5 Fascinating TED Talks Every Inside Sales Leader Must Watch

5 ted talk sales inside sales leaders should watchWhen was the last time you saw something that truly inspired you to be a better person and a better leader?

TED talks are good for the soul. It turns out that the principles they teach can boost business, too. These brief, entertaining presentations will help you understand your inside sales reps better and motivate them more effectively.

Find out what’s wrong with the modern workplace and how you can make your team happier and more productive.

Let’s take a look at five fascinating TED talks that every inside sales leader must watch.

1. The Happy Secret to Better Work

Psychologist Shawn Achor likes to look at the human brain … well … he likes to study it. In this presentation, he argues that normal is only average. And he’s not interested in focusing on anything average.

In his research on happiness, here’s what he’s found:

  • Only 25 percent of success at work is based on IQ.
  • About 75 percent of success at work is predicted by your optimism levels, social support and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.

A positive brain performs significantly better than the same brain that’s neutral, negative or stressed. Your intelligence, creativity and energy all shoot through the roof when you’re happy.

And the good news is that you can train your brain to be more positive. Watch this short clip to find out how.

2. How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Simon Sinek explains why some people and companies defy all the ordinary expectations and outperform everybody else. He says all of the visionary leaders think, act and communicate in the same way.

So, what’s their secret? It starts with their “why.” Why does your organization exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anybody care?

He cites Apple as an easy example of a company that has nailed its “why.”

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” he says. “The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”

Intrigued? Watch Simon’s talk in the embedded video player.

3. Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work

Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals, cares deeply about productivity. In this TED talk, he exposes the problems of the modern workplace.

For 10 years, he’s asked people, “Where do you go when you really need to get things done?”

They almost never say they go to the office to get things done. They go to the basement, a library, a coffee shop or they hop on a train.

The reason is simple: We need long stretches of uninterrupted time to achieve anything meaningful. And the office is full of time wasters.

Does your office create too many distractions for your inside sales reps?

Find out how to improve sales productivity by watching this awesome presentation.

4. The Optimism Bias

Tali Sharot addresses humanity’s optimism bias, which is our tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing good events and underestimate the likelihood of experiencing negative events.

She has found that people with high expectations feel better than people with low expectations — whether they succeed or fail. If they succeed, they give themselves credit. If they fail, they don’t blame themselves. Optimism is magic.

If you’ve ever had any doubts about how important it is for you to hire the right inside sales reps, watch this clip. It’s kind of scary how much optimism matters.

5. Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile

Chip Conley believes that you can — and should — measure happiness. He talks about the nation of Bhutan, which monitors a metric it calls “Gross National Happiness.”

He wonders why more business leaders don’t see the connection between employee happiness and profitability.

“We don’t have to choose between inspired employees and sizable profits. We can have both,” he says. “And, in fact, inspired employees quite often help make sizable profits.”

Find out how to create a habitat of happiness to improve sales motivation. You’ll be glad you did.

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Photo credit: H.L.I.T.

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