometimes growth itself. 📅 May 27, 2026 ⏰ 12 PM EST You can register here: https://lnkd.in/eMQrzcQy
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Ken Cheo shared thisThere’s a moment most business owners don’t talk about. It’s when you look at your sales team and think… “We should be doing better than this.” Not because people aren’t working. They are. They’re showing up. Following up. Quoting. Doing what they’ve been asked to do. And yet… growth feels harder than it should. I’ve had a lot of conversations like this. Not dramatic. Not emotional. Just honest. “We’re busy… but something feels off.” And that’s usually where things start to shift. Because the problem often isn’t effort. It’s not even the people. It’s how the team is set up around the market. Too much time going to the wrong accounts. Not enough attention on the opportunities that could actually move the needle. Decisions about hiring or structure being made based on pressure… not potential. And none of this is obvious day to day. It builds slowly. Missed opportunities. Slower growth. A gap between where you are… and where you feel you could be. If you’ve ever had that thought… “We should be doing better than this…” It’s worth paying attention to. We’re running a session where we’re going to unpack this properly. Not theory. Just a clear way to step back and look at your team and ask: Is this built for the opportunity in front of us? I’ll drop the details in the comments. If it’s something you’ve been thinking about, it will be worth your time.
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For a deeper breakdown of this topic, plus practical sales insights, tools, and webinar invitations for manufacturing sales leaders, subscribe to the Email Newsletter here: https://newsletter.oursalescoach.com/
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English
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FPA, NEBA, LMA
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