Cats take the road less travelled by being human-centred

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Human-centred, Success, Wellbeing

Despite the prevailing ‘leadership’ paradigms of the last 40-50 years of ‘win-at-all-costs’ profit maximisation, command-and-control, and the cult of celebrity CEOs, that haven’t been good for business sustainability, or the wellbeing of employees, suppliers, customers, communities, and the planet, it’s deeply satisfying as both a long-time advocate for human-centred, sustainable business practices and a Cats supporter, to see the Geelong Football Club (GFC) not only win another premiership but choose a different model to do so.

A model that values a human-centred, inclusive, community-minded, and respectful culture.

A model that includes and values the contributions made by all sorts of people making …

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Sales Career? There’s plenty to be proud of

Sales Career? There’s plenty to be proud of

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Blog, Self Development

Pride is a contentious subject especially when it is associated with the sales profession.

On one hand, Pride is defined as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.  Associated feelings like Satisfaction, Content, Fulfillment, Pleasure, Delight and Joy also spring to mind.

On the other hand, Pride, or the more accurate term Vainglory, describes excessive or ostentatious pride especially in one’s achievements resulting in vanity and potentially arrogance, conceit, pomp, ostentation, egotism, narcissism, pride, vanity, ego trip and …

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Sales skills future-proof careers and margins

By / / Blog, Digital credentials, Education in Sales, Human-centred, Learning and Development, Sales Skills

We have discussed the importance of soft skills in the past, in fact, it was one of our 12 Sales Trends for 2020.

However, this is an increasingly relevant topic. It is estimated that by 2030 soft skills will be key in 2 out of 3 jobs. Those with the right skills in the right context will increasingly choose how, where and when they work, and businesses that invest in developing their employees’ soft skills will benefit, too. It’s been estimated by Deloitte Access Economics that employees with effective soft skills could increase revenue by more than $90,000 …

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decarbonising-sales-training

Decarbonising Sales Training

By / / Blog, Decarbonising, Education in Sales, Environment & Sustainability, Learning and Development, Sales Training, Sales Trends, Sustainability & Environment

Sales trend 9 of the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 is about the changes we need to make to training and development programs to progress a decarbonised sales operation and how those changes have a positive impact in the ROI of training and development initiatives.

How much time do salespeople spend on the road, in cars or planes, in hotels, conference venues, away from work and their customers, to attend classic training events like a 2-day sales conference or days of workshops at headquarters? So when we talk about decarbonising sales training the question is twofold: Is it …

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TheRaceToTheBottom

Does anyone benefit from a race to the bottom?

By / / Blog, Ethics & Values, Procurement, Sales Relationships

This is not the first time I have written about Race to the Bottom issues, nor will it likely be the last. However, I am prompted to raise this topic again given the rise in businesses, especially those in the building sector, going bust.

We work across industries and last week I was working with a B2B sales team in the building and construction sector about how to deal with their civil contractor clients who are caught in fixed price contracts (of their own making) with their developer clients and are now trying to avoid price increases with our client expecting …

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get-badged-recognition-for-your-sales-capabilities

Get badged! Get properly recognised for your sales capabilities

By / / Assessments, Blog, Education in Sales, Learning and Development, Sales Essentials, Sales Training

There is nothing like that feeling of accomplishment, especially when we’ve stepped outside our comfort zone and learnt something new, challenged our abilities, or put the work in to better ourselves and attain levels of mastery in core disciplines and reap the rewards.

Independently, people undertake learning via self-study or courses to better themselves every day, whether it’s for work, career, or just personal interest. Some get university degrees or certificates to validate their study and accomplishments.

However, many of us participate in courses and programs offered by our organisations or we might do some online course to better ourselves but how …

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No More Games - Fostering Healthy Relationships

No More Games: Fostering Healthy Relationships

By / / Blog, Brand & Reputation, Common Ground, Ethics & Values, Human-centred, Sales Relationships

No more games*! Now more one-upmanship! No more outfoxing, outsmarting or outwitting others at their expense!

Instead, what about playing it straight and acting with honesty, integrity, and transparency?

What about prioritising and fostering healthy relationships in business and life?

In this pandemic VUCA** riddled world, many people already have a lot on their minds, assessing risk and worrying about their future. Being in a constant state of wariness is exhausting.

Finding someone you can trust and rely upon to do a good job, someone who wants to work with you, has your back, and understands and respects you in this turbulent sea of …

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The-Decarbonised-Sales-Team-and-Workforce-Structure

The Decarbonised Sales Team & Workforce Structure

By / / Blog, Decarbonising, Hybrid Selling, Sales Trends, Sustainability & Environment

Sales Trend 8 from the Barrett’s 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 is about the decarbonisation of our sales and service teams and workforce structure.

Many (future-oriented) organisations have been promoting the hybrid work model for years. Technology businesses, in particular, have had remote teams for some time. However, the majority of businesses had been slower and sometimes reluctant to provide a working environment where staff could work from home, even part time.

All that hesitancy disappeared overnight in 2020 when we were all forced to stay at home due to COVID-19. All that seemed difficult -even impossible- materialised …

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sales-process-helps-your-sales-team-sell-better-faster

Sales Process – A roadmap to sales success

By / / Blog, Customer experience, Sales Process Maps, Success

Imagine navigating through a big city without a roadmap or a sat nav system. If you’re lucky and have experience (aka a history of trial and error), or are good at recognising landmarks, you may work out a preferred route, but it may not be the best or fastest route you can take. If you are new to the city or to driving, or if your favourite route is blocked your journey may be more unpredictable, more time consuming, more frustrating, and random.

A sales process provides the same kind of orientation and direction that a navigation system does. It …

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assess-your-sales-operations

5 minutes to assess your sales operations

By / / Assessments, Blog, Business Growth, Sales Benchmarking, Sales Consulting, Sales Culture, Sales Growth, Sales Operations, Sales performance

Sales operations are complex systems with many moving parts. So, when we are not getting the sales results that we expect, it’s easy to misdiagnose the cause (or causes) of the problem.

Traditionally, sales leaders, and sometimes Learning and Development professionals, equate poor sales performance to lack of skill and/or will within the sales team and so the obvious solution is sales training. However, more often than not, lack of sales skill and/or will is only part of the problem.

Here are the most common issues we find in sales operations that negatively affect sales results:

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