Growth Dynamics Get Down

Symptoms:

After having been in the same role for over 5 years, Ted was stuck. "What else can I talk about with these people that we haven't gone over all ready?" was the question Ted kept asking himself (with no answer) after he did a review of his clients. He knew he didn't want to be the pesky salesman that just made a meaningless follow up call, or who stopped in to drop off donuts and see what orders might be around to pick up, but he was also very aware that his manager expected him to keep growing the territory and expanding the accounts.

This one is something I have to remind myself of regularly, and that is to slow down and figure out why I am reacting the way I am to any situation.

Symptoms:

“The weather is changing; flowers and trees are popping out and I am exactly the same” thought Sam. Sam has been in sales for her entire career. She knows she does well enough as she has climbed the ranks through various companies, but she tends to plateau with medium accounts. Sam has yet to earn some of the major accounts and or territories that make salespeople’s careers.

Hey everybody, Sarah Waple here, Partner at Growth Dynamics, and I’m here with a Fast Tip Friday! This tip is something that some people might not think about—I know I certainly didn’t until I became a manufacturer’s rep selling plumbing and water-related products.

Symptoms:

Sophia loves selling. She loves it so much that she enjoys trying to sell her products to anyone that will listen. Her philosophy is: “No stone should go unturned.” Over the years, the number of prospects she has contacted, presented to and worked up proposals for have always been the highest in the company, but her sales results place her in the bottom quarter of the sales team.

Hey everybody, Charlie Hauck back here again with another Fast Tip Friday for you.

Monday Morning Manager

I've got an idea that I want to share with you, which I know will really resonate with some of my clients. I know some people don't think they need this idea as much as others, but I really think the concept, in its purest and simplest application, is valuable to all of us, not just in our professional performance, but in our personal relationships as well.

Symptoms:

“Here we go again,” Jim thought as he walked into his last call of the day. He always scheduled this monthly call to be the last of his day as it left him annoyed, angry, and confused when he walked out the door. Jim just could not create the type of relationship with this business owner that he felt was key to his success with other clients. There were never issues with products, pricing, or communications from Jim, his agency, or the manufacturers, but these monthly update and prospecting meetings always ended up making Jim feel like a complete failure. Jim’s positive, enthusiastic, and lighthearted approach obviously missed the mark with this client, and Jim was sure the client disliked the meetings as much as he did.

Look, I run a pretty large roster of people in our sales training programs—public training, in-house programs, executive coaching, and offering support to those who have been through our programs before. While they’re not active clients, they still reach out asking, “Hey, can I get 10 minutes of your time?”