How does the sales leader have to steer the salesforce in global slowdowns like we experience in 2022

HOW  TO  BOOST  SALES  PERFORMANCE    IN  CHALLENGING  TIMES   Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure. Se we advise our saleforce that “..the sale begins after the customer says NO...” yet how much grit and determination  does the sales leader  have to steer the salesforce in times when sales have plateaued due to market conditions or business cycles or global slowdowns like we experience in 2022   Notice What Is Working & What is Not… Study yourself, your product or service and your company to know what is working now. Reinforce the actions and tools, which are generating results. Learn from your successes as well as your failures. Create a profile of the company’s Market Create a profile of the ideal market for what you offer. Define who they are, where they can be reached, what they care about, what they fear, what they read, whom they admire and more. Know them well. Check  & Redesign Your company’s Sales Reputation Determine today how you want to be thought of tomorrow. Specify the reputation you want within each group of which you are a part, and then work a plan to earn it piece by piece. Know Your company’s Competitive Advantage Study your company and your company’s products and services in relation to what your company’s competitors offer. Know where and how you stand out, and where you don't. Be prepared to discuss these comparisons at any moment. Use Pareto Principle to target Your company’s Best Prospects Best customers have patterns. We call it the Pareto Principle Most will fit the same pattern, so prospect among those who fit the pattern. Calling on people with similar needs, circumstances, and interests makes you more likely to create another best customer. Backyard Gold mining- Ask For Referrals from Satisfied Customers Tell people what your company’s ideal customer or prospect looks like. Ask them who they know who fits this description. Then ask them to take a specific action to help you meet the prospect; a telephone introduction, a testimonial letter, arrange a luncheon or coffee shop meeting, etc. More business exists around you than you know. Look among your friends, neighbors, existing customers, past customers, colleagues, competitors and coworkers for the opportunities that others overlook. Start a Backend Sales Campaign with Loyal Customers Know how to cultivate dedicated customers. A movie ticket doesn't just buy you a seat in the theater; it buys you the experience of enjoying the movie. What experience does your company’s product or service bring to people? Give them a way to sample that experience through your company’s presentation. Become competition-proof by delivering more than people expect. Overfill your company’s client's needs and be their business friend, even when they are not buying from you. Be the kind of person people rave about. Grow Your company’s Brand Identity Get yourself and your company known within your market area. Write articles, letters to editors, offer expert input for reporters and publishers, conduct surveys, provide free services to key people, donate your time to worthy causes, put your photo on your business card, share valuable ideas via email. Create a broad awareness of yourself as an authority on what you do. Build A Long term fund Of Good Business Relationships It is not only who you know that determines the value of your relationships; it is whether they know you as a valuable business resource. Define who you need to know today and five years from today. Start now to cultivate the relationships and the reputation, which will expand your possibilities. Design a Direct Marketing Approach That Uses Your company’s Sales Strengths Use the combination of online communication, in person calls, telephone contacts, trade show attendance, and public speaking, which allows you to shine. Build a mix of activities to diminish your company’s sales weaknesses and amplify your company’s strengths. municate with. Become a partner in problem solving, not a sales persuader.  Train Continuously & Recharge your Sales Story & Techniques Use a checklist to prepare your attitude, appearance, customer information, company and product information and the selling environment, so you can be at your best on every call. The way you are perceived by your company’s customer determines how much resistance you will encounter as you sell. Learn to project a positive feeling among those you come in contact with. Write down specifically how your company’s product or service makes life better for those who buy it. Read this description every day briefly, to keep in mind the reason behind the purchase. It's not about buying; it's about benefiting from buying. Create an awareness of the psychological needs of your company’s prospect as well as knowing what their technical needs are. Sometimes the way someone wants to feel has more influence on their decision to buy than what they actually need. Sustain motivation in the Sales team With lower sales incentive the sales rep (even the best) doesn't find much meaning in what they do, they don't bring much value to what they do. Half your job is keeping yourself and others in the right frame of mind. Cultivate your ability to keep the focus on the things that matter most. Become a person who can put everything in perspective for others. As tension rises, trust falls. Be aware of the ebb and flow of tension as the sale unfolds. Learn to reduce it when it gets in the way and to momentarily increase it to add urgency to the decision process. With best wishes Dr Wilfred Monteiro

You are envious of the 'good luck" of some of your peers who have overtaken you on the career-track? Yet it is not good luck but the diligent application of the few of the principles of success in a consistent long term basis which makes the BIG SUCCESS differenct

WHAT ARE THE  FACTORS OF SUCCESS?

At a recent conference of young entrepreneurs and achievers one of the speakers backed out with the ubiquitous excuse "...caught in a traffic jam..."  It was a tight jam for the conference organizers as well and the chief coordinator asked me to "step-in" (at just a 5 minute notice) to fill the gap especially since I had worked in the area of Success Motivation for well over 30 years.

I took my pen and jotted down in a hurry  my random thoughts on a sheet of paper... and to say I had request if I could email and send them a summary here it is... What surprises me is that if I had thought all through a weekend I might have not been so precise and substance filled.

1They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.
2They find lessons while others only see problems.
3. They are solution focused. They rarely complain.
4. . They ask the right questions -- the ones which put them in a positive mindset and emotional state.
5. They set high standards for themselves... people who compete with themselves rarely get beaten
6. They don’t blame others for problems in life and take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes.
7. They always find a way to maximize their potential, and use what they have effectively.
8. They are busy, productive and proactive. They work through the tough stuff that most would avoid.
9. The select friends carefully...They align themselves with like-minded people. They don’t hang out with toxic people

10. They have clarity and certainty about what they want...focus and perseverance brings them success in the long term
11. They don’t invest time or emotional energy into uncontrollable things.

12. They don’t procrastinate. They deal with problems quickly and effectively. They finish what they start.
13. They are life-long learners....not a day passes without them jotting what they learnt from the book of life
14. They are tough minded optimists , while still being practical and down-to-earth.
15. They perform consistently ...by doing what they need to do, regardless of how they are feeling on a given day.
16.  They don’t believe in, or wait for, fate, destiny, chance or luck...the smarter they work their luck works harder for them.

17. They focus on what matters... not the trivial or the distractions which eats other peoples  time
18. . They have identified what is important to them and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of those values.
19. They have balance. They know that money is a tool and ultimately, it’s just another resource.
20. They understand the importance of discipline and self-control this is the core of their character.
21. They are secure in their sense of self-worth...their work give them worth but leisure gives them their colour
22They are adaptable and embrace change... both willing to give up and get started on something important yet daunting or unpleasant 
23. They are resilient...they bounce back after a setback; they enthusiasm is  not zero in moments of crisis
24. They listen well and are open to, and more likely to act upon, feedback.
25. They know how to relax, enjoy what they have in their life and to have fun.

With best compliments

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

Do your sales managers in the branch office or field look upon development of subordinates as a non priority or a waste of time? because time is scare or has a better use ?

every sales manager aspiring to be a trainer or coach should understand first how these styles have influenced his learning in the last few years to make him what he is ... and how to use these styles to help sales team people learn and become what they ought to be ...ie work at their full potential

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING STYLES MODEL

Prof David Kolb's ( a pioneer thought leader in learning theory) sets out four distinct learning styles (or preferences), which are based on a four-stage learning cycle. (which might also be interpreted as a 'training cycle'). In this respect Kolb's model is particularly elegant, since it offers both a way to understand individual people's different learning styles, and also an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all.

Kolb includes this 'cycle of learning' as a central principle his experiential learning theory, typically expressed as four-stage cycle of learning, in which 'immediate or concrete experiences' provide a basis for 'observations and reflections'. These 'observations and reflections' are assimilated and distilled into 'abstract concepts' producing new implications for action which can be 'actively tested' in turn creating new experiences.

Kolb says that ideally (and by inference not always) this process represents a learning cycle or spiral where the learner 'touches all the bases', ie., a cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. Immediate or concrete experiences lead to observations and reflections. These reflections are then assimilated (absorbed and translated) into abstract concepts with implications for action, which the person can actively test and experiment with, which in turn enable the creation of new experiences.

Kolb's model therefore works on two levels - a four-stage cycle:

• Concrete Experience - (CE)
• Reflective Observation - (RO)
• Abstract Conceptualization - (AC)
• Active Experimentation - (AE)

and a four-type definition of learning styles, (each representing the combination of two preferred styles, rather like a two-by-two matrix of the four-stage cycle styles, as illustrated below), for which Kolb used the terms:

• Diverging (CE/RO)
• Assimilating (AC/RO)
• Converging (AC/AE)
• Accommodating (CE/AE)

KOLB LEARNING STYLES DEFINITIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS

Knowing a person's (and your own) learning style enables learning to be orientated according to the preferred method. That said, everyone responds to and needs the stimulus of all types of learning styles to one extent or another - it's a matter of using emphasis that fits best with the given situation and a person's learning style preferences.

Here are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:

·        Diverging (feeling and watching - CE/RO) - These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing concrete situations several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style 'Diverging' because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. People with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather information. They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong in the arts. People with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback.

·        Assimilating (watching and thinking - AC/RO) - The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. People with an Assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. These learning style people is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through.

·        Converging (doing and thinking - AC/AE) - People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can solve problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems. People with a Converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues. A Converging learning style enables specialist and technology abilities. People with a Converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications.

·        Accommodating (doing and feeling - CE/AE) - The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on', and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an Accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for information than carry out their own analysis. This learning style is prevalent and useful in roles requiring action and initiative. People with an Accommodating learning style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve an objective.

As with any behavioural model, this is a guide not a strict set of rules.

Nevertheless most people clearly exhibit clear strong preferences for a given learning style. The ability to use or 'switch between' different styles is not one that we should assume comes easily or naturally to many people.

Simply, people who have a clear learning style preference, for whatever reason, will tend to learn more effectively if learning is orientated according to their preference.

For instance - people who prefer the 'Assimilating' learning style will not be comfortable being thrown in at the deep end without notes and instructions.

People who like prefer to use an 'Accommodating' learning style are likely to become frustrated if they are forced to read lots of instructions and rules, and are unable to get hands on experience as soon as possible.

This theory is as practical as it is deep... every manager aspiring to be a trainer or coach should understand first how these styles have influenced his learning in the last few years to make him what he is ... and they use these styles to help people learn and become what they ought to be ...ie work at their full potential

With best compliments

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

Mumbai- India