Tips & Interviews
Todd’s Videos
Sales History: Sales Quota Setting Today vs. 100 Years Ago
Sales History: Sales Quota Setting Today vs. 100 Years Ago Why is it that, 100 years ago, sales quotas were calculated by market analysts and sales quota specialists TERRITORY SPECIFIC, with the data shared with each rep individually, when they had LESS DATA and...
Selling in Economic Uncertainty: Messaging with Clinical Empathy
Selling in Economic Uncertainty: Messaging with Clinical Empathy We've seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. The times we're in? They're unique from the previous economic downturns, but not the most recent ones. We can actually look to the 1920s for...
Transparent Leadership Equals Employee Happiness
The trait in leaders that most correlates to employee happiness, which most correlates to employee performance, low turnover and high advocacy? That's right...it's TRANSPARENCY. Transparent leadership equals employee happiness. And there's a decent book to show you...
Your Grandpa was better than you at forecasting.
Your Grandpa was better than you at forecasting. Todd Caponi, sales historian and author of "The Transparency Sale" explains why modern sales forecasting isn't as good as it used to be - and what we can learn from our sales ancestors. Spoiler alert: It's all about...
The Cost of the Price Increase
The cost of the price increase. Considering a price increase for your current customers? Why wouldn't you? Inflation is rampant. It may be an easy way to grab a couple of point increase in revenue. But, have you thought through the costs? The cost of selling the...
The Sales Profession: It’s original design through three sales history quotes
What was the original design of the modern sales profession? It's easy - and with these three quotes from before 1920, we can easily figure out everything we need to know about: a) What the modern sales profession was designed to do b) How the sales profession has...
Sales Technology – Using It For Good (Not Evil!)
I got a new phone. Not really new. It’s over 100 years old. I think about it as a symbol of what’s wrong with sales tech investments today, and the dial-dial-dial mindset. As the new sales tech revolution is upon us, how we think about our tech investments can be...
Sales Forecasting – What History Got Right, (and We Get Wrong)
Sales forecasting - the bane of the existence of every sales leader. I have yet to talk to a sales leader that has it nailed. Then it hit me… What is a struggle today does not appear to have been a struggle for early 1900s sales leaders; back when there was no CRM...
In times of uncertainty, what your sales team doesn’t know WILL hurt you
https://youtu.be/cWyaxM2Ryzg In Japan, death row inmates aren't told what day their execution will take place...until the morning of! They sued, calling it "inhumane". Right now, many orgs are treating their teams like those inmates. "Will today be the day I'm...
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Podcast
Bringing the incredible (and sometimes strange) brains from the profession of sales’ past to the 2020’s – Todd Caponi’s “The Sales History Podcast”
Blog Posts / Articles
When I am not speaking, doing virtual events, or teaching a workshop… I love to blog or write articles.
