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Ethics

Highlights from the October 15 Sales Effectiveness breakfast

by Paul Sparks on November 6, 2010

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:

http://www.dryvonnesum.com/

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:

  1. Promote your personal strengths
  2. Market your unique skills
  3. Present your personal style
  4. Sell benefits to clients
  5. Deliver unprecedented value
  6. 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” 

Continue Reading…

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Can we survive as salespeople in a world without economic growth?

by Paul Sparks on October 30, 2010

As salespeople we live in a funny world.

Our job is to help our organisations grow by selling more and more of the stuff our organisations produce.  Growth is at the centre of the expectations of the people in our organisations who set sales targets, budgets and forecasts.  And you can bet that this year’s targets are higher than last year’s – and next year’s will be higher again.

I talk with lots of salespeople and sales managers from all sorts of industries – large and small – here in Australia, and from other parts of the globe.  From these discussions, I’ve noticed a couple of things regarding this relentless push for growth.

Firstly, most sales managers accept the targets they’re given, but know that they’re often unrealistic & unachievable.  They simply move forward as discussion on the subject with others in the organisation is usually fraught with danger, and can sometimes be an act of organisational suicide.

And secondly – at a personal level – many salespeople realise that an insatiable quest to grow – to consume more and more “stuff” at the expense of world resources and personal and social compromise is something that doesn’t fit with their world view.

Here’s an alternative vision from Professor Tim Jackson of how we can prosper as individuals and organisations – and move from the constraints of an economic model built on inexorable growth.

Unrealistic?  Maybe – maybe not.

As more and more people look to balance their lives with competing forces – internal and external – ideas like Tim’s could gain great traction.  And the implications for how and what we sell are enormous.

Professor Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development and Director of the Research Group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE) at the University if Surrey in the UK.  For over 20 years Tim has been at the forefront of research and teaching in sustainability.  His latest book – “Prosperity without Growth” – provides an alternative view of how our economic future could look.

You can find out more about Professor Jackson and his work here:

http://www.ces-surrey.org.uk/people/staff/tjackson.shtml

You can read a review of Tim’s latest book – “Prosperity without Growth” here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/23/properity-without-growth-tim-jackson

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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”

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Defining and achieving measurable sales success using a mega planning approach

by Paul Sparks on July 17, 2010

What makes us successful as salespeople?

Is it simply the attainment of sales budgets and targets?

Or are there other elements which are critical to our long term success?

Dr Roger Kaufman is considered to be one of the most influential figures in current educational practice and design, and has been a leader in the area of performance improvement for over 40 years.  One of his key contributions to the field of performance improvement has been the concept of “Mega Planning”.

As salespeople we have a responsibility not only to “make the sale”, but to ensure that our sales work contributes to the overall health and well-being of our wider community (which now, of course extends globally and beyond).  Kaufman’s Mega Planning Model is a simple tool which any sales person or sales leader can use to ensure that their actions are measurable at all levels of interaction.  This article will outline some key elements of Kaufman’s Mega Planning model – and then apply the model specifically to the world of selling*.

But first here’s a quick quiz to see if Mega Planning is for you:

  1. Do you care about your success?  (If no – sorry, but we can’t do anything for you.)
  2. Do you care about societal well-being and adding value to the world?  (And if you don’t – who will?)
  3. Do you care about your organisation’s success?  (If you don’t – please rethink the importance of your partnership with your organisation.  You can do better if you work together.)
  4. Do you care about the usefulness of what your organisation delivers to its outside clients and society?  (This is the key to success for your organisation – and consequently, for you.)
  5. Do you care about the quality of what you deliver to clients?  (Again, the success of yourself and your organisation depends on this.)
  6. Do you care about the quality of that which gets produced by your organisation?  (You should.)
  7. Do you care about operational efficiency and compliance?  (This is important, too.)
  8. Do you care about the availability and quality of resources?  (You need them to succeed.)
  9. Do you care whether your organisation meets its objectives?  (If you don’t –then this process is not for you.)
  10. Are you concerned with the value or worth of what you did and how you did it?  (Again, if you don’t, this process is not for you.)

If you answered yes to questions 2 to 10 – a mega planning approach is for you.

If you didn’t – no problem – please read the rest of this article, and consider the value of moving beyond being task focussed, to embrace a holistic view of your impact in and on the world.

Kaufman provides a framework to help achieve success in strategic thinking and planning.  Before reviewing this, and highlighting the importance of this framework for success in selling and sales management, here are three elements which need to be in place for such an approach to succeed:

  • A societal value-added frame of mind.  This assumes that organisations should be a means to societal ends.
  • A shared determination and agreement on where the organisation is heading – and why.  All those involved need to be in harmony regarding both purpose and the assessment of performance.
  • The use and consistent application of appropriate tools, resources and processes.  If we want to achieve successful outcomes we need to constantly and religiously review and assess the value and effectiveness of the tools at our disposal.

So – if you want to succeed – within a framework which embraces and assumes a greater societal good, what should you do?

There are 3 guides or templates which will Kaufman suggests can help you as you look to define, and then seek to achieve, organisational (and sales) success. Continue Reading…

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Rethinking the 7 habits of highly effective people & Stephen Covey for a new sales audience

by Paul Sparks 7 February 2010

Are there basics – principles – upon which a successful sales career can be built? Is there a framework for decision making in a sales environment which can help us retain our integrity – and around which we can build a competitive edge? Steven Covey’s landmark book – “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” [...]

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Handling the truth in professional selling

by Paul Sparks 16 November 2009

Business is a challenging environment. And selling is a challenging vocation. As salespeople and sales managers – particularly in larger organisations – we can often feel that others in our organisations don’t understand the challenges we face, or the pressures we are put under to achieve our revenue targets. But do the means always justify [...]

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