Over 70 people interested in learning the latest ideas, trends and innovation in professional selling and sales management joined me recently at Luna Park in Sydney for the fifth Sales Effectiveness breakfast event for 2010.
As with the previous four, the feedback was fantastic – I hope to see you for the final breakfast in this series on November 15, 2010. Till then, here are some highlights from October for you.
Yvonne Sum. “Learning partnerships: practical sales leadership lessons from the home front”
Dr Sum gave one of the most inspiring presentations in this year’s breakfast series. Yvonne set the scene for her insights into leadership by talking about change and how we face a world of rapid and often unexpected change.
One way to be an effective leader in this environment is to engage and build “learning partnerships”. Put simply – this means that as leaders we need to partner with our team members – and to harness the power of mutual learning and support. Leaders need to move from being judges – and become partners with their teams to build connection, knowledge and deliver effective action.
Yvonne outlined a simple – yet powerful – 3 part framework (ABC) to help us all do ordinary things well and in the process build extraordinary performance. Here are the key words in this framework:
- Authenticity
- Be present
- Communicate
If leaders embrace and action these things they will over time build a personal platform to allow learning partnerships to flourish.
Find out more by ordering your copy of the DVD of the full presentation:
http://www.saleseffectiveness.com.au/sales-effectiveness-breakfast-event-series-october-2010/
You’ll find more information about Yvonne’s work here:
Rob Salisbury. “Building a successful personal identity and sales career: being CEO of YOU Pty Ltd”
Rob’s lively presentation emphasised the importance of understanding your personal strengths – and building upon them. He gave some great examples of the characteristics of successful people – and the actions they’ve taken to ensure their success. As well as mentioning well known business people and sporting stars – Rob also used less conventional examples, including Sarah Marie who had her period of celebrity following her appearance on “Big Brother”.
Rob then outlined a 6 part process to build your identity and sales career:
- Promote your personal strengths
- Market your unique skills
- Present your personal style
- Sell benefits to clients
- Deliver unprecedented value
- Position your expertise
Find out more by ordering your copy of the DVD of the full presentation:
http://www.saleseffectiveness.com.au/sales-effectiveness-breakfast-event-series-october-2010/
There’s more information about Rob Salisbury and his work here:
http://strategicresources.com.au/
Special Guest – Barbara Lichti (legal counsel) – “Legal pitfalls every sales professional needs to avoid”
Barbara took us on a quick tour of some of the aspects of Australian consumer law which impact salespeople today – including discussions on competition and misleading and deceptive conduct. We were reminded of the consequences of acting in a collusive manner, and provided with concrete examples of how people had made mistakes – both intentionally and unintentionally – by having discussions with competitors.
She also discussed the implications of how social media can have a negative impact on our work relations – and can also lead to possible legal problems.
Barbara left us on a positive note by giving us three things to remember about handling the myriad of laws which can impact our sales activities:
- Always act independently and stick to non-business topics when mixing with competitors
- Ensure that the information you provide to others, and the overall impression you convey is truthful and accurate
- Don’t say anything on social media you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the local newspaper
If you missed the event – you can still see and hear the complete presentation set on DVD. Order you copy here by registering as a virtual attendee of the breakfast series:
http://www.saleseffectiveness.com.au/sales-effectiveness-breakfast-event-series-october-2010/
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Thanks for reading this post – Paul Sparks, Sales Effectiveness Australasia.
“Taking you beyond sales training and keeping you informed about the latest ideas, trends, innovation, research & best practice in professional selling and sales management”
If you would like to connect with Paul Sparks please email paulsparks [at] saleseffectiveness.com.au
