Sales Blog from Sales expert Trent Leyshan

Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

Miss Congeniality

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

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This week Aussie model and aspiring social worker, Jesinta Campbell was decorated with the second runners-up sash in the prestigious Miss Universe pageant.

She also won the award for ‘Miss Congeniality’ for her sense of humour and warm personality. Good on her! I’ll admit, when I heard Jesinta had been recognised for her personality; I was more impressed by that, than her third place in the pageant. The fact her personality shone so brightly, in my mind, makes her more attractive and more interesting.

In “sales”, all things being equal—personality wins! To stand out in a cold, crowded and competitive market you can differentiate by showing your personality and inviting your customers in, rather than telling them what door they should walk through. In the process you offer contrast that gives them choice—either the same or you?

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Posted in Customer Service, Leadership, Sales Training | No Comments »

The value of work ethic

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Worker ant

I mentioned in a past blog that I measure my sales team on their work ethic and willingness to contribute to others.

I’ve since received a number of emails wanting to learn more, so this week I’ll explore work ethic in more detail and then contribution next week.

Whatever your field of endeavour ― work ethic is important. The old cliché you get out what you put in, is true. I see many people in life looking for the quick wins. Perhaps they are prepared to give things a shot, but not enough to stick things out when the going gets rough.  

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Love it and live it

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

love what you do

I believe everyone should (and deserves to) follow a career they are passionate about.

I understand there are demands and responsibilities in life, of course there are, but they shouldn’t be an excuse for underperformance or an unfulfilling existence.

Life is a precious gift that we often take for granted. Our time is way too short to waste. The average life span of an Australian male is 77 years, and females are a tad longer. The clock is ticking, so if you’re not having fun yet, what are you waiting for!?

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Posted in Leadership, Motivation, Sales Training | No Comments »

Social Networking or Social Distraction?

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Social networksThere is no denying the internet has changed the way we live and conduct business.

 In a past life I owned one of Australia’s largest web marketing companies, so as a communication tool I am well aware of the internet’s benefits, but I also know what’s not good about the web. 

The winds of change have blown fiercely over the past decade. Social networking sites are all the rage. Facebook, now valued in the billions, is staking its claim as a social pillar, in doing so setting a new tone for the way we communicate and engage with one another.  

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You’re a Star!

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Shining starCan you be a “star” all the time ― shining and twinkling high above everyone else, every day? I think a few remarkable people can, but much more attainable for most is being a “star” some of the time.

If you’re a career salesperson like me, you will know how challenging being a “star” can actually be. It’s not an easy road to take and the goal posts appear to magically move and the rules of the game are always changing.

We all have our ups and downs. I’ve had my fare share of downs. You could say the best part of my career has been defined by downs.

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Posted in Leadership, Motivation, sales process | No Comments »

Is your sales team in Fabricated Harmony or Genuine Conflict?

Friday, December 4th, 2009

When you get a bunch of ‘Type A’ personalities together who are driven and outcome focused, two types of team states commonly form: ‘Fabricated Harmony’ or ‘Genuine Conflict’.

‘Genuine Conflict’ is when team members don’t get along but willingly live with their differences in exchange for a pay packet. There are no team values or value in the team. Sometimes team members align but it’s usually short lived as the competitive forces and jostling for rewards and recognition takes priority. Attrition is high, but players’ dont seem to mind, as it means one less internal competitor and is part of the game. Managers reward sales success above all else, even at the detriment of other team members and even some clients.

‘Fabricated Harmony’ is when team members’ dont like each-other but pretend they do to avoid conflict. In this type of environment team members seldom engage in meaningful conversations; are afraid to show real emotions; rarely challenge the opinions of stronger personalities, preferring to see how the penny drops and not be accountable when something goes wrong. Team values are stated, but not clearly communicated and demonstrated. When business is good, the values are forgotten. When times are less prosperous the values magically appear as leverage to dismiss poor performers.

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Posted in Leadership, Sales Culture, Sales Team | 2 Comments »

Desperate Donald

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Donald the management consultant arrived late to a public sales seminar I was conducting.

The rest of the participants arrived early for their 8.45am registration and had been chatting amongst each other. He apologised for being late and then rushed in and sat down. His body language was stiff and noticeably anxious. Although now behind schedule, for Don’s benefit, I asked everyone to again quickly introduce themselves and describe what business they were in. All were happy to oblige.

A couple of minutes into the introductions I sensed Don’s energy. He seemed disengaged and uninterested in the stories the others were sharing. I continued into the morning break paying extra attention to him but not at the detriment of anyone else. As soon as the other participants left the room for the break, he approached me and explained the seminar was not what he had expected.

Don had white-grey hair and the lines on his face told me he was in the twilight of his career. He looked stressed and his desperation was obvious. He thought the content was about generating more leads. I explained this was not advertised – the session is about the ‘sales fundamentals’ – things that are easy to do but easier to forget. He responded, “No thanks, I’m really busy, I just need more leads.” His comment didn’t make sense to me, yet hearing the resolve in his voice, I explained that’s not our content for today and offered a refund. With half a foot out the door, he promptly agreed, but pretended he didn’t care about the money.

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Posted in Leadership, Motivation, Sales, Sales Coach, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Creativity minus Support = Zero Innovation

Friday, October 30th, 2009

InnovationSome people may think my views on business are fanciful and idealistic, and that may be true. However, I’ve been in the sales game long enough to know taking an approach that is anything less  only limits success to a lucky few.

I don’t mind people voicing their opinions on matters they are genuinely passionate about; in fact, I encourage it. I’m always enthusiastic to hear when someone has something authentic and valuable to say.  There is an abundance of creativity in our world. Humanity is replete with inspirational people who have enormous value to contribute in their own ways ― yet most are never seen or heard.

As a collective society, we seldom encourage others to take a path of true innovation because it’s untested, risky, and breaks convention and related reputations.  Most of us are trained to do things based on what’s already been done, and that’s ok, but being led to believe it’s the best and only way― isn’t. I’m here to say, there’s always a higher and more powerful way if you dare to jump off the cliff of ‘certainty’ into the unknown realms of ‘possibility.’

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Posted in Leadership, Motivation, Sales Coach | No Comments »

How much are your salespeople really worth?

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Commission onlyCommission only salespeople can be effective, however one of the major problems with a comm-only sales strategy is that salespeople in these roles, more often than not, become all about ‘the sell’ for obvious reasons: no sale -no pay -no eat!

Traditionally, comm-only sales-models promote a ‘hunter’ as opposed to ‘gatherer’ mentality, with many salespeople willingly spearing anything that moves in order to get paid, irrespective of the value being created for the customer, and oftentimes at the detriment of any genuine long term relationship.

A gun salesperson can take up to six months to get into the sales groove in a new organisation. I have seen a number of exceptional salespeople take even longer, but once a tipping-point in confidence is reached they then take-off exponentially.

A comm-only salesperson is not likely to be given the opportunity to accumulate a large amount of time to build confidence due to commercial pressures, nor are they likely to be able to personally survive financially during this time to reach such a point in their skill development.  

This all makes creating a comm-only sales-model trickly to get right, not to say impossible. It can be done, but if you want great salespeople they generally value their skills and time, and won’t go anywhere near comm-only based on principle. 

I have found over the years, having hired and trained countless great salespeople, across industries, that a combination of a reasonable base salary (to keep their cash flow moving) and a generous commission and bonus structure that promotes the development of customer relationships over time – to be the most effective sales strategy.

Inspire,

Trent Leyshan

Posted in Leadership, Sales, Sales Culture | No Comments »


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