Are You Participating in Your Own Success?

I rarely do this anymore, but it was a treat spend two full days leading a (somewhat public) workshop for an exceptional group of sellers.

I say “somewhat public” because it was a workshop offered to a group of my client’s sellers. And so, while not everyone in the “Engage Universe” was invited, we did have a select group of people from my client’s universe.

Here is what I learned:

  1. In an open enrollment workshop, you tend to get people who want to be there, not just the people who need to be there. As a result, the room was filled with sellers eager to learn, willing to participate, and open to implementing. There is no doubt that the room was also filled with sellers who were all meeting or exceeding their quota. Lesson Learned: You have the best opportunity to move the bar forward with your top sellers who want to be better.
  2. We had some fun reminiscing and laughing at old school sales tricks such as the puppy dog close, “feel felt found,” and voicemail hacks that leave buyers wondering why you are calling. The consensus? Even the 30-year vets agreed that this stuff never worked, and still does not work. Lesson Learned: While it’s fun to talk about, don’t ever use anything that sounds like a cheesy trick. Trust your gut.
  3. The number one reason sellers hang on to deals too long, even when they know they will never be won, is because they don’t have anything else in their pipeline. Lesson Learned: All closing issues are prospecting issues.
  4. People who need training are disengaged. People who don’t need training are engaged. Lesson Learned: Your best want to get better. Leverage that.
  5. Companies perform better when managers don’t have direct selling responsibilities. Lesson Learned: Player/coaches create dysfunctional sales team.

[bctt tweet=”Sales lessons are everywhere if you’re willing to look and seek them out.” username=”EngageColleen”]

Are you participating in your own success? Above I have outlined five lessons and five ways to improve your business.

I look forward to hearing how you implement them.

Dedicated to increasing your sales,

Colleen