Traveling isn’t just about visiting new places—it’s about learning. My recent trip to Europe, and especially Holland, was an eye-opening experience that reinforced some powerful lessons about pride, structure, and leadership—lessons that we should all be applying in our businesses.

Traveling isn’t just about visiting new places—it’s about learning from the best. My recent visit to the UK was a powerful reminder of what makes businesses thrive: trust, well-structured systems, and leadership rooted in relationships.

The UK has long been a place where I’ve built meaningful partnerships and lasting business relationships. After years of working with incredible teams, partners, and customers, I’ve come to appreciate how trust, collaboration, and consistency drive success.

Here’s what we can all take away from the UK’s approach to business and leadership.

After nearly two decades of traveling internationally for work, I’ve seen first-hand how the sales landscape has evolved. But one thing remains constant: the best sales teams prioritize customer success as much as their own.

The future is now—or at least, it’s coming at us faster than a sales manager when you miss your quota. As we move into 2025, sales technology is evolving at breaking speed, and if you’re not keeping up, you might find yourself left behind, still using sticky notes and hoping for the best.

You don’t have to be a tech guru to take advantage of these changes. Here are the top trends that will define the future of sales technology and how they’ll change the way businesses interact with our customers.

To be competitive, sales teams must be more than skilled. They must continuously improve and find new ways to connect to customers. Effective sales teams constantly evaluate and enhance their performance, adapt to changing circumstances, and focus on delivering value to customers. That's where sales coaching can help! But it can be difficult to deliver consistent sales coaching without the support of technology. Sales coaching software can be transformational for a sales team, leading to a more results-driven and adaptable sales force. 

In the opening words of his TED talk, American business magnate Bill Gates declared “Everyone needs a coach.” From professional athletes to CEOs, Bill highlighted the fact that the single common attribute among all high-performing individuals was the fact that they have a coach. Why should sales managers and sales reps be any different? 

As much as we love the efficiency of texting and email when doing business, there are times when a phone call is necessary. Some of those times occur during the sales process. The phone remains one of a salesperson's most effective communication channels, helping them make personal connections with leads and close more deals.

Businesses in the US spent $4.6B on generating leads in 2021; it’s a top priority for marketing and sales leaders. This begs the question: if these leads are so valuable, why does it take the average company 47 hours to respond to a lead - if they respond at all? The truth is that lead response matters. And lead response is most effective when it's fast.

According to Forbes magazine, companies that generate leads on the internet are wasting nearly 71% of them. Why? Because they drop the ball on lead response. Companies work hard to boost close ratios and to generate fresh leads but they overlook the most important aspect, which is taking advantage of the leads they already have.

What is the biggest challenge that today’s companies face? Ironically, it’s possibly the simplest to address: they don’t respond quickly enough to leads.

As a tech enthusiast and someone passionate about enhancing customer experiences, I've been thinking a lot about how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the sales world. While AI offers some amazing tools and capabilities, I firmly believe that the human element in sales remains irreplaceable. We shouldn't let AI run the show entirely; instead, we should use it to make our sales process even better.