Tony's Sales Training Blog

Internim Sales Management

2010-10-22T18:11:00.001+01:00

We are currently seeking three companies who would like to transform their sales in the coming year.

As some of our interim projects coming to an end, appleton are looking for three new companies to work with in 2011.

Could this be you?

• You are too busy running your business to devise and implement an effective business development strategy.
• You often have creative ideas on how to develop your business but need someone to make it happen.
• You would love to introduce a more efficient sales process to your business but aren’t sure where to start.
• You would love a blue chip sales director to lead your sales operation, but can’t justify the salary.
• You feel you could get more from your sales force, but aren’t sure how to approach it.
• You are not sure whether or not your customers will accept a price increase, or whether your sales force is capable of ‘Selling a Price Increase’ professionally.
• You have invested in sales training before but not achieved the expected return on investment.
Well appleton might just have the solution you are seeking.
read more about our Interim sales management

Why Sales Training Can Benefit ALL of Your Sales Team

2010-10-19T11:29:00.002+01:00

They look something like this:
Star Performer: Limited in numbers, worth their weight in gold!
High Pressure Closer: Wins their share of business, - fails to build long lasting relationships.
Relationship Specialist: Builds good customer relationships, - can fail to spot sales opportunities.
Sales Scholar: A professional student of sales, NOT a sales professional.
Systems Specialist: Knows their way around the systems, - doesn't spend enough time with customers.

Depending on the size of your team there will be a number of different types within your overall team, and it is highly likely that the majority of your sales team will not be made up of 'Star Performers' , it is therefore important to ensure you do everything you can to develop your team and create more 'Star Performers'

Often when a sales training initiative is being considered, reasons for NOT training certain groups are identified, some examples are listed below:

Possible Reason not to train
Star Performer: Too valuable to take off the road!
High Pressure Closer: Would be offended if they believed we think they need training.
Relationship Specialist: Will always be a good account manager, but not proactive enough to warrant training.
Sales Scholar: Has probably heard it all before.
Systems Specialist: Don't spend enough time in face to face selling situations to deliver an acceptable ROI.

It is not a good idea to exclude these groups from sales training events
here are some reasons why:

Star Performer: As they do such a good job they will be upset from being excluded from such an event. These people are eager to learn and open to change.

High Pressure Closer: Send this group on the pilot programme the more they are involved the more they will tell their peers what a great course it is.

Relationship Specialist: Managing an account is not enough in today's business environment. Developing new business from both existing and new accounts is critical.

Sales Scholar: This group need to understand how to implement their ideas. Behavioural change is the key.

Systems Specialist: Even utilising today's technology, salespeople in this group need to develop better influencing skills so they are more confident in the face to face selling situation.

Location, Location, Location, most people understand the significance of this in the property market so why not adopt a Training, training, training mentality when considering the ongoing development of your sales team?

The more you train your salespeople, the better they will become. They will be able to adapt their selling style to accommodate different types of buyer. They will be equipped to ask better quality questions and by listening to the answers create more proposals that meet the requirements of your customers. They will be more motivated to make important changes to their everyday routines. They will make more of an effort to differentiate themselves from your competitors' sales people. The potential benefits are endless.

In order to realise these benefits there are three key elements that need to be in place:
1. Pre training communication
2. The training event
3. Follow up

Pre training Communication:
The more a sales person understands why they are being asked to attend a training event, and more importantly what's in it for them, the more they can link the corporate benefits to what impact it will have of their personal motivators the more they will want to participate.

The Training Event:
These people are used to being out and about. Make sure the event is interesting, relevant and participative. They will all know what it is like to fight to stay awake as a trainer waffles on for hours demonstrating their new Power Point skills! The more involved they are the more likely they are to discover how new ideas could impact their results.

Follow up:
From action planning to coaching, there are many ways to follow up the training itself. In order to achieve the maximum return on investment you will need to decide how you are going to measure the results. Remember -You can't manage what you don't measure!

The Profession of Selling Debate.

2010-08-31T13:31:00.002+01:00

I recently had an interesting after dinner debate with a group of people regarding careers. In the room there was a solicitor, a doctor, a marketing manager, an accountant, a bank manager, and of course myself the salesman!
A number of the people in the group were somewhat surprised to learn I had devoted my entire career on sales. It was even suggested that selling isn’t really a career. Many years ago I would have reacted in a slightly different way but this is not the first time I have been involved in a discussion of this nature.
The initial argument was centred on the point that of all of the professions represented, ‘selling’ was the only one that did not require a qualification. I do concede this point and think more should be done to introduce a professional selling qualification that should be mandatory before a salesperson is allowed to practice. This would prevent any potential buyers from being exposed to the ‘cowboys’ or the ‘sales sharks’. The main point I wanted to get across though was the irony of the debate, because every one of the qualified professionals were in someway dependant on ‘Sales’, even more ironic was the fact that most of them had regularly played a part in the selling process. Some of them even admitted to attending some sales training, at some point in their careers.
The fact is whatever department you are in there will be some dependency on the sales team. Without people continuously selling your products or services your company will not attract sufficient revenue, if you don’t have orders you don’t need anyone to fulfil them!
More importantly, businesses have to recognise exactly who does play a part in the sales process and ensure that no matter how well qualified they are, they are given the required training to ensure they integrate with the sales team. I personally believe that whatever your chosen career, you are better equipped for long term success if you are competent in selling.
Whether or not you are an accountant, an architect, a lawyer, or a bank manager, you will almost certainly meet customers from time to time, is that not selling? You will want to convince internal and external customers that your particular viewpoint is the best way to proceed, is that not selling? You may even sit with prospective clients in an attempt to convince them to leave their current service provider and give you their business, surely that is selling.
I am pleased to write that most of the people in the group admitted that ‘selling’ is often overlooked as a both as a profession and as an important business unit, and in the absence of any regulation that is unlikely to change. More importantly as long as companies are allowed to employ people with little or no sales experience, who deploy devious tactics to entice people to place an order with them, the image of the sales person is unlikely to change and we will continue to have these debates for a long time.

Is now a good time to consider investing in sales training?

2010-07-29T14:28:00.001+01:00

The easy answer is of course ‘NO’, however, is there ever a good time? We are moving close to, or getting over Christmas, then waiting for the start of the new tax year. Then we have Easter, quickly followed by the summer holidays, and before we know it we are once again preparing for Christmas.

There is of course another viewpoint, we are trying to recover from a tough period of recession, there are not as many sales leads coming into the business as we would like, there are fewer new opportunities out there and your competitors are trying harder than ever to penetrate your account base.

Maybe now is the time to consider investing in sales training!

What can sales people learn from David Cameron and Nick Clegg?

2010-05-27T13:20:00.001+01:00

The forming of the first coalition government for sixty five years has given salespeople the opportunity to learn from an unusual source.
When Clegg and Cameron first started negotiating there were some significant differences between them, how often is this the case when sales people initially sit down with prospective customers?
The Tories, under David Cameron, seemed to understand the demand from the electorate for a new kind of politics better than many in Old Labour, and responded to it with speed, understanding and a good deal of statesmanship.
There is a huge lesson to be learned here, put simply it is, ‘The quicker you understand what your prospective customer wants, and the faster you respond, the better your chance of beating your competition to winning the business!’
If salespeople asked more questions and understood the issues their potential customers faced they would find it a lot easier to propose a solution that created a desire to proceed, unfortunately many salespeople prescribe solutions before they fully understand the requirement of their customers. Sales training in the UK has not always made this clear. The aim of a salesperson should not be to simply ‘Sell’ a concept or idea. Their primary objective is to make their customers want to buy whatever they offer.
You can't build the new politics of partnership without both sides making compromises, is this not also true of any new business relationship? We all know that certain buyers will ask for every conceivable extra without paying for it. We also know there are salespeople who attempt to ask a high price for their product or service without explaining the value proposition to their customer.
So ask more questions, put the interests of your customer before your own interests, find out exactly what they need, and the value it would deliver to their business and their customers’ businesses if you were able to provide it. Once you have established those facts you can shape a proposition around their needs. If you have done your job well and proposed a real solution for them you will create some initial desire. (Something Gordon Brown failed to do with Nick Clegg!) The moment you have created some desire you can begin to negotiate. It is after all pointless asking someone to compromise when they do not really want what you are offering in the first place!
Remember if two parties really want to make an agreement they will find a way to move forward. It doesn’t mean that once an agreement has been reached the ensuing journey will be without problems. However as long as both parties want to continue working together solution will be found.
So as I wish the new coalition government every success as they work towards solving our national crisis, I wish all of you salespeople whose main priority in helping solve your customers crisis’s an equally successful future.
Make sure you continue to get your customers’ vote!

Is social networking having an adverse effect on the sales profession?

2010-04-20T17:50:00.002+01:00

With the massive growth of sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and You Tube, are we in danger of instigating a gradual loss of the skills and competencies that are vital to a successful salesperson?

As with all technological developments there are positive and negative outcomes, and the positive benefits of this element of the technical revolution are clear for all to see. Without doubt social networking sites are playing an ever increasing role in the business world. However, are some people becoming too dependent on them?

My concern is that if we only focus on one outcome, the overall strategy can be diluted. I don’t believe that being on page one of Google can be the only marketing strategy for winning new business. If we fall into this trap we will gradually lose the marketing skills we have developed to help inform us which campaigns are delivering the best return on investment. We will also lose some of the sales skills that are crucial to the success of a business, if we are reliant purely on the amount of traffic we can steer towards a particular page on our web site.

There are a number of traditional key performance indicators that are being overlooked in our quest to be seen in the most positive light by our online peers, for example would you rather have a salesperson whose LinkedIn profile is so well documented they are being headhunted by your competitors every month, or would you prefer a salesperson who had an adequate online presence, but whose primary focus was their sales funnel. Who measured the amount of new business potential coming from their new accounts?

I am working with a growing number of people who are spending less time in face to face selling situations. Who are losing sight of the real market demand for their products and services and what market share they have, and whether or not that figure is increasing in line with corporate expectations or not. I have two concerns about this trend.

Selling is an interactive process, a salesperson should use their interpersonal skills to create sales opportunities and turn those opportunities into sales, buyers will have a number of questions to ask before they are in a position to proceed, and if we spend less time with them we run the risk of missing some of those opportunities. Using the internet to communicate with potential customers at critical times in the sales process can have a massive impact on the outcome.

In addition to this if we spend less time with our customers we can miss out in gaining access to some critical facts about our business, and if we don’t have that information how can we revisit our sales training and marketing plans and make any necessary tweaks to them?

The key is doing exactly what needs to be done to ensure your online presence creates the desired effect, whilst retaining a focus on your sales measurement criteria.

'Well Done' to one of my students!

2010-02-13T12:24:00.006Z

Yesterday, I received an email from a delegate who attended one of my courses about four years ago. From the moment he entered the room I could detect his appetite to learn more about sales best practice from whoever he could. He told me he wanted to become successful in the job he was in, and develop a long term career in sales. At the end of the three day training course he told me he was more confident than ever before in succeeding thanks to some of the new tips and techniques he had discovered. In the coming weeks I received a number of emails from him telling me how well his new sales approach was working for him.
It was no surprise to see him become one of the top salesmen in his company and a regular winner of sales incentives. Inevitably, he was headhunted into a new position and our contact diminished. I was delighted to hear from him and even more pleased to learn that he had just landed his first six figure order for his new company!
I can’t begin to describe the feeling you get when you know that you have played a part in shaping the future for someone who spent a relatively short time with you. But in that time discovered new ideas and techniques that will stay with them forever.
It is simply wonderful to help somebody shape their future!

The power of positive thinking

2010-01-07T10:37:00.005Z

After seeing Sir Alan Sugar get so annoyed after being asked a question about the recession, I thought I would blog some of my thoughts about positive thinking....without the F words!!!

We all know that when you’re bursting with confidence and enthusiasm you’ve a far greater chance of making that sale.
It’s all about attitude. If you’re in the wrong frame of mind when you start talking to your potential customer then you won’t sell a bean. After all, if you don’t sound passionate about your product or service then why on earth should your customer bother to give you an order?
In my view it’s absolutely crucial to give off the right vibes, and it’s vital that you make the best impression and come across as a person with whom the customer wants to do business.
If you appear to have a negative attitude or be in a bad mood, then I am convinced that this can actually be quite scary for your customer. Their reaction to you will be poor, and your chances of making a sale are zero.
You should take the instinct further and develop a conscious mood meter to judge exactly how you feel before you meet a customer. You need to ask yourself how you feel on a scale of one to 10. If you can’t be bothered getting out of bed, then you’re scoring low at 1, and if you feel that nothing can stop you, then you’ve reached the zenith zone of 10.
So ideally you need to get to a 10 frame of mind every time you go out to make a sale? Well, surprisingly no. This is not the best place to be as you could come across as hyperactive, edgy or just downright annoying.
I actually believe that 8.5 to 9 are the perfect mood scores for successful sales people, and it is this level you need to achieve for maximum clinch-the-deal effectiveness.
If you judge yourself as being a 5-8.5 then don’t go out to sell unless you can boost yourself higher. If you’re rating lower than 4 then you have a serious problem and need to work much harder at getting to the right level.
So what do you do when it’s 9am on a Monday morning, you’ve had a row with your partner, your head aches and it’s raining? You’ve got a meeting booked for 10am with a potential client 20 minutes drive away, and you really can’t be bothered. You would far rather cancel the meeting, stay in your nice dry office with a cup of coffee and read the paper.
It may be tempting to give into this feeling, but of course it really isn’t the solution. You will feel a million times better if you can overcome your mood, perform well and win a new order.
You may be surprised to know that the average person has around 200 mood swings every day. It’s just not that difficult to switch from mood to mood, and we can all shift from joy to fear to depression within seconds. But it’s no good waiting for your mood to shift; it’s up to you to put in some control mechanisms to get yourself into the right frame of mind.
There’s one very simple way of increasing your positive feelings, and that is to smile. Look in a mirror, put a huge grin on your face and watch the difference. Go a step further, and start smiling at people – you’ll see that just about everyone starts smiling back. It’s contagious, happiness really does spread.
Next you need to actively conjure up images in your mind about what makes you feel happy, positive and content. It might be thinking about your children or pet iguana, or perhaps remembering a time when you were relaxing on a warm beach with waves lapping gently in the background. Try to remember a time when you were perfectly happy and think about how you felt at that moment. Just doing this can shift your mood up a gear.
There is another very easy way to lift a mood, and that is to listen to favourite upbeat music. Get lost into it for a few minutes, tap your toes and maybe even sing along. I guarantee you’ll feel better.
Changing mood is really all about being able to adopt the right attitude. We all have bad sales calls from time to time, and find ourselves up against difficult, awkward and unresponsive customers. If this happens to you, don’t dwell on it and sink into despondency. Instead just forget about it, move on and start all over again.
However gloomy the situation you are in appears to be, make a conscious decision to look for the positive side. For instance, you might be stuck on the M25 for two hours on your way to see a customer. Change your headset from frustration and annoyance, and instead tell yourself how lucky you are to be able to spend two solid hours on your own listening to your favourite music turned up loud.
I would also recommend that you stay clear of negative colleagues. We all know that sales people within a team tend to talk each other down. They might do this by moaning about the price of a new product or complaining about how their boss has treated them unfairly. Once these sort of conversations start they spiral into further negativity until everyone feels downright depressed. Successful people get detached from those groups and away from anyone who has the ability to make them feel negative or downhearted.
I also have a simple but amazingly effective method to make my frame of mind more positive. I have a photo album that captures moments in time that I have enjoyed. I keep mementos of all my best times which might be a theatre ticket, photo of me looking terror struck on a theme park ride, a programme from a match my team won or a particularly nice letter of thanks from a customer. On the last Sunday of the month I look through the collection and decide what to put into my special mood-enhancing album. If I am having a tough time all I need to do is start looking through the album, relive those good moments and I will be at mood level nine in an instant. This is a trick I have been using for years and it always works for me. It’s brilliant.
It really is very easy to harness the powers within yourself to change your mood. In turn this improves your attitude and reaps huge benefits in terms of your personal success at selling. It works, so try it!

Special Offer

2009-12-16T11:13:00.002Z

The Must-Have Book for Wealthy Authors This Christmas

My friends, Debbie Jenkins and Joe Gregory, are doing a special Christmas launch with
over £150 of bonuses when you buy just one copy of their new book - The Wealthy Author - before Friday 18th December 2009.

http://www.publishingacademy.com/119-10-5-13.html

For just £15 (or $25) you'll get a print copy of their acclaimed book, Free access to Publishing Academy for 30 days and loads of bonus content, ebooks and resources all authors and budding authors will love.

http://www.publishingacademy.com/119-10-5-13.html

I won't say any more here, other than they've also limited this launch to the first 200 people to buy because they want to ensure all their new customers are well looked after.

If you're interested then Debbie has a personal message for you with instructions here... http://www.publishingacademy.com/119-10-5-13.html

Note: Debbie and Joe asked me personally to share this message with my contacts so, if you get a message like this more than once congratulations! You're moving in the right social circles!

http://www.publishingacademy.com/119.html

Do We Need A Sales Institute?

2009-11-03T16:00:00.004Z

I was intrigued to read the article titled ‘The Sales Revolution’ from Modern Selling, (If you haven’t read it here it is, http://www.appleton-associates.co.uk/Sales-Articles/) I am now extremely curious to find out how many people feel the same way.
For many years I have been disappointed about how the Institute of Professional Sales suddenly became a part of CIM and I never fully understood where the ISMM fitted.
We are the only profession without such an institute and this reflects in the image anyone outside of sales has of us. As things currently stand anyone can be a ‘Salesperson’ if they or their company decide. Is it any wonder we can’t get recognised as a profession? If people had to qualify first (Which doesn’t necessarily means examinations). It would make a huge difference in ensuring agreed standards were adhered to.
Members of such an association could benefit from help in areas such as:
• To advance the skills of the members and provide support for them by constantly seeking leading edge techniques and solutions.
• To promote the interests of the members, by means of training, coaching, publicity, etc.

• To liaise with various official bodies in an attempt to standardise selling regulations, and eradicate bad practise.

• To promote the use of professional selling tactics at all times.

• To organise training events, recognition initiatives and member networking events.

• To provide assistance, advice and guidance to members.

• To promote excellence within the profession of selling.

• To place members into key sales positions within top 500 companies.

If enough people have a true desire to make something happen I am certain it is possible, and I am even more certain our profession would benefit from the initiative.
If you feel we need a strong institute dedicated to sales people please let me know.

The Apprentice

2009-06-08T09:33:00.002+01:00

So Yasmina did it! I think Sir Alan had a peep at our site as the results of our poll suggested Yasmina would pip Kate and get the job. Anyway thanks to all of them for making the series a good one and best of luck to them all in their future careers.

Coming Soon......Appleton Social Networking Module!

2009-06-05T16:57:00.002+01:00

After a meeting with my webmaster today we have decided to create a ‘Community’ on the appleton website. With the popularity of these social networking sites like ‘Facebook’ and ‘LinkedIn’ it seems a great way to encourage ex delegates, co-workers, friends and other salespeople from across the world to help create a valuable sales resource, where we can all share ideas, hints and best practice. So next week we will begin to set it up and hopefully start to attract people who want to be a part of our sales community. Watch this space!

New Appleton Web Site

2009-06-02T16:13:00.002+01:00

So our new web site goes live today, along with all of the promises for content management and SEO! I have tried to incorporate some valuable sales information to help any visitors improve their sales techniques. If you visit the site I hope you find it useful.

Experience Counts!

2009-05-06T18:05:00.001+01:00

I am in Miami running a sales courses the average length of service with the delegates is SEVENTEEN YEARS! They are still hungry for new ideas and success. No wonder my client is a market leader

Sales Training in Latin America

2008-06-27T16:23:00.008+01:00

I recently had the privilege to run some sales training programmes in Latin America. Not only was I excited to travel to a part of the world I had not previously visited, but to run one of my sales programmes there was an honour.
I was totally amazed by the delegates appetite to learn. The courses were run in English so they had to listen, think, write, and speak in a language they do not use every day for business.
Each and every one of them had their phrase books and would not let one word pass them if they didnt understand it. This meant we would fall behind so they willingly reduced the duration of breaks and worked later than the allocated time!
It was an absolute pleasure to work with my delegates, I dont think I have ever felt so much pride and satisfaction whilst running a sales workshop. Most of them have contacted me since the training to tell me what has been working for them.

WOW I love my job!

'A I D A' in New York

2008-02-28T00:25:00.005Z

I was working in New York last week, as my wife was with me we decided to do some shopping over the weekend, We visited a number of shops (Surprise surprise) but two in particular got me thinking about one of the oldest sales acronyms in existence AIDA. (E.K. Strong 1925)

You may be wondering how I got thinking about this whilst shopping well heres why:

As we walked into a shop called SAVON in Soho, we were intrigued by the sight of a very large basin in the middle of the shop. The girl working there could see we had not visited before and began to explain that we could try any product out on display and then wash our hands to feel the effect. She made it sound such fun it was impossible to refuse. We were left alone to try out as many of the products as we wished and before too long we were more worried about exceeding our baggage allowance than any price tags, in fact price had not even been mentioned. She simply noticed us paying attention to the basin as I entered her shop, she got our attention by the way she invited us to have some fun and try out some products to see how good they were, and she certainly created a desire for us to purchase some goods. We left thoroughly delighted by the experience.

A short while later we walked into a hand bag shop as we walked through the door we were told everything was reduced by 70% today, this cast some huge doubts over the quality of the goods on sale. The girl who worked there began to select a number of items that she thought my wife would like, and told us once again they were reduced by 70%, she then walked to stand in front of the door implying we were not leaving unless we bought something. I cannot begin to explain the look on my wifes face. She would not have left with a bag if she had been paid to take one! We left rather quickly rejecting the offer to take one of the girls business cards as we were both certain we would not need it.

As we left I smiled to myself and realised the power of the two experiences, I think it proves that no matter how sophisticated we try to make our sales processes, there are two key lessons here:
1. Never forget tried and tested basics that are applicable to your sales process
2. If you create sufficient desire price is rarely an objection!

Oh - in case you were wondering my hands are very soft as I am typing this blog!

Role Profiles

2007-11-17T11:10:00.001Z

I have just spent the morning with a client running skills and competencies profiling session. I am amazed at how many times I talk to people who have a number of different sales roles reporting to them and yet don't fully appreciate the differences in the skills and competencies required to succeed in each one.

For example, when asked what are the key skills required by a field salesperson, the 'usual suspects' appeared:

self motivated
knowledge of the industry and markets
ability to communicate effectively at all levels
honest and reliable
etc.etc.etc.

We then looked at a key account manager's role and hey presto what do you think came up at the top of the list? Yes the same as above. The job is totally different yet there was no clear appreciation of the required skills and competencies for each one.

At this point we didn't bother looking at the other roles that report into him, instead we started to discuss a better methodology.

I showed my client a list of competencies that we use when completing a TNA, and asked him to look through it, and select the relevant ones. He started to smile and said "Let me get you a cup of coffee and see if our HR Director is free. Five minutes later I am enjoying a tasty cappuccino and an even more refreshing conversation with the HR Director.

Within half an hour they realized that with a complete and thorough role profile they could:

Recruit more suitable candidates
Identify specific training requirements
Achieve greater consistency throughout the business
Obtain much better value for money from companies such as mine

My point for this blog?

Simply this, the more you invest the time to identify EXACTLY what you want, the more you increase the likelihood of you getting it.

The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail

Sales Agents - Where are the experienced ones?

2007-11-13T18:35:00.000Z

I have recently agreed a sales outsourcing contract, and I have started recruiting sales agents, I had no idea they are such a rare breed.
If there are any experienced sales agents reading this please contact me.

Why do Americans view sales people in such a positive light?

2007-11-13T18:27:00.001Z

I have just returned from Los Angeles, having run a course for a new client there. I am always amazed by the reception you receive in America when you inform people you are in sales, and this visit was no different from the look on the face of the guy at immigration letting a British guy in to teach Americans how to sell, to that positive initial response you get from everyone who asks what you do for a living.I wish we could create the same perception of our profession in the UK.There are bound to be some rogue traders in America, as there are over here; however the profession is seen in a totally different light.What can we do to improve the overall impression of salespeople in the UK?

What a great quote!

2007-09-13T17:39:00.000+01:00

I forgot how much I love this quote, "In Europe, most companies struggle not in their attempts to be innovative or creative. Most of them struggle because they undervalue the importance of professional selling" - Sir John Harvey-Jones

What separates winners from losers?

2007-09-13T09:43:00.000+01:00

I am often asked this question by my clients and it was asked of me yesterday, so last night I decided to have a look on the web for some new thoughts on this topic. I came across this article on more than 1 site, so I decided to share it with you all courtesy of my blog.

What separates winners from losers?

This question was the impetus behind the creation of Hoovers Inc. the business and enterprise information directory founded by Gary Hoover. Hoover's quest began at the age of 12 when he first subscribed to 'Fortune' magazine which then led him to visit hundreds of corporate offices before he was 18. Citing 'Federal Express' as an example, Hoover said, "Very few companies who are first are best," and his research led him to identify eight characteristics that are integral to business success

1. Curiosity "Look to the future for upcoming trends," Hoover says, but "you can only look as far forward as you look backward."
2. People who build successful enterprises have a sense of history. "Learn from the experiences of those who preceded us"
3. It is important to have a sense of geography too. "The world is smaller, but it is more important to understand what is going on right around the corner."
4. "Study, learn how things change through time and space, and get a real sense of your context," Hoover advises and then articulate a clear vision. "Adopt a third grade vision so everyone can understand"
5. Consistency "More enterprises have failed because they changed than those who failed to change" Hoover attributed Sears' decline in the retail market to "taking its eye off the customer" The company diversified by buying Coldwell Banker and commissioning the Sears Tower. Comparatively, Sam Walton was driven to make life better for customers, resulting in Wall-Mart's tremendous success.
6. Serving "Learn why your company exists. Enterprises should only provide goods and services to people."
7. Unique "Great enterprises are memorable and have unique vision" Hoover says that Volvo sold safety and reliability not cars "Once an enterprise finds its soul the vision becomes clear.
8. Passion "You're hurting customers if you don't love what you are doing."

Hoover presented the information as if each characteristic was a building block to the next, with successful entrepreneurs integrating these philosophies into the company fabric. But to faithfully maintain these principles so that others in the company absorb and model that behaviour is no easy feat. Size of the company notwithstanding solo entrepreneurs can fail just as easily as multinational corporations with 50,000 employees. To be able to unwaveringly live and drive the strategic goals of an enterprise requires true leadership.

New Product Launch

2007-09-03T19:15:00.000+01:00

Well I am getting excited, as today is the official launch of a new product for us called 'Springboard'.

Springboard is a new service proposition that is the result of strategic alliance between Ergon and Appleton Associates Ltd.

We have devised some sophisticated systems that use the British Selling Standards as a platform to deliver a more precise description of the key skills and competencies required in any given sales role.

By using these definitions you can create a matrix that will enable you to evaluate all team members against the benchmark and identify any skill or competency deficiencies. This can be done at individual or team level.

Once the gaps have been identified you have a more accurate and bespoke TNA. This will give everyone a better appreciation of your organisation’s unique training requirement, and help you prioritise the implementation of the total solution.

Springboard can also be used to help you develop an ongoing training strategy, by constantly assessing skills helping you to evaluate the ROI from your training.

By using the Springboard system you can consistently develop your sales team using the same standards throughout the process.

For further information contact us via the usual channels.

Key Challenges for Salespeople

2007-07-25T15:27:00.001+01:00

Welcome to our new sales blog. You can comment on any sales related topic here.

Our first topic is about the key challenges that salespeople face.

I am keen to hear from salespeople and managers who want to post comments telling us what the major obstacles to success are for them in their market.

Please add your comments.