Are your salespeople stumbling at hello?

By / / Assessments, Attitudes & Behaviours, Sales performance

We all want better sales performance and, as I mentioned last week, there are different ways to get there. A good starting point to understand what your team needs to sell better and improve their performance is assessing where they need help.

For example, through an attitude and activity based questionnaire you can measure if people avoid making phone calls to prospect, if they hesitate to prospect, and self-promote for new business. You can also identify how much initiative, energy and drive an individual devotes to proactive sales prospecting and the amount of energy spent …

Are your salespeople stumbling at hello? Read Post »

We all want better sales performance, but what works best?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales performance, Sales Results, Success

Most of us will agree that as sales leaders we want better and more consistent sales performance. The approaches on how to get there, however, vary greatly.

Some tactics offer a temporary lift in sales while other strategies deliver more sustainable changes and lifts in performance over the long term.

We’ve outlined three different approaches organisations take to improve sales performance and their impact.

Annual sales training session/conference – 1 or 2 day workshop

Effect
Result score out of 10

Popularity
9

Long term effectiveness
2

Team building
7

Risk
5

Return on investment
3

This is by far the most popular choice amongst sales managers and business leaders. However, the question that needs to be asked …

We all want better sales performance, but what works best? Read Post »

Trust is the heartbeat of business, sales and society

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Communication, Competition, Ethics & Values, Sales Culture, Sales Relationships

I have been writing about Trust in sales and business for many years; however, this year has seen a rise in my output on this topic, especially with the fallout from the Banking Royal Commission with posts such as:

The Flight to Ethical Selling – how the banks can avoid a royal commission

What does Selling Better mean for customers and shareholder return?

What are the biggest issues facing CEOs and sales leaders today?

Yet, trust is the heartbeat of business, sales and society.

Without this life force pumping vitality through our collective systems every day …

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How Sales and Marketing can excel in a world in flux

By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Attitudes & Behaviours, Collaboration, Marketing, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Results, Sales Trends

In this sales trend from the Barrett’s 12 Sales Trends Report for 2018, David Hubbard explains what sales and marketing can do working together to excel at generating revenue.

Who’s in flux? The Buyer. They have dramatically changed how they identify, evaluate and purchase solutions over the past 10 years, and they continue to evolve. Every member of the buyer team for B2B and considered B2C purchases has instant mobile access to the information they need throughout each stage of their purchasing process.  Even when they are fully engaged with us, they are constantly interacting with our competitor’s information.

As a …

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Selling isn’t only for salespeople

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Education in Sales, Ethics & Values, Life Skills, Self Promotion, Selling Better, Success

Have you ever tried to persuade someone about the merits of a new idea, service or initiative?

Most surely you have. Countless times.

People do this all the time, since we were born; in our personal, professional and community lives. It is part of being human.

So how did your efforts go?

Did you get their attention?

Did you manage to convince them to adopt your idea?

Did you both get what you wanted out of the exchange?

Did you feel satisfied that you made a positive impact?

Maybe. Maybe not.

It all depends on how well you were able to enlist all the skills and qualities of good …

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The alarming findings about the Peter Principle & Sales Managers

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Coaching, Collaboration, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Talent

Have you ever worked with someone who was really effective in one role but then promoted to other roles, usually management, and ended having no idea and no real capacity to fulfil that role in a competent manner?

Chances are your answer is ‘yes’.

This is a common occurrence in many organisations where people are continually promoted until they are no longer effective in their roles – basically they rise to their level of incompetence. This is referred to as the Peter Principle which was highlighted by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in 1969.

Basically, the problem arises when the skills that makes someone …

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What are the biggest sales issues & opportunities for CEOs & Sales Leaders today?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Sales Benchmarking, Sales Consulting, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Strategy, Strategy

Since late 2014, we have been rolling out the Sales Strategy & Operations Audit working with a wide range of businesses across industries in the public, private, and N4P sectors to help them sell better.

In 2017, we compiled the Barrett Sales Strategy & Operations Benchmark Report for 2015-2017 based on over 20 companies and found several trends emerging that are relevant across businesses and industries. We are also seeing this across many other businesses with or without the audit.

Here is what we found:

The biggest sales issues facing CEOs & Sales Leaders today:

  • Average or below average: Every business …

    • What are the biggest sales issues & opportunities for CEOs & Sales Leaders today? Read Post »

    Sales Trend 4: Buyer Behaviours, AI & the Future of Sales Roles

    By / / 12 Sales Trends Pages Category, Attitudes & Behaviours, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Customer Service, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Trends

    Sales Trend 4 from the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2018 is about buyer behaviours and the future of sales roles.

    According to Gartner Research, by 2020 85% of interactions between businesses will be executed without human interaction. [i]

    Automation has already diminished the number of people required for blue collar manufacturing roles; however, with the advent of AI (artificial intelligence), big data and algorithms, we are beginning to see sweeping changes happening across the once untouchable white collar sector, including the very people-oriented roles of sales, as many buyers shift part or all of their buying journey …

    Sales Trend 4: Buyer Behaviours, AI & the Future of Sales Roles Read Post »

    What does Selling Better mean for customers and shareholder return?

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Ethics & Values, Sales Culture, Sales Leadership, Sales Relationships, Sales Results

    I have to start with the bad news on this topic.

    Are any of us surprised by the current revelations stemming from the Australian Banking Royal Commission?

    Possibly not.

    Are any of us surprised as to the extent of the unethical and illegal behaviours documented and admissions made by senior management into the systemic corruption of their businesses, especially in the financial planning sector?

    Possibly yes.

    It is utterly astounding, the admissions being made by senior management of the likes of AMP and CBA. Then comes the audacity of blaming growing shareholder returns as their excuse to exploit and deceive customers. Saying they were unaware …

    What does Selling Better mean for customers and shareholder return? Read Post »

    What does Selling Better mean to sales team’s retention rates?

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Customer Service, Education in Sales, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Essentials, Sales Process Maps, Sales Strategy, Selling Better, Uncategorized

    What do you make of this statistic?

    The average tenure of a sales representative across Europe and USA is currently 15 months.

    Ouch!

    There are other stats that also show the average staff turnover can be anything around 25-50% per annum, or more in some cases.  Some call centres experience turnover rates of over 70% per annum.

    These statistics are alarming because the costs associated with poor engagement and high staff turnover are monumental and can manifest in many ways including decline in sales, poor customer service, loss of reputation leading to more loss of customers and employees, and impaired recruitment. If not addressed, …

    What does Selling Better mean to sales team’s retention rates? Read Post »

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