Mike Kunkle

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗜𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! Senior sales leaders and CEOs, this one's for you. In this post, I explore one of the most consequential (and most ignored) business problems hiding in plain sight inside many companies: 🔹The staggering performance gap created when your sales team operates without a formal, buyer-aligned sales process and a cohesive sales methodology that sellers adopt and managers coach to mastery. I use the middle market as an example to get into some real numbers, but you can apply this to your smaller or enterprise company, for sure. I've seen it apply to SMB, middle market, and enterprises from the Fortune 5000 straight up to the Fortune 10. The gains? They're huge! 🔹𝘾𝙃𝙀𝘾𝙆 𝙄𝙏 𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 ➡️ mikekunkle.com/your-sales-met…

hey @XfinitySupport this is the 5th service downtime in 4 weeks in zip 03071. We just had an overnight maintenance the other night. Now there’s an outage again. I have client video conference meetings and we won’t be up in time. This is the worse service I’ve ever had from @Xfinity.

@Gosleepriya 18

If you solve this, your IQ is high 🔥 What should come instead of ?

Hey @ATT, I know we’re rural, but please do something about the service in New Ipswich, NH. When @Xfinity has an outage, we have one bar of service and can barely surf, post, text, or make calls. It took forever for X to come up and for this post to go through.

𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗚𝗔𝗣 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦! CEOs, Sales Leaders of all titles, and Enablers of all flavors—Happy Friday! Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week's edition of 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸! 🔸𝗝𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗜𝗡 👉 linkedin.com/pulse/your-sal… 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 👇 This week, I'm making the business case for something that most middle-market CEOs and CROs treat as optional—and that's quietly costing them millions: a formal, buyer-aligned sales process and a sales methodology that sellers actually adopt and managers actually coach to. In most organizations, more than half of quota-carrying sellers miss their number. Every quarter. Year after year. This newsletter shows you exactly why that happens—and what the research says it's worth fixing, in real dollars. In this edition, I dig into: 🔸 Why random and informal sales enablement may be worse than doing nothing at all 🔸 What CSO Insights' data actually says about formal process, methodology, and buyer alignment 🔸 The adoption staircase—and why 75+% and 90%+ adoption puts you in completely different performance tiers 🔸 Why dynamic coaching is your single biggest untouched performance lever 🔸 A transparent financial model showing Year-1 revenue impact for $50M, $100M, and $250M companies 🔸 A six-step implementation roadmap—from enablement charter to workflow integration 🔸 The Adoption & Mastery Mantra and why breaking the chain at any point stalls results If your sales team is operating without a formal process and methodology—or has one that nobody actually uses—this edition will show you what that's costing you and what to do about it. I hope this one makes you think—and if you’re in enablement, maybe prompts a conversation with your CRO and CFO. Stay the course out there, leaders, and as always, 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! 🔸𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 👉 linkedin.com/pulse/your-sal…

@RowbitusinPrime What numbers? In the article? You did see the part where the article is an April Fool’s joke, right? The problems mention are real though, and the fixes are all over my newsletter. Here’s one example: linkedin.com/pulse/straight…

𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡! A condition affecting 79.8% of B2B sellers, 84.2% of frontline sales managers, and 88.6% of senior sales leaders has finally been formally classified — and a treatment has been approved. If you work in B2B sales, lead a sales team, or are responsible for sales effectiveness in any capacity, I'd encourage you to read this article closely and take action now. 🔹𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 ➡️ linkedin.com/pulse/chronic-…

Rowan, first, that post and accompanying article are an April Fool's joke. Did you actually read the article? Secondly, sales team can choose a better response. You know spreadsheets aren't the answer and I'll ignore that sarcasm. The answer is a buyer-centric, consultative, value-focused approach, aligning sales process with buying process, getting managers coaching regularly, and achieving high levels of adoption and mastery of the process and methodology. I can't answer much more in a limited comment on X, but there is a rich library of sales effectiveness content at linkedin.com/newsletters/sa… that outlines many of my approaches to sales excellence.

CEOs, Sales Leaders of all titles, and Enablers of all flavors—Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this edition of 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸! This week, I’m digging into a challenge that gets almost no airtime: 🔸𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙜𝙖𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭? When the seller is doing the right things, in the right way, at the right volume… and performance still plateaus. Most sales managers default to fixing execution. But at higher levels of performance, the constraint is not always activity or methodology—it’s often judgment, assumptions, and the self-limiting beliefs that shape behavior in the moments that matter. In this edition, I unpack: 🔸The difference between deal management and true developmental coaching 🔸Why ROAM still matters—but isn’t enough when execution isn’t the constraint 🔸How mindset, beliefs, and metacognition quietly cap performance 🔸Why this is an HPI problem as much as a coaching problem 🔸The role of Sales Counseling 🔸The “incorrect thinking” taxonomy 🔸PAM Orders Power BARS and why motivators shape belief-change 🔸How to use consequences the right way when beliefs don’t shift fast enough 🔸And what enablement can do to help managers coach when nothing looks broken If you’ve ever coached a strong or top performer who wasn’t improving as fast as their talent suggests they should—this one’s for you. 🔸𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 ➡️ lnkd.in/eMqqtVgx I hope this edition helps, leaders and enablers. As always, stay the course out there and 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! ______________ I'm 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗹𝗲, and I help organizations implement sales systems that deliver repeatable performance and sustained revenue growth. I'm the creator of: 🔸𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 framework and systems to improve sales performance 🔸𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆: a buyer-centric, consultative, and value focuses sales methodology 🔸𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆: a proven sales coaching system to foster continuous improvement 🔸𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆: training to help first-time sales managers deliver results fast 𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚? I'm available. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 to discuss proven strategies for improving sales force effectiveness or 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 here: mikekunkle.com/wp-content/upl…

Yes, of course there is a difference. I don’t disagree with that in theory, but the flaw in that logic is it assumes buyers know whether someone is good or bad prior to contacting them. And since they don’t, and since surveys show most B2B buyers don’t respect or trust salespeople, they still tend to avoid them.

@Mike_Kunkle Buyers don't want to avoid salespeople. They want to avoid bad ones. There's a big difference.

𝗚𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝟲𝟳% 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. They recommend that "sales enablement shift from static content to AI-powered buyer support." That’s smart advice, but insufficient. We need to: 🔹Shift the impression of the sales profession 🔹Become servant leaders 🔹Operate in our buyers’ best interest 🔹Earn back the opportunity to be sought out as trusted advisors I’m not a fan of “Chicken Little messaging” but the sky may actually be falling for human sellers, if we don’t take radical action soon. 𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙉𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘽2𝘽 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗜𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! Senior sales leaders and CEOs, this one's for you. In this post, I explore one of the most consequential (and most ignored) business problems hiding in plain sight inside many companies: 🔹The staggering performance gap created when your sales team operates without a formal, buyer-aligned sales process and a cohesive sales methodology that sellers adopt and managers coach to mastery. I use the middle market as an example to get into some real numbers, but you can apply this to your smaller or enterprise company, for sure. I've seen it apply to SMB, middle market, and enterprises from the Fortune 5000 straight up to the Fortune 10. The gains? They're huge! 🔹𝘾𝙃𝙀𝘾𝙆 𝙄𝙏 𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 ➡️ mikekunkle.com/your-sales-met…

Yes. I usually create bite-sized learning, use spaced repetition, incorporate retrieval learning, foster practice with feedback loop, and support transfer/application. Then, frontline sales managers need to identify gaps and coach to close them. When I teach managers to coach, I teach them to identify that one thing (that will improve results if fixed or improve) and stick with it until skills and results improve. Then, onto the next thing.

@Mike_Kunkle One thing I found that helps too is breaking the process into “bites not meals”. If you give a sales rep too much to focus on they end up getting lost and never striking gold. Like in Gary Keller’s book: what’s the one thing we’re working on right now?

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁. The answer usually comes down to two words: adoption & mastery Over the years, across dozens of organizations, I’ve seen this simple truth play out again and again. This is where my 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮 comes in. 🔹What gets asked about gets focus. 🔹What gets measured gets done. 🔹What gets integrated into workflow gets adopted. 🔹What gets coached gets mastered. 🔹And what gets adopted and mastered moves the needle. This mantra aligns tightly with my broader 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 and its embedded 𝟱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 & 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲—Learn, Remember, Practice, Apply, Master. The systems give you the detailed mechanics. The mantra speaks to leaders in a way that immediately lands: these are the big levers that determine whether methodology training becomes performance. And the data backs this up in a big way. CSO Insights and several other studies over the past 10 years have shown a consistent pattern: high adoption of a formal sales process and methodology correlates with meaningfully better results. 🔹When adoption exceeds 75%, organizations see statistically significant improvements in quota attainment, revenue plan attainment, and win rates. 🔹There’s another meaningful performance lift again at 90%. Yet most companies fall far short of these levels—which means they never unlock the full ROI they expect from their methodology investments. The good news? Adoption isn’t magic. It’s management discipline. Leaders who consistently ask about the behaviors, measure them, embed them into workflow, and coach them over time see mastery emerge. When your sales force achieves mastery, results follow. Every time. If you want better outcomes, start with the question: 🔹“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙢 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧?” Because the methodology and systems both matter—but adoption and mastery are what turns methodology into results. If you're looking for someone to help your organization move the needle on the metrics that matter most, see my profile for the results I've delivered for past employers and clients, and reach out here. I'm now available.

𝗦𝗞𝗢 𝗜𝗦𝗡’𝗧 𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 🔸𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 ➡️ linkedin.com/pulse/how-turn… CEOs, Sales Leaders of all titles, and Enablers of all flavors—Happy Friday! Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week’s edition of 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸! This week, I’m tackling a topic most companies treat as a high‑energy annual ritual—but rarely as a lever for sustained performance: the Sales Kickoff. SKO (or RKO/CKO—pick your label) is one of the biggest investments revenue organizations make all year. Travel, venue, production, prep, and—biggest of all—the opportunity cost of pulling dozens or hundreds of sellers and managers out of the field. And yet, for all that effort, most SKOs under‑deliver. Not because leaders lack intention or ambition. But because SKO is treated like the intervention. It’s not. It’s the ignition (or the lighter fluid). In this week’s newsletter, I share why SKO results are won or lost before and after the event—not during—and how to build a system that aligns Strategy → Tactics → Skills → Execution so the behaviors introduced at SKO actually show up in the field. I also walk through: 🔸The essential Before–During–After blueprint 🔸The role of managers as force multipliers 🔸A practical eight‑week post‑SKO cadence any team can adopt 🔸Why you must see reps perform behaviors in the room 🔸Common pitfalls that quietly destroy SKO ROI 🔸How to make SKO work regardless of format (in‑person, virtual, hybrid) If SKO has ever felt great in the moment but resulted in no meaningful change by March or April, this edition will resonate. And whether you're modifying your post-SKO strategy or planning ahead for next year, it will help you avoid the costly trap of treating SKO like entertainment instead of a performance accelerant. I hope this newsletter helps, leaders. Stay safe out there and 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! 🔸𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 ➡️ linkedin.com/pulse/how-turn…

@PipelinePlayBK Exactly. Say it louder for the sales leaders in the back.

@Mike_Kunkle Methodology without adoption is just a PowerPoint that cost six figures. The training event was never the intervention... the repetition after it is. Most organisations fund the launch and defund the reinforcement.

Good read on #ChangeManagement - Source: Inc share.google/ErLUPnMhqQoBNi…

@Matt_Pinner Neither. Right side is forward. Eye forward. Lips could be either. Nose to the left.

Genius test. Is she facing forward or sideways? A) Forward B) Sideways