Span the Chasm – Sales Team Training – Driving Sustainable Sales and Growth through Development and Consulting

Category: Blog

Blog posts from Randy or any thought leaders who contribute

  • Ultimate Prospecting Challenge: Old School vs New School

    Ultimate Prospecting Challenge: Old School vs New School

    Building qualified pipeline is THE most important element for any sales team. It’s the lifeblood of your future. And yet, so many abandon it for almost any other distraction: sharpening pencils, filling out CRM, joining pointless meetings. The creativity in avoiding pipeline building activities remains a wonder of the modern era!

    There are many ways to build pipeline. Referrals, automation engagement, buying lists, cold calling, social engagement. The options are endless.  

    ‘Pipeline solves all sales problems!’
    Tim Koubek, COO, Skyword

    Because of the endless choices, we wondered what REALLY is the best method? So Ken Lundin and I decided to create the ultimate prospecting challenge to test these methods and see what works best.

    Join us for our 6-month, bare-knuckle brawl as we employ two very different styles to build an abundant  qualified pipeline. Along the way, we’ll be posting monthly updates so YOU can learn and benefit from this process.  

    I’m using old school traditional techniques to leverage my networks. Things like referrals, handwritten notes, and personal calls.

    Ken is using new school modern methods of engagement. Things like software automation, funnels, inside sales engagement, and social media.

    Make sure you check out additional content with more details about this challenge, the methods we’re using, and our predictions on who will win. Watch this Monday Morning Pearls video and listen to this Uncommon Sales Success podcast episode to learn more.

    Here’s what I know: 

    We’ll BOTH create more pipeline.

    Bookmark this page, check in monthly and pick up our proven tools and techniques, plus see our stumbles! Make sure you join our email list to receive our white paper at the end of the challenge! We will be sharing our complete learnings and guidance to help YOU build better pipeline. 

    Until then…. #BeBrave!

    Updates from Randy and Ken:

    Randy’s 1st Update

    ✅ Built an email template to request brokered referrals, targeted a list of 62 contacts, sent 30 emails. Developing a follow-up sequence for this first set of 30.

    ✅Creating an engagement process with headhunters to target our Ideal Client.

    🛑Had vacation late in the month so progress slowed down, only had blocks of 15 minutes and found it hard to get in ‘flow’. 

    💲Sold 2 add-on services for existing clients!
    Ken’s 1st Update

    ✅Setup Growbots lead automation software. Loaded 550 prospects into an 8 step email sequence. 1st email sent on June 5th. Next 4 emails sent on days 1-30. Final 3 emails sent on days 61-80. This allows us to test the timing – maybe now isn’t good, but 2 months from now is better.

    Stats for the first 30 days:

    67% (365 of the 550) of prospects have opened at least 1 email.

    7.1% (39) have clicked through the email to our landing page or case study.

    3% have replied, in some cases that’s a “no thanks”.

    1 lead has been entered as an opportunity.

    💲One deal has been closed!

    ✅ Learnings:

    Something is better than nothing. Having an outgoing process to build pipeline is better than no process at all. 

    🛑Although we were able to close 1 deal, the overall warm engagement rate is low at .8%. We are targeting 3-6% as a warm reply rate. 

    In the next phase I will do follow up messaging to improve the warm reply and engagement rate. I will also initiate a new cadence based on best practices.
    1st Round Winner New school and Ken!
    Although Randy booked add-on services, Ken closed 1 new client with a higher value contract! Stay tuned for more updates as the challenge continues!
  • Sales Leadership Lessons from P90X

    Sales Leadership Lessons from P90X

    Who knew that Tony Horton was such a smart dude? Or a great example of true sales leadership?

    Not me. Once I started to listen to his very basic wisdom, I discovered he’s a genius.

    Tony is the host of the popular P90X workout series. 12 DVDs. Pure hell. AbRipper anyone? Plyo-X? The chin-ups? Forget about it! 

    He warns viewers you should be in shape before you can do the exercises. Pretty crazy, right?

    The routines are very challenging, making it easy to be discouraged and quit. Tony knew that’s the real challenge so he solved that problem. He does this by using 4 simple philosophies that can also be applied to managing your sales team.

    Let’s review his wisdom so you can grow your sales leadership muscles today!

    Do your best.

    Sometimes the workout is too hard to finish. Too many reps. Burned out arms. Tony was right there to encourage you to simply do your best. No more. No less either. Just your best. No guilt for stopping before he did. Just an important reminder that your personal results WILL improve over time.  

    Lesson: Selling is hard. Remind your team of what they can do. Refer to the best practices and training they’ve received. Provide support at each level of their performance. Progress and improvement WILL come!

    Forget the rest.

    We often compare ourselves to others. How they look. How much they make. Their sales performance.  It’s hard not to. But comparison is a distraction that does not serve us. Tony knew that. He reminded us to ‘forget the rest’ and focus on YOU because you can’t control THEM.

    Lesson: There are dozens of other sales reps and companies that could be your competition. And none of them really matter. Your team’s #1 competitor is THEMSELVES. YESTERDAY! Help them to forget everyone else and focus on being a better version of themselves every day.  Every week. Every month. 

    70% of a bad work out beats no work out.

    I don’t always want to exercise. I get tired. Sore. Hungry.  Bored. Name it. Every reason. Tony knew that about me too. He reminds me a 70% workout is infinitely better than none of a 100% workout. Show up. Do something. And progress will follow.

    Lesson: Your teams get beaten down. They get tired. 11 ‘No’s in a row takes its toll. Maybe they want to just mail it in. Encourage them to stick it out. Progress is always progress, even in small amounts. Showing up is 80% of success.  

    Food is fuel.

    P90X comes with an eating guide. Packed with information. Recipes. Ideas. Because Tony realized you needed great fuel to make great progress. So he delivered a complete program that teaches WHY the food matters and how to be successful.

    Lesson: Feed your team great content. Books. Podcasts. Videos. Blogs. Workshops. There is tons of great content out there for them. Be a conduit of growth for them. The alternative is Candy Crush and you do NOT want to get me started on THAT!

    Your team is working hard. They’re out there fighting on a daily basis. Use these four principles with them. Daily. They need it. They deserve it.  

    Get them a protein bar. They’re hungry!

    They’re also starving for great sales leadership, be that for them.

    I may be the fittest 54 year old, 6’ 4”, 187 lb bald guy I know. I owe Tony Horton and P90X for some of my physical success. Even though DVD workouts aren’t as cool, I still breakout his routines while on the road.  Turns out his workouts and wisdom have stood the test of time!

    The choice is yours. Can you make the time to channel some Tony Horton to strengthen your team?

    We, of course, are here to support you!

    #BeBrave

    BONUS: Randy and Ken were recent guests on the B2BGrowth Podcast to talk more about their Prospecting Challenge! Don’t miss this great interview!

     

    ♫ Listen to this ♫
    Check out the latest episode on our podcast, UNCOMMON SALES SUCCESS! Subscribe and give us a review on iTunes, or visit https://spanthechasm.com/podcast to listen!

  • Sales Leadership Lessons from 4th Grade Teachers

    Sales Leadership Lessons from 4th Grade Teachers

    I was trying to throw pennies into the fish bowl near my desk.  

    Again.

    For no other reason than to see if I COULD.

    In my defense, I WAS 10 years old.  

    And Ms. Millie, my 4th grade teacher, didn’t scold me. She just moved me. She had already learned that I couldn’t NOT do it. I was extremely distractible. And curious. Ridiculously so on both counts. This was pre-ADHD but I would have been the poster child for it.

    If you know me, that’s not a big surprise.

    Ms. Millie taught me a lot about managing sales people. If you manage your sales people as if they are 4th grade, ADHD kids, you won’t be disappointed. This may seem like odd advice, so let’s break it down into 3 easy lessons:

    Give crystal clear direction: We often assume our teams clearly understand what we’re telling them to execute. Eg: We tell them to ‘Get with the Economic Buyer’ and everyone says ‘Yes!’  But they may have no idea how to carry this out. Sometimes what is clear to us, is NOT clear to your team. Slow it down and give directions in a paint-by-number fashion. First this, then this, and finally, do this. You know the old adage about making assumptions, but it’s also foolish and cruel. It’s not fair to anyone, including you.

    Practice patience: People won’t ‘get it’ the first time you say it, even if they nod their heads. They got something but probably not what you truly meant. Explain it again. Explain it slowly. Explain it in different terms and associate it with the WHY. Ask them to restate what you’re asking and help them clarify.  It takes time, much like learning to do anything new, such as walking or riding a bike. But no one got frustrated with you because they knew it was part of the process. Give the same courtesy to your people.

    Set realistic expectations:  Skills are built one on top of the other and that takes time. I am someone who has a tendency to teach too many topics in a workshop. I now only expect my students to grasp one concept and work on it until mastery is achieved. Give the same courtesy to your team. Whatever you are asking of them, make sure they work on that thing until it’s mastered. You have a lot on your plate, but flooding them with your ideas and demands will frustrate you and create a feeling of failure for them.

    [Take Action Now!]
    Go back to something you are asking your team or individuals to do. Review the instruction and expectations that you set.  If you handed or explained it to me in the same way you did for them, would I understand it?

    If what you’re asking can’t be understood by ADHD 4th graders, head back to the drawing board and start over using the 3 principles above.  

    While Ms. Millie is no longer with us, her legacy of patience and love lives on. Thank you Ms. Millie for understanding me, for loving me and for helping me become me. You were a saint then and will be one in my mind for eternity.

    Will your teams say the same of you?

    Imagine:  How would it feel with less confusion in the day-to-day leadership of your teams if you put these concepts into practice? You will be in control of your very own classroom.

    You up for it?

    We are, of course, here to help you #BeBrave!

    ♫ Listen to this ♫
    Check out the latest episode on our podcast, UNCOMMON SALES SUCCESS! Subscribe and give us a review on iTunes, or visit https://spanthechasm.com/podcast to listen!

  • Sales Leadership Lessons from Mom

    Sales Leadership Lessons from Mom

    We just celebrated Mother’s day, and it turns out mom’s wise words can help strengthen your sales relationships.  

    All based on a phrase mom often said. At least my mom said it:

    ‘If you mess up, you fess up and you clean up.’

    We are ALL guilty of making mistakes in selling and they come in many forms: Mistakes about capabilities, errors in pricing or terms, false statements about a Gartner report, incorrect API integrations, wrong about revision compatibility.  (By the way, for clarity, I’m guilty of all of these!)

    It doesn’t matter. We have all stepped in it.  

    So…what’s is the plan?

    Duh….

    Hide it. Step around it. Deny it. (Yep, I have done all of these too!)

    But then the voice of mom rings in my head. That simple lesson from my childhood. I messed up and it’s time to fess up and start doing the clean up.

    But what does it look like? It’s actually simple but takes a lot of courage and discomfort until you’ve done it 10, 20 or 50 times (Yep, I’ve done it this many times and am now an expert!).

    Let’s break this down:

    Mess up. First you have to acknowledge the mistake to YOURSELF. Being human means mistakes are inevitable. Review your work, and when something is off ask yourself how this will impact the relationship and the deal. If there’s negative consequences down the line, then onto the next part.

    Fess up. Time to COMMUNICATE what happened. It sounds like this:

    ‘Hey Jim, on the pricing for the configuration I sent you, I was wrong. I made a mistake and that changes it by $75,000.  I’m so sorry. Can you please forgive me?’

    Stop and wait for Jim to forgive you because you MUST repair the relationship before anything else.

    It is hard to say you’re sorry.  For me, it’s even harder to ask for forgiveness. But, through my own experience and working with others, until we make relational restitution, there is no point in moving forward.

    Clean up. Make it RIGHT. Your mistake is going to impact your customer’s experience, but you can turn it around by offering something else of value, however small.

    I understand that my mistake has ramifications. Here is what I can do. We are going to offer …..  I owe it to you to take full responsibility for my actions.’

    Take ownership. There’s no other way.

    A funny thing happens when you say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness. Relationships often become stronger through the process. Trust levels increase, not decrease.

    Some of our best referrals were from my biggest mistakes. And, because I listened to mom, stronger relationships were forged.

    Our mistakes usually find the light of day and when that happens, the only option we have left is manipulation. And no one wins then.

    Mom was right. Are you ready to practice the wisdom of your mother? It’s up to you.

    Your prospects and clients deserve it.  Step up!

    #BeBrave!

     

    P. S. ♫ Listen to this ♫  We just launched our podcast, UNCOMMON SALES SUCCESS! Check it out on iTunes, or visit https://spanthechasm.com/podcast to listen!

  • 3 Sales Leadership Lessons from Yoda

    3 Sales Leadership Lessons from Yoda

    Have you ever wondered why Yoda bothered training Jedi when he was completely kick ass on his own?  

    He knew a valuable principle that would benefit many sales leaders:

    Heroism doesn’t scale

    He knew the necessity to invest in others so the Jedi, keepers of the balance of the Force, could carry on the mission of the Jedi Council. His goal was on the greater good.

    At Span the Chasm, we work with many well-meaning sales leaders who believe they have to do everything, be in the center of everything, be the expert of everything. Maybe you feel this way too? It’s pretty common.

    Why do we do this? Because we want it done right and on time! And we need to know what’s happening when we get asked.

    Totally makes sense, right?

    The Truth is: You simply CANNOT do it all!

    So, what did the 3 foot tall, wise old Jedi do? Luckily, Yoda left us many success leadership lessons to learn.

    3 quick lessons to focus on today:

      1. Focus on being Other-Centered®: Stop making it about you and start making it about your individuals and your team. Pick specific elements to coach them on. It could be deals at certain stages or specific activities like time management or prospecting. Some need help with mindset and the ability to see more opportunity than barriers.

        Yoda put his precious time and energy into Luke. It was all about Luke. Luke was often a very slow learner and easily distracted, so…..
      2. Focus on Patience: Growth takes time, effort and encouragement. Something YOU might be excellent at could take someone else months of effort to gain competency. They’re going to fail.  Again. And again. However, you know that investing in people is the highest ROI activity you can make over time. This is also an opportunity for your growth!  

        How many times did Luke fail the training exercise? A LOT! And Yoda pressed on because he knew how important it was, so…..
      3. Focus on Focus: That’s right. Focus on focus. Clear the space. Many things that don’t matter compete for the time and attention of your team. Protect them from these things so you can invest in their growth. Staying on task and keeping them Focused on What Matters® takes discipline on your part and theirs. A LOT of discipline. Together you can accomplish much.
        If the skill or behavior they’re developing is hard, THEY may look for distractions. It’s your role to keep them focused.  

        Yoda did it with Luke when Luke’s mind got cluttered. He helped Luke keep his focus so he could be trained to carry out his mission.

     

    As a result of their many years together, Luke gave Yoda the most honored title he could:

    Teacher

    Our role as leaders is not to be heroes. It’s to humbly invest in those that have entrusted us. To refine them, grow them and seek the ultimate title for us:

    Teacher

    If you’re a sales leader, how many members on your sales team would give you that title? If not that one, what would it be? Micro-manager? Egomaniac? Can’t delegate? Control freak?

    Immediate action:  Take a moment NOW and HONESTLY rate yourself on the focal points above. Better yet, ask your team members. Ask them for candid feedback. Take it in and don’t defend. Learn about you. Carefully consider it.  

    Change is difficult. It usually comes with pain.  

    Luckily Yoda took on the role of teacher, so Luke could maintain balance in the universe. He went on to save many.

    Your mission is equally important: Help your team achieve their personal and business goals, to sell better, to serve more, to achieve THEIR mission! Because their development will serve the greater mission of your entire organization.

    Imagine:  What would be the impact on your team’s production if you achieved an average of 15% improvement in each rep?  Think about it!

    You up for it?

    We are, of course, here to help YOU become a master YODA teacher.  Because we, too, aspire for the title of Teacher.

    The ideas in this article were inspired by Star Wars® and the wonderful book, Mindset by Carol Dweck. I highly recommend you read it!

    #BeBrave!

    P.S. If you’re ready to send your team to an immersion experience that will teach them lessons in focus – then join us on May 15, 2019 in Atlanta. Register today!

    Can’t make it on May 15? Sign up here to get on our list for future events.

  • Sales Productivity and Flight DL 466

    Sales Productivity and Flight DL 466

    This past winter, I was delayed 7 hours and 10 minutes for a flight. It turned out to be the best 7 hours and 10 minutes I’ve had in a LONG time.

    Snow was coming down hard at LaGuardia. Flights were being diverted and cancelled everywhere. It was clear – I wasn’t getting out anytime soon.

    Now what?

    As I sat in the packed Delta SkyClub, I did what I often do: observe. I noticed 4 ‘people types’ that night:

    1. The Freebie: The SkyClub serves unlimited food and alcohol to its members. Many, understandably, chose that path. And tended to stay on that path and it grew in members as the night wore on.
    2. The Homie: I heard them all around the club. Phone calls to loved ones with news of delays and disappointment in not getting there when originally anticipated. After each delay, another call. Usually with escalating frustration around something that can’t be controlled: a winter storm hitting a major airport and the ensuing chaos.
    3. The Entertainer: ESPN, Cosmopolitan magazine, Candy Crush, TV. Rotate between them at a regular interval to burn the minutes off the clock.
    4. The Grinder: They chose to GSD. If you don’t know what GSD is, you may not be a grinder. Email me, I’ll tell you. They hunkered down and became productive. Weren’t thrown off by the events. Made a plan and did it.  

    Why am I sharing this with you? Because we all make choices. We make them daily. We make them about 15 minutes here, an hour there, 30 minutes somewhere else.

    The choice we make is:

    Invest Time or Spend Time

    Time invested creates positive outcomes and lasting impact. Time spent is, well, spent. Never to be recovered.

    In my 7 hr 10 min delay, I had about 6 hours of time where I could CHOOSE how to spend it. Here’s how I invested it:

    • 20 minutes or so enjoying Delta’s food, mostly brownies (I call them protein bars to feel better about it.)
    • 15 minutes on the phone and 10 texts back home re: flight status.
    • 20 minutes on entertainment.
    • 5 hours grinding.  Wrote a blog (if you are a sales leader, you’re gonna love it). Got dozens of open action items knocked out. Got several projects my team is working on moved forward, clarified or started. Followed up with this week’s workshop attendees. Put together prospecting call plans. Followed up on Linkedin leads.

    BONUS! Ran into Saif Rahman, a fellow grinder, and we reminded each other that this inconvenience was out of our control; the Serenity Prayer in action. Got as much done in the SkyClub as many might get done in a full day.

    I know I am a little odd. A little ‘too’ focused at times. I also know by winning these time blocks, whether it’s 15 minutes or 5 hours, I continue to step forward and accelerate my success. I want to be the best I can be. Period. End of story.  

    Being great is way harder than being good. Good isn’t good enough for me.

    How about you? What choices are YOU willing to make?  INVEST time or SPEND time? You really are in control, and you are worth the results.

    I noticed something interesting about the Grinders that night. They weren’t as stressed, fatigued, cranky or worn out as the rest. Focused productivity has a way of energizing when doing nothing can wear you down. Funny how that works.

    #BeBrave!

  • Sales Skills, Like Knives, Get Dull Over Time

    Sales Skills, Like Knives, Get Dull Over Time

    It’s one of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, according to Stephen Covey.

    Tony Robbins speaks on this topic frequently.

    To grow and refine your skills, you must sharpen the saw.

    We’re living in an accelerating market that’s moving toward commoditization at light speed.   (more…)

  • Do you have an anti-outsourcing mindset?

    Do you have an anti-outsourcing mindset?

    I know what insecurity sounds like. It sounds like a conversation I have had with Sales leaders regarding outsourcing dozens of times. It goes like this…

    “Randy, I hear you. This looks like a service we could benefit from, plus you are so charming! But isn’t this MY job?”

    I totally get it.

    It’s not that you CAN’T do it, it’s that you probably SHOULDN’T do it. (Knowing your limitations is a strength.)

    There’s always financial pressures on the business and good sales training firms aren’t cheap.  (Neither are good heart surgeons.)

    There is always the question of the value of sales training. (Tip: Don’t buy sales training. Look for someone who takes a broader view and doesn’t just sell you a cookie cutter program or package.)

    Now that we’ve gotten all the excuses out of the way, lets review the 3 reasons WHY you really need to consider outsourcing for your Sales training.

    1-Competency

    Every. Freaking. Day.  

    That’s how often we do sales training in some form, fashion or function. It might be assessing your overall methodology. Or assessing your teams for competency gaps. Maybe running a customized workshop. Or driving adoption through ongoing field exercises with your team. Perhaps we do 1:1 coaching to ensure adoption. But it is…

    Every. Freaking. Day.

    If you do something every day with the intent of getting better, guess what happens? You get damn good at it. Our 93 NPS is an indicator that we drive high levels of satisfaction. We must have some pretty defined competencies. Why so high? We never stray from our Ideal Target Model.

    2-Content

    The blank PowerPoint slide. The enemy of any new idea! As your partners in the sales training space, we have a broad inventory of content, bundled into topics.

    ✅ Prospecting.  

    ✅ Articulating Business Impact.  

    ✅ Time Management.  

    ✅ Slides.  

    ✅ Video.  

    ✅ Follow up field exercises.  

    This is just the beginning. The amount of content we have at-the-ready to be contextualized for you and your team is staggering!

    The time invested by you to get close to that would be highly unproductive. Your time should never be spent reinventing the wheel. Think of the opportunity cost of that amount of time away from your primary role. Which brings me to the 3rd reason…

    3-Capacity

    Most sales leaders should be, appropriately, focused on pipeline generation, pipeline nurturing and opportunity closure. Because of this, they don’t have the capacity to spend time on assessing the team, building content, leading workshops and driving adoption.

    While well-intended, our experience shows it just doesn’t happen. It ends up on the back burner FOREVER. When outsourced with the right sales training team, their focus is to serve sales leaders like you and your team. This will lighten your load so you can focus on what truly matters.

    This anti-outsourcing mindset is tragic for your sales reps. They NEED and deserve training and when they don’t get it they’ll perform way below potential. Without this development you can expect a continued pattern of missing numbers, low morale and turnover.  (By the way, is training part of your recruiting process? If not, it should be.)

    I get it.  

    We are a sales training firm writing a blog about why YOU need a sales training firm. But this is done from a place of service because we see too many sales teams needlessly suffering. They’re losing opportunity and wasting talent.

    If you want to work with us, great! If not, there are plenty of options out there. I am happy to connect you to them. Honestly.

    Every firm has a different approach and a variety of values to bring to the table. We have many talented competitors in this space. Any qualified Sales training firm will have these two traits:

    1. They are driven to help you and your organization succeed.
    2. They are frustrated by how much they COULD help, but get shut out because of old belief systems.

    Please talk to us. Or find someone whose approach and persona resonates with you. The firm you select should be people that:

    • You want to have lunch with
    • ‘Get’ you and your context
    • Have the scar tissue and experience relevant to your world that will truly make an impact
    • Have metrics to show their success (ie. NPS score or similar)
    • Are invested in your long-term success

    Seriously, don’t do this solo. It’s too important for your success. And doesn’t your team deserve great development?

    The market isn’t slowing down. You don’t have less competitors today than yesterday.  Don’t get left behind.

    Shameless plug:  The mid-year Sales Meeting season is almost upon us. Signup here for our launch checklist to help you and your team in 2019:  https://spanthechasm.com/rr-sko/

  • Are You Managing the Sales Process Backwards?

    Are You Managing the Sales Process Backwards?

    While TRUE, it’s almost always WRONG.  

    “It’s the sales process. Period. Follow the process and you’ll have success!”

    Throughout time, every sales leader has uttered these words to every sales rep.

    Are these sales leaders starting at the wrong end? It’s natural to focus on the sales rep’s failure to execute and very easy to assume they aren’t adhering to the correct sales process.  

    Trust me, I am a process guy and I believe in the science of selling. I preach the 3 Rs, doing the Right things, the Right way, Repeatedly.

    However, focusing first on the process is usually wrong. Because you’re looking at a surface symptom instead of the root problem. There’s much deeper stuff happening here.

    Let’s dissect:

    A sales rep’s execution of the sales process is the 4th element to review, develop and nurture. Yes, you read that correctly – I said 4th!

    Let’s define them in reverse order:

    4th – Execution:
    This is adherence to a process. Are the reps executing the correct sales process and utilizing the available sales tools in order to bring a prospect to a decision?

    3rd – Competency:
    Have they developed the skills and proficiency needed to use the tools and process?

    2nd – Desire:
    Have you worked with the reps to align their personal goals with the organization’s professional mission so they are motivated to achieve success?

    1st – Belief:
    Do they BELIEVE in the core mission of the company and the real impact your company will have for its customers?

    Why is this order so important?

    Without BELIEF, their DESIRE to perform is diminished.

    The fuel to drive them leaks quickly out of the tank.

    Without DESIRE, they won’t develop the lasting COMPETENCIES needed to excel in their role.

    Without COMPETENCY, they won’t attempt or be able to successfully navigate the EXECUTION process that you have so carefully trained them to do.

    As you work with your reps, if you are only focused on their clinical execution, you may likely miss the deeper issues. Start at the beginning and work up from there. You’ll be much more effective and they will be grateful. You will quickly identify the REAL reasons their performance is lagging.

    We recently had this experience with one of our clients. Great rep. Super heart. But this rep wasn’t performing to potential. It showed in their numbers and execution. Instead of starting with the execution, we dove into their belief system.

    It was BROKEN!

    This rep didn’t believe in the process and was questioning the value of the company for their prospects. There was no emotional story to get behind. The WHY wasn’t there. We backed up and addressed these issues. We rebuilt their beliefs.

    Guess what….they are back on track and execution has improved. The CORRECT path was to address their beliefs. Once that was fixed, it was EASY to correct the execution.

    Don’t get me wrong: Execution matters. But it’s pointless to focus there if you don’t have the first 3 in place as a foundation.  

    Having a great roof on a poorly built house is a real problem. Not building up the Beliefs, Desire and Competency first is a waste of your precious time and efforts.

    Let’s do this differently. Let’s do this better. Let’s Focus On What Matters™ FIRST and then move upstream.

    Your reps deserve it and your company needs it. If you need help mapping out these 4 core components of a successful sales process, contact us and we’ll get you headed in the right direction.

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  • The Cost of Being UN-Thankful

    The Cost of Being UN-Thankful

    REPUBLISHED from November 22, 2016

    As we approach the final holiday season, is anyone else sick of being told to be Thankful? Or is it just me?

    We are up to our ears in Turkey-day. The Christmas ads are already pouring in. I can certainly feel some ‘Bah-Humbug’ brewing deep in my soul. We all agree that these are times of political and social unrest.

    (more…)