When was the last time you were asked for (or gave) a referral?
Come on, think about this!
How about: “Read any good books lately?” or “What did you think of that new restaurant?” or “Where did you learn about how to fix that?”
What was that experience like? It’s just part of our everyday conversation. So why is it so hard to apply to a business situation?
Experience tells me that there are 2 things that often hold business people back from taking full advantage of referral marketing:
The lack of a system– Or not having a system that minimises workload and maximises your time, and
The presence of fear– When I say fear, I mean like the fear of being rejected, fear that you will appear to be begging for business, or fear that your existing clients don’t really care about helping you build your business.
If your perception is that your clients will be put off by your desire to involve them in helping you grow your business, those perceptions are wrong.
Based on the experience where you gave or received a referral, do you think your experience is any different to your clients?
The key message here is your clients are just like you. They refer for exactly the same reasons and they also don’t refer for the reasons you don’t refer.
One thing to remember:
The higher the likely or perceived cost or risk, the more emphasis is placed on personal referral.
So why are you afraid?
People love to give Referrals:
Who recently got a new doctor or a builder? How did you choose them? Very few people feel comfortable going to a new doctor or hiring a builder based on a doctor’s or builder’s ad in the Yellow Pages. When looking for a lawyer, doctor, accountant or any kind of professional … or any kind of business for that matter, most people ask someone they trust for a referral. Don’t you?
People like to help – it feels good and makes them feel valued!
People also like to demonstrate how smart they are. When clients find a business that provides a solution, makes their life better, or just plain saves them money, they like to talk about it. They like to tell anyone who will listen how smart they were that they got such a good deal.
Some people even like to tell others what to do!
So don’t hold back …
Get over it…
Remember, if you provide a service that helps people solve problems and meets their needs, then you are doing a disservice to your clients if you don’t actively seek referrals.
And as people love to help, show how smart they are or tell others what to do then why would you not help your client achieve this?
For over 16 years, we have been helping sales people, managers and leaders to improve their performance. With a proven track record of delivering result oriented training programs, we are one of the most effective Sales Training company in Sydney and Melbourne.
Our coaches and practitioners have rich experience in delivering result oriented training programs.
With a combined experience of over 100 years, we can deliver outstanding results for your organisation. Our coaches are recognised specialists in their respective niches. Together, we are recognised as THE Sales Training company in Melbourne and Sydney – That Gets Results!
Training Companies Sydney – Our Approach
We do not believe in offering run of the mill training programs.
Each program is customised to suit your requirements. Whether you are looking to improve your sales, customer service or top level leadership, our coaches will work with you to create a customised training program for your organisation.
Training Companies Sydney and Melbourne – Our Results
We’ve helped our clients achieve some outstanding results. Here are some of our recent achievements.
Increased customer retention for a big credit card company by more than 12%
Trained a sales team to make more than 430 telephone appointments in 1 Power Hour
Coached another sales team to make over $1,200,000 in sales in 1 POWER HOUR
Improved annual revenue of a finance services company by more than 20%
So if you are looking to increase the effectiveness and results of your organisation, contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your organisation’s results.
Yet an art that when done right brings so much joy.
Well-trained salespeople have mastered the art of sales closing. But it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. Sales closing is a time-honoured skill, that with time, only gets better.
WHAT IS SALES CLOSING?
Sales closing is getting a prospect to agree to a deal and sign a contract. It is how salespeople achieve KPIs. Ultimately, it is how businesses grow revenue.
Put simply, sales closing is the culmination of all your efforts.
You put in the time and made a strong case for your customer. That is, why your product or service is the solution that will solve all their pain points.
But getting to that elusive closing stage certainly takes plenty of patience and persistence. Clients will often say no more than once before they get to a yes. However, the problem is, that many salespeople give up before they reach that final yes.
That yes that is just around the corner of Give Up Street.
Now it is worth noting that sales closing isn’t the only stage of the pipeline that matters, but it is absolute. That means, you either close or you don’t.
The make-or-break nature of sales closing can make it one of the most stressful aspects of selling. However, it does not have to be. To help, here are 5 Tips to Master Sales Closing Like a Pro.
5 Tips to Master Sales Closing Like a Pro
1. ACT ON BUYING INTENT
Learn how to recognise when you’ve successfully gotten your client into the buyer mindset.
That is so you know when it’s appropriate to ask for the sale. Being able to spot this buying intent during the sales process is hard. But when you learn how to identify it, you can ask at the right time and you’ll see positive results.
The buying intent could be an easy one to spot. That is it could come in the form of a straightforward expression of a desire to buy. Like “this is what we’ve been looking for! When can we get this delivered ASAP?” Or it could be a lot trickier than that. That is, more subtle and requires nudges to get over the line. Like a client taking an interest in a specific offering and asking detailed questions about it but not committing.
Either way, being able to recognise your customer’s buying intent signals the beginning of the sales closing process.
2. IRON OUT ALL THE DETAILS
Put everything out on the table. Clearly. That includes your expectations, payment terms, delivery details, timelines, and so forth.
Most deals fall through when each party thinks they’re getting something a little different than first agreed to. So, make sure your proposal is clear and mutually agreed upon.
3. MOVE FAST
When you get the green light, don’t stall. Otherwise, the moment will go cold.
Strike while the iron is hot. Know exactly the core steps in your sales process. Hasten to get all the administrative logistics authorised. All the while, walking your buyer through each of the steps.
No matter what you do, it is crucial not to waste a lot of time creating your proposal document.
All too often we hear from sales Managers who say their sales team hear the words they want to hear to win the deal but then take way too long to put it on paper. And very often they end up losing it to a speedier competitor. Sound familiar?
4. UNDERPROMISE AND OVERDELIVER
Even with the best intentions of creating a fantastic customer experience, sometimes businesses and their people commit to unrealistic deadlines. This, in turn, can cause them to let customers down.
So instead of overpromising and underdelivering, why not build the opposite into your business practices? Build customer delight and loyalty by underpromising and overdelivering.
Can you create added value around the product, service, or action that you deliver?
5. ASK FOR NEXT STEPS
The best way to master sales closing like a pro is to define and agree on a clear “Next Steps” strategy.
Your Next Steps strategy needs to be relevant to the sale. Such as scheduling another call to talk about quotes, visiting the prospect in person, or providing supporting documents and case studies. The point is that you need to discuss and agree on something before you end that meeting. This ensures a mutual commitment from both parties, as well as locking in another meeting.
Book your Sales Team on their Value Sales Training Workshop. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
One of the many questions we get asked a lot, and often from sales leaders and learning and development experts, is:
How do we make sure the skills gained in the sales training are applied to drive long term results?
According to Gartner research, B2B salespeople forget 70% of the information they learn within a week of training.
And moreover, 87% will forget it within a month.
SO, HOW CAN SKILLS BE RETAINED?
The answer is not to avoid sales training altogether.
No, that would be most ridiculous and detrimental to the performance of your team.
Because in doing so you risk underskilled salespeople staying on in your organisation.
But even more damaging, is you also risk losing valuable people because they are not being developed to their full potential.
So what is the answer? How do we make sure skills gained in the sales training are applied?
Well, it’s DB-DD-MA. Define Before, Development During, Measurement After.
1. DEFINE BEFORE
Before you embark on sales training for your team, begin by actively involving each person in their learning development.
That means defining exactly where their challenges are and how the training will benefit the growth of both them professionally and the organisation.
This is an important step because if you have not defined the expectations of your training program then how do you expect to hold your people accountable? Tell everyone who is going on the training. Clearly define outcomes.
Complete an Analysis of the Skills of Your Existing Sales Team
Next, complete an analysis of the skills of your existing sales team. Good training organisations will offer this as part of their discovery sessions.
Involve your Sales Leaders! These valuable team players are so important in making this work.
It is your sales leaders and managers who will play the biggest part in embedding the learnings from the training and making it last the long term.
2. DEVELOPMENT DURING
There are plenty of sales training techniques and sales methodologies to learn to sharpen the skills of your sales team, all the way to managers and executives.
But here are a few additional thoughts to consider during training sessions.
Teach your people how to give and receive feedback on the training and their learning ability
Get everyone to commit to the next steps, that is what they will do next with the information they have learned
Instill a value of note taking and instant knowledge application
And the biggest win! As a Sales Leader – be at the training as well. From our feedback of salespeople, nothing says ‘this isn’t that important’ to your team more than if their Leader is ‘too busy to attend. It’s also a massively missed opportunity on your behalf to see first-hand the team in a different setting to the day-to-day grind.
3. MEASUREMENT AFTER
Once training is over, have your sales managers track the follow-up commitments made by their team. Here is how.
Coaching, Coaching, and More Coaching
At the start, you defined the skills and behaviours the training was designed to impact.
Stay true to this effort and see the process through. Now is the time to double down on coaching activities around those competencies.
This is where you get the value from the training. Set out coaching objectives based on the training for the sales leaders and their teams and make sure they adhere to it. This must be treated as a priority discussion point in your weekly meetings.
Follow-Up
Plan a follow-up internal communication campaign.
That includes highlighting areas of best practice and who’s doing well implementing their new skills.
Also, note the stories of achievement using the new learnings.
Visualise the Learnings
Part of keeping your training alive, we encourage sales managers and their teams to do a video replay of what they’ve learned.
This has proven so successful and is much more beneficial that than a ‘test’ to ensure the knowledge is embedded.
Record their learning takeaways and have their managers take note on areas they need to focus on in follow up coaching.
Additionally, make sure you maintain their active involvement in the learning process.
That means have each salesperson also include their plan in how they are implementing the new knowledge.
This embeds the learnings and is crucial for accountability.
Peer Support
Continuing from the point on active involvement, give your sales teams an opportunity to be heard.
Peer support learning is a strong way to embed and reinforce new ideas.
If a new win was influenced by what was taught in training, have the salesperson write up an internal brief using the terminology.
Share the knowledge and the rewards.
Book your Sales Team on their Value Sales Training Workshop. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
Customer Service Excellence does not just rely on your frontline staff. Although customers may be won or lost there. Therefore, it’s crucial that every staff member in your organisation works together to create the customer service journey.
That includes resolving issues and creating memorable moments for your customers. Additionally, you should empower your frontline staff to be as valuable to the customer as possible.
It could be the difference between the customer returning to your company or leaving for the competition. So how can you improve customer satisfaction in today’s customer-centric world?
Here are 4 tips to drive Customer Service Excellence
1. Collect Customer Feedback
Nothing proves to your customers their worth than asking questions and acting on it accordingly.
When asked for feedback your customers feel valued and treated almost like a part of your creative team. By asking for customer feedback you make them feel their opinions are truly valued.
Additionally, when customers feel they have been heard, they begin to have positive connotations with your brand. Consequently, they return their good experience back to you. This is either by returning as a loyal customer or spreading valuable positive word of mouth about your organisation. By using surveys, you can measure customer satisfaction and discover what product improvements your customers request.
2. Turn Customer Feedback into Action
When the competition is just a few clicks away, it is crucial to address any customer service issues immediately.
Customers that are not happy and who provide feedback should be seen as an opportunity. They could simply write negative online reviews. That is, a public attack on your social media channels, or even worse, leave an anonymous comment on a forum.
Instead, they took the effort to contact your organisation and share their experiences, trusting that you can fix it.
Negative customer feedback should be valued even more than any other because it gives you the winning growth strategy on a silver plate!
For this reason, create a Customer Service Feedback Action Plan to tackle the unsatisfied customers’ issues straight away.
3. Improve your Product or Service
You should constantly strive to improve your product or service based on customer feedback. This will see you keep customer satisfaction levels high.
Product or service improvement often results in new customers or increased existing customer retention. The two most popular ways to make product and service improvements are to add new features or improve existing ones
4. Follow up with your Customers
Have you made an improvement based on what your customer has told you? Well then, follow up with the customer to let them know about it.
Keeping your customers in the loop shows that your business values customer feedback.
Intelligent follow-ups at the right times can have a very powerful impact on your customers. It also keeps you at the top of their mind when it comes to choosing different brands or providers.
Like so many other industries, the world of sales has shifted on its axis over the last few years. This change has indeed left many businesses and sales professionals stranded. As well as leaving many feeling quite isolated. But there is one major change that has occurred in recent years that has completely changed the way we conduct our sales process.
The biggest change to our Sales Process to date is:
The balance of power has shifted from sellers to buyers.
Let us break this down further. Over a very short space of time, our sales process has turned on its head. And as such, we must change with it or be left behind. As we have revealed, the biggest change to our sales process to date is, that the balance of power has shifted from sellers to buyers. That means our sales process has shifted from:
Buyer Beware To Seller Beware
Tangible Products To Everything-As-A-Service
Complex And Cumbersome To Simple And Agile
Product Led To Outcome Led
Money Now/Value Later To Value Now/Money Later
Become A Disruptor Strategy to Don’t Get Disrupted Strategy
The tried and tested sales skills that served us well for many years are rapidly becoming obsolete. That is because of factors like customer self-service, artificial intelligence, and as-a-service offerings increasingly become the norm.
But what does this mean to our sales process today?
Firstly, do not see this shift in the way we perform as professional salespeople as the demise of our trade. Rather, focus on exchanging old behaviours for new ones. That means re-tooling ourselves for the next sales paradigm shift. How do we do that? Here are 4 Ways Power has shifted to the Buyer and what Sales Professionals can do to Adapt.
1. BETTER INFORMED BUYERS
Online reviews, social media, and the internet has seen buyers come to you with a wealth of information. Buyers now have access to a truckload of data about your product/service and that information simply strengthens their buying power. That means before they even connect with you, buyers already know about your company, competitors, industry, and – even you.
What to Do
Update your website! Keep it fresh and informative. It is the first place your buyers will be going to seek information about your organisation. If your site is hard to navigate, appears outdated, or os not mobile friendly, you stand to lose your buyer before they even reach you. A successful website will educate your buyer and make them want to contact you.
Additionally, provide your buyer with insider-only information about your industry. Don’t waste their time regurgitating information they can simply find on another site. Rather, share features of your product or service that are not available elsewhere. While your buyer may know a lot, they simply do not know everything that you have to offer. So, with this in mind, branch out your information offerings. Consider the value of ebooks, white papers, and case studies about your industry and your brand. This will provide insider information for your buyer, and also position you as a trusted advisor.
2. END OF THE FIRST STAGE OF THE SALES PROCESS
Buyers are now bypassing the first stage of the sales process. According to a recent study HubSpot study, 38% of salespeople report that it’s more difficult to get a response from prospects than it was as recently as two or three years ago.
But why? Well, because it seems buyers are trying to answer their own questions to save time. And also to minimize contact with salespeople. You see, everyone is busier than ever. Additionally, attention spans are growing shorter by the day. But, despite how busy we all are, we continue to increase our time on social media. The average person spends approximately 2 hours a day on social channels, 60% of it done on mobile devices.
What to Do
Hang out where your buyers are hanging out. Put simply, focus on improving the quality and frequency of what you publish online.
Fundamentally, find the platform your buyers prefer and become a voice for your brand and industry.
Additionally, you can share well-researched and valuable blog posts that speak to specific points in your buyers’ journey
3. BUYERS WANT IT PERSONAL
Buyers want personalised experiences. That is, they want the customised approach from you. Moreover, they want you to understand exactly where they are in their journey. Fundamentally, they want you to already know where they are experiencing pain. And then they want a personally styled solution that’s tailor-made to their issues.
Put simply, they want empathy, not a canned pitch.
Now, are you ready for a whacky fact? The good old email still works. Buyers are more and more nowadays preferring to communicate via email than the telephone. It is done on their terms and there is a record of the correspondence to refer to later. And want some more good news? Email is a perfect platform for personalisation! Easy to tailor and great to deliver at just the right time.
What to Do
Make sure all your emails to your buyers are personalised. That means you will need to understand your buyer’s journey and create customised communication based on their buying behaviour. This will ensure your messaging is connecting directly to the buyer. That is, answering the exact questions they have in that stage of their journey. It’s a powerful tool to be able to deliver the right message at the right time – and you have the power to do that.
4. BUYERS WANT TO BE ROMANCED
Your buyer will always expect the red carpet treatment long after you have closed the deal. They want to continue to feel valued. And why not? Keep the relationship hot. This will ensure their return. And furthermore, it also means they are more likely to recommend you. That is, stay connected to your buyers post-closing the deal, and they will remember you next time they talk to their friends, family, and wider network about your industry offering.
What to Do
When you close a deal with a buyer, do everything in your power keep them wanting more. Additionally, keep the relationship alive in the downtime. That means, checking in on them from time to time with next-level email correspondence. Realise the lifetime value of your buyer. Plus, a buyer who also will be quick to provide you with positive online reviews and testimonials, which is great for repeat business!
Remember, you may not hold all the power, but you hold tremendous value as a trusted advisor and strategic partner. The power may have shifted, but there are plenty of opportunities to make a sale if you’re willing to adapt and jump onboard your buyer’s journey.
Book your Sales Team on their Value Sales Training Workshop. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
Sometimes a sales negotiator will deliberately deadlock to lower your aspirations. They will take you to the end of your tether to see how far you are willing to go before reaching your breaking point in a negotiation deadlock situation.
Negotiation Deadlock
Good negotiators know the power of silence in a negotiation deadlock. Additionally, they also know that many salespeople are petrified of a negotiation deadlock. So much so that, at the first sign of fear, they will make concessions rather than face the possibility of not closing the business.
The seasoned negotiator will use this fear to their advantage. That is, by threatening deadlock. ‘Well, if that’s the best you can do, it’s outside what I’m allowed to spend, so we’ll have to pass on it this time.’
The shaky salespersonwill automatically reply with a lowered price. And the rationalisation behind their shaken move would be something along the lines of “Well, it’s the only way I could win the deal and get the business.”
However, the skilled negotiator knows exactly how to handle a price challenge. That meansthey would not fall for the fear tactic. Rather they would reply by suggesting an alternative offer.
As this is a situation almost every salesperson has been in, here are 5 Ways to Handle a Negotiation Deadlock to help you move forward in every negotiation you are in.
Avoid Final Offers
In negotiations, it’s often tempting to show strength by saying early on, “this is my final offer”. This phrase is overused. And is said to emphasise that you won’t take any nonsense.
Moreover, to show that you are fed up with the way things are going. It is also used to show that your position is so strong, that you can afford to let the opportunity to settle go.
But that is in fact far from what you’re doing. Final offers in a negotiation restrict your ability to negotiate. Additionally, it will annoy your counterpart.
Conversely, you’ll look a bit foolish if you make a final offer and then moments later concede to get a deal. Consequently, allowing your credibility to escape out of the window.
Focus on the Can-Do
When in a negotiation, do not tell your counterpart what you cannot do. Rather talk to them about what you can do for them.
When you focus on the “can do”, psychologically your negotiation counterpart is more likely to move along.
Plus, it also encourages reciprocity.
Build on their ideas
View yourself as a mediator. A problem solver that includes the other party’s ideals in the process. Try to suggest ideas that satisfy their underlying interests. That is, meet their pain points.
Do so by giving them a stake in the outcome. That is, make sure your counterpart has an active role in the process.
Reaching an Agreement
If you want the other party in a negotiation to accept a conclusion, it is important that you involve them in the process of achieving that conclusion.
You will find, that reaching an agreement becomes much easier when both parties feel ownership of the ideas.
Negotiators should view themselves as working together, attacking the problem in unison, not each other.
Believe in BATNA
Point out their Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). Identifying your negotiator’s BATNA is a necessary skill for avoiding a negotiation deadlock.
Know Your BATNA
In other words, a negotiator’s BATNA is what their alternative is if the negotiation is unsuccessful. It is crucial that you enter into every serious negotiation knowing your BATNA.
ZOPA – Zone of Potential Agreement
Then you can begin to work on your ZOPA. ZOPA stands for “Zone Of Potential Agreement.” It is the overlap between the seller’s and buyer’s settlement range. With a BATNA and ZOPA in place, negotiation deadlocks are highly unlikely to happen.
Regroup & Refocus
Asking for a recess is both encouraged and accepted in a negotiation.
It allows for you to have thinking time.
But it also provides the other party with an opportunity to consider their position as well.
Additionally, in the heat of a negotiation situation, also helps calm down emotions.
Being a salesperson is a stressful job. And let’s face it, many people aren’t cut out for it.
However, if you are in a sales career, you may be considering ways to reduce the stress associated with your job, as stress can negatively impact results and can prevent you from achieving success. Here are the Top 5 Sales Stressors and How to Reduce Them to help you relax and smash KPIs all in one.
1. STRESSOR: QUOTA
It’s not easy to choose the perfect sales quota that will make both management and sales reps happy. Sales targets can come to define your success or failure as a sales professional, but what can you really do to reduce the stress of these all important numbers?
STRATEGY
Remember a sales quota doesn’t exist in isolation. The size of your target market, the mix of customers, prospects, the industry, and the product you are selling, all have an impact on your success. That said, realistic quotas need to be set to each individual. And most importantly, each salesperson must have a say in their sales target when it is being set with – not by – your sales manager.
2. STRESSOR: LACK OF CONTROL
There are so many things outside our control as sales professionals, it can sometimes seem overwhelming. That often includes factors like the sales territory you’re assigned to, or how much access you get to internal resources, or perhaps the flow of new leads.
STRATEGY
When it comes to relinquishing the reins, it’s easier said than done. When it comes to thriving in sales, you need to be more flexible and adapt. You must welcome change and embrace the unknown. As much as we may want to control all aspects of our lives, there are plenty of things that are completely out of our control. This also applies to your sales pipeline. Recognizing what you can and can’t control helps combat stress and provides a sense of purpose.
If something is in your control, you can work at maintaining, fixing, or improving that aspect of the sales process. If it’s out of your control, work hard to move past it. Knowing what’s in your control also improves your decisiveness. That is, you can make decisions quickly and effectively because you’re better able to prioritise the things you can actually do something about.
3. STRESSOR: JOB INSECURITY
The days of the “job for life” are pretty much over. Not many people currently aged under 50 will go through their working lives with only one employer, or even just two or three. Continuous, secure employment with one organisation is increasingly difficult to find, particularly if you’re new to the job market. There are many factors that threaten job security. They include globalization, outsourcing, downsizing, recession, new technology, and most recently, a pandemic.
STRATEGY
First and foremost, you need to invest your own brand. Having a personal brand allows your prospects to build a stronger connection with you. It gives them something to connect with and also trust. Creating a personal brand is incredible way of creating positive impact on the people you meet, and a lasting one. It also gives you the opportunity of reaching your customers’ needs on a deeper, more meaningful level.
4. STRESSOR: BALANCING THE SHORT AND LONG TERM
Sales is all about, well, sales! But when the majority of your ‘worth’ at work is calculated based on last quarter’s revenue-to-quota performance, it can feel like you’re on a treadmill to constantly perform. Every quarter is important, and every quarter the quota increases. But here’s the clencher – you still have the same amount of time in a day to do the job. Balancing the short term goal with the long term goal is very hard. But done right, it is the difference between an average salesperson, and a sales superstar.
STRATEGY
To continue being successful, month after month, as a strong salesperson you need to be consistently developing new leads for the next period. That is, while still closing sales opportunities that are happening right now. It’s a fine balancing act between short term and long term goals. That said, having a plan in place for how you will develop new opportunities and manage existing deals is critical. And it starts with having a strong pipeline management process in place.
5. STRESSOR: COMPLIANCE, ADMIN, INTERNAL POLITICS
When you first move into a sales position, you think that that the selling part is where most of the stress is. How quickly we learn otherwise! Hardened sales pros know that the real stress is the internal selling. The backend data entry. The politics and toing and froing behind the scenes.
STRATEGY
Build strong internal relationships and over-communicate with key stakeholders. Additionally, forecast as accurately as you possibly can. And where possible, stay well away from office politics. That is, in favour of time connecting with your customers.
Book your sales team on their Team Building Workshop. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
The Sales game has changed. And it will continue to evolve.
Sales is no longer about high-pressure, “won’t take no for an answer” sales pitches. It’s a different dynamic in which salespeople listen and empathise.
If you’re going to be a sales rockstar, you need to be able to make sense of what people are saying. Even when it doesn’t add up.
Here are 5 Tips to Become A Sales Rockstar to help you reach those KPIs and smash sales.
1. DO YOUR RESEARCH
The first step to being a sales rockstar happens long before your first conversation with your client. In today’s switched-on, online world, the internet is rapidly replacing the traditional role of salespeople – to educate and inform our customers.
Customers are conducting in-depth research and peer reviewing not just your company – but you! That’s exactly where you need to start as well. Given we occupy an increasingly online world, it makes sense to harness the power of technology to help you in your research. There are some amazing sales techniques and methodologies you can use to tap into the mind of your customer.
2. BE A GREAT LISTENER
Communicating with a customer is just like communicating with a partner. If you don’t listen as much as you talk, you will never reach a mutually satisfactory outcome.
It’s tempting to want to dominate the conversation. After all, you have an objective. Plus, you are armed with all the information you think the customer needs to make a purchasing decision. However, you will find that listening to your customer’s needs will make or break your deal.
3. CALL YOURSELF A SALESPERSON
You simply cannot be a sales rockstar if you have an aversion to the very idea of sales. Sales is what makes a business run.
Here’s a newsflash: Sales is a Noble Profession. You’re connecting people with the products and services they need.
You’re helping the wheels of the workforce turn. You are providing for your family and the families of all your colleagues in the business. Embrace your profession, be confident and do your job with all the energy, resilience, and professionalism that you can.
4. BELIEVE IN YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE
The best salespeople don’t just believe in themselves, they absolutely believe in the products or services they sell. Why? Because the best salespeople are ethical, honest, and decent people, who want to add value to their customers with every interaction.
A sales rockstar couldn’t look themselves in the mirror each morning if they didn’t have a strong belief they were really adding value to the customers they help. That is what makes them happy – helping.
5. ONCE YOU ARE A GREAT SALESPERSON…
You are now a very rare and highly valuable commodity. Furthermore, you are now also exceedingly important to the success of any business with a healthy trustworthy pipeline. But remember! Stay humble and keep learning – that is the rockstar way of moving forward.
Book your sales team on their Sales Rockstar Workshop to help reach those KPIs and smash sales. Gather the team and we will take care of the rest.
Call us at KONA on 1300 611 288 for a conversation, or email info@kona.com.au anytime.
Numerous studies show that workplace stress has escalated progressively over the past few decades and has been demonstrated to be associated with increased rates of heart attack, hypertension and other disorders.
A recent survey highlighted some daunting statistics:
80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly 50% say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their work colleagues need help.
14% of workers surveyed had felt like striking a fellow worker in the last 12 months.
25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress, 10% are concerned about an individual at work they fear could become violent.
9% are aware of an assault or violent act in their workplace and 18% had experienced some sort of threat or verbal intimidation in the past year.
So the importance of Organisations, and in particular Line Managers and HR Departments, to address this is crucial to the well-being of both the Employee and the Organisation.
In addition, as individuals we can all make a difference to our own stress levels on a daily basis by applying one or all of the following 5 Proven Tips to help if you are feeling stressed at work:
Tip#1: Disconnect.
Set a reminder in your phone every 1 hour for 1 minute to stop and take a deep breath.
If you can take yourself off to a quiet corner – a bathroom or in the car (not while you are driving!) is a good place to do this.
Close your eyes, take a slow deep breath in, and then exhale. Repeat this 5 – 10 times.
Simple but highly effective.
Tip #2: Notice your thought patterns
Tune into your thought patterns and what your mind is focusing on.
The average human brain has over 50,000 thoughts per day so it’s no wonder we’re exhausted at the end of a day without even realising why!
Rather than judge or try and ‘wrestle’ the thoughts to the ground just acknowledge them. Focus on your breath again, breath the thought in, and then out as you imagine it floating across the sky with your breath until it disappears.
Tip #3: Ask yourself what’s really going on here?
If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, having repetitive negative thoughts, ruminating about something that happened in the past, or worrying about the future, ask yourself the question “what’s really going on here?”
What’s driving you to have these recurring thoughts or feelings? Is it your desire to be in to be ‘perfect’, to ‘people please’, to be loved and accepted, for security and control? Who is it that’s pressing your button, and why? Then ask yourself how is this ‘serving you’ right now?
Our brains are hard wired to always be looking out for threats or potential hazards. This includes rejection, failure, negativity, conflict and lack of resources (money, food, security).
By noticing the recurring thoughts and what is driving them, you can then start to remind yourself that actually ‘all is well’ and there is no real imminent danger that can’t be resolved.
Keeping things in perspective and having a healthy mind-set leads to lower stress and higher resilience levels in the long term.
Tip #4: Stay Active
All the research and evidence supports being fit and healthy in helping alleviate stress, anxiety and depression.
Yet in times of stress and pressure making time for the gym or going for a run is often the first thing to ‘give’ and the excuses start to creep in like ‘I don’t have time’ or ‘I’m too tired’.
If you find yourself making excuses or don’t have enough time for your usual exercise routine, find a compromise. Even if it’s a short walk after work or at lunchtime with a colleague you will find your mood improves and you sleep better at night.
Set yourself some realistic goals and find a friend or colleague to exercise with. If you have kids make them part of the exercise routine too by going for a bike ride together, get out the skipping rope in the back yard, or doing some step ups or sit ups while they play at the park.
Tip #5: Connect
It’s important to disconnect from our ‘screens’ every so often to give our brain a break. But even better still get up and go around the office to chat to a colleague or call a friend or family.
Ask them about how their day is going, what challenges they are facing and if you can help.
Research has shown that by supporting others and creating support networks people become more resilient and less prone to stress.
Final Thought:
You have probably heard or read these 5 Tips before somewhere as none of them are rocket science. However how many do you actually do?
Ask yourself, are you Taking Action?
Or are you waiting for your Organisation, Boss, Partner, Doctor or Friends to change your life for you?
If you are then you might have a long wait as they are probably as stressed as you are!
If you are looking to increase the effectiveness and results of your organisation, contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your organisation’s results.
Hi Garret, I just wanted to say thank you again for today the feedback I was given this afternoon was that it far surpassed what they expected and that it was completely different to expectations but it covered everything in such an immersive and engaging way. I hope you had a safe trip home. And I will be in touch for some more future training opportunities!
Erica Wilkinson
Pathways Business Manager
Thank you Garret Norris. Your dissemination of knowledge was inspiring, insightful, thought provoking and lot of Fun! Your ability to create a safe, relaxed & energetic environment in which to deliver & demonstrate your ideas and knowledge is remarkable! Made for lots of learning and had a positive impact on us all! Thank you
Melissa Peace
Strategic Partnership Expert
A fantastic 3 days, you had us engaged, interacting, learning and threw us out of our comfort zones in the best possible way. I echo what my colleagues have said below, all of which is 100% true. Implementing these three days into what we do is now the focus and I look forward to connecting again soon, and look forward to more sessions where we can continue to learn, develop and and thrive in what we do, whilst living and breathing our WHY. Still buzzing, thank you!
Hessa Robinson
Education Sales Manager
The team loved the day and were raving about it to our marketing colleagues and managers who were unable to make the session. Garret, you were an amazing and engaging presenter.”
Dominic Taafe
Oncology Portfolio Manager
Hi Garret, I would like to say thank you for your time and effort last week at the Martec sales conference. The session from you went beyond my expectations in both your delivery and the involvement from my team. Thank you once again!
Ken Dick
General Manager
Hi John,
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the sessions and contribution in our journey towards service excellence. The sessions were very well planned and relevant to our modus operandi. The team is very appreciative of your guiding principles and quick lessons from the sessions. The immediate display of the lessons learnt will be witnessed during our current peak time. I’m definitely a better listener now Thank you.
Aakanksh Nyayapati
Senior Analyst, IT Service Delivery
Again I found the training session really engaging, you can tell that Garret is very passionate about what he does. It may sound cheesy, but I left feeling inspired and refreshed.
Kimberly Britts
As always I thought Garret was amazing and motivational, great refresher and gave me some new ideas to try and apply to what I do. Always great to participate in these sessions.
Stuart Gill
Honestly I don’t think it matters his cost as always has something insightful and thought-provoking to leave you with no matter how many times you’ve seen him or your position or length of tenure.
I would love to see what he could offer the wider company (not just sales) from a psychology point of view because I feel that the provocation he provides is beneficial to all he comes in contact with. I really enjoy it because we just get each other.
Daniel Jura
Being relatively new to this industry I was a little apprehensive going into my company training day, I thought it may have been scientific and technical and it's an area where I feel a teeny bit inadequate. The relief I felt when Garret started "warming up" the room was ridiculous. He made everyone feel comfortable, relaxed and engaged. At times I feel we over complicate things to make ourselves feel more important or special. In the end, Garret reinforced the need to slow down, fully engage, leave the ego at the door and listen. This training is a must have for all teams, no matter the level. It will make you stop, think and love sales again. Can't wait until the next one.
Stacey Taylor
Account Executive
Garret Norris is a rock star coach. He has transformed our Inside Sales team.
Love his work!
David Piggott
Managing Director
Having just competed a national customised training program where we engaged Garret and KONA all I can say is thank you Garret does his homework and prepares.
The impact we were able to achieve with our teams in rolling out a game changer was fantastic. Thanks Garret appreciate the effort and the results to date.
Iain Whyley
National Sales Manager
It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege to participate in a number of Garret's training and skill enhancing workshops and I cannot recommend him highly enough. Even as an experienced sales professional I always learn new things from him, think harder about what I do, and become more effective in my role. Garret's presentation style is both unique and genuine, honest to the core, while his role play and coaching principles are easy to understand and extremely worthwhile.
For anyone who needs to hone or develop sales and negotiation skills Kona, and particularly Garret, are certainly the RIGHT choice.
Craig Alderson
Business Manager
As a sales and negotiation professional, I have been involved in a few courses. I am very impressed by the way Garrett gets to the point directly and I know he speaks from experience. He has lived it.
I would like to work with Garrett more in the future as I believe we speak the same language in business. I’ll be in touch soon. Thanks Garret.
Shane Campbell
Senior Key Account Manager
Garret and Healthy Business Builder has been a huge influence on our business and its staff, The results have drastically increased thanks to his techniques and on going support. Very impressed with the overall service and I look forward to continuing our partnership in the future. Highly Recommended.
Johnny Justic
Founder and Managing Director
If we have the opportunity to have more sessions, I think it would be very beneficial. I have found that the concepts presented and the skills we are working on are quickly delivering results and are relevant to us, not simply adapted from their usual clientele. He is much more engaging than other speakers we have had in the past, and from the way other members of the team have been speaking about him it’s a feeling and opinion shared by many others. Also : if he can turn skeptics like Palagy around, I feel that says something!
Rebecca Landers
Tax Depreciation Specialist
Thank you again for spending time with our team over past 2 days.
Some valuable tips learnt and looking forward to seeing the impact it has on our team moving forward.
Jeremy Sinclair
Team Leader, Business Development
Definitely the best training session I have attended (including my own ha ), I could relate to the methods conveyed to us very easily. Well done Garrett and look forward to another head bashing
Gary Tozer
Tax Depreciation Specialist
We certainly appreciate the time and effort and will be making sure we include some of the hints and tips into our processes moving forward.
Matt Jenkin
Team Leader, Business Development
I really thought Garret was brilliant, its not just about selling, its about getting the conversation started. I felt it was really good. I have started using some of the techniques already and adapting to my style.
1 – First call Thursday, did a different approach, lady called in, started the chat by tell me about the property, then went onto telling me the info on the house, I went over everything, she was sounding relaxed, got her remaining details and said “lets get this started today for you” response Great lets do it.
2 – next call was a guy, same style all went well, then the Cost question, Ï can get this for $660.00 from another company” My response, that’s great, Do you want to save $100 today or save $thousands more in deductions with us in the long term, slight silence, then said good point, went ahead!
Stewart Gill
Tax Depreciation Specialist
I enjoy his take on what to say to clients who have been given the wrong free from their accountant. He said not to apologise and don’t get stuck on it and simply say that the fee is $770 and that you’ll call the accountant afterwards to make sure they know the fee’s, but then move on straight away. It was refreshing to have an outsider’s perspective on that. I tried it yesterday and didn’t apologise to a client when the accountant gave them the wrong fee. Not sure if it was just luck, or if Garrett is a genius or if it made me sound more confident or what but she converted.
Sarah Jackson
Tax Depreciation Specialist
I was so impressed with your training programmes, I felt compelled to write to you in appreciation. Although it was blatantly obvious you were a professional outfit right from our first meeting, your services have far surpassed my expectations.
I have been in sales and sales management for 15 years with 5 different companies and have attended many quality-training programs. During this time I have never experienced a program that adapted its philosophies and methodology so succinctly with a companies industry, market, products and value proposition.
Ultimately! The test of any training program is the results it delivers. Since KONA has worked with James Hardie the sales effectiveness of the team has increased dramatically. But an even more noticeable improvement is the quality of leadership displayed by the sales management team.
Glen Doherty
General Manager Sales
Glenn Dobson is the most charismatic and inspirational sales training and business development coach I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
At times confronting, Glenn breaks down your current sales process and delivers honest direct feedback! With a thorough understanding of your customers, product and industry, Glenn provides you with the necessary tools and roadmap to be more effective in professional sales.
Glenn's material is all his own and is presented in an easy to understand format, tailored for your business. I look forward to working with Glenn in the future. Ps, all the best for the IronMan world champs Glenn!
Graham Winder
BDM
Not only has our partnership with KONA proven to be highly beneficial for our management team… it has also proven to be an enormous return on investment with sales improving by over 23%.
Mark Lucas
Director XEROX UK
I have enjoyed working with KONA several times.
KONA have worked with my sales team strategically to raise the bar on their performance and belief in their ability to deliver results.
As personal coaches the HBB Group have guided me through my career by reminding me to clear away the clutter and keep it simple Sam. Keep on running Glenn.
Frank Courtney-Jay
Sales and Marketing Manager HP Singapore
Next Business Solutions used the team at KONA to take us through their Hearts and Minds training. Great team at KONA of people who are not only very experienced their product but they also bring their people skills that have been developed through their extensive global activities.
Rob Clydesdale
Microsoft Next Business Solutions Franchisee
Garret is a true professional and constantly challenges the norm which creates the high performing teams we have at MLA.
Garret has lead and coached our team to deliver outcomes that make a difference.
The approach from Healthy Business Builder was unique to our business and it has proven to be successful for MLA.
I would highly recommend Garret for any other business wanting positive, successful outcomes for your business.
Lisa Sharp
Chief Marketing Officer
The KONA Group has provided excellent customised training and coaching for our managers and staff at Nova Employment. First of all the KONA team gave a vast amount of knowledge to our managers on how to manage their staff. They then educated the employment consultants on how to handle difficult employers when telemarketing for jobs, before also giving them the skills on how to hold a face to face sales meeting. KONA have increased our jobs by 50% ever since they have been providing Nova managers and staff training and coaching.
They are always willing to provide assistance when needed and are always available to call if we need any further help.
Their training has been very successful for our organization and has been able to put Nova Employment in an extremely strong position. I highly recommend the KONA training and coaching as they are very good mentors in providing the best outcomes.
Peter Delimitrou
Employment Service Manager
The development programmes have had an outstanding effect on our business and results, and on the way our sales people treat our customers.
Frank Morberger
State Manager
As a consequence of KONA’s efforts and commitment very quickly we have seen some explosive changes with the team through the introduction of various client focussed and sales strategies, measurements and skills. Their motivation, direction and activity have all increased… and we expect our profits to escalate accordingly.
Ian Crowther
General Manager
Glenn Dobson and Garret Norris are coaches that really stands out to me as they take pride in what they do and deliver. I first utilised KONA around 7 years ago when he evaluated our business which ended up delivering some hard hitting facts , as a result changes needed to be made BUT as a consequence of those initial chats KONA helped set up a sales pipeline where we could track our activity and results which led to a 300% increase in sales within the first 6 months of implementing his sales tools.I HIGHLY recommend KONA but don't want the world to know what they can provide a business as this will give other companies an unfair advantage like we have !Glenn is now a mentor, a friend and above all someone that inspires you to always achieve your best.
Keiran Hathorn
Managing Director
Glenn is high highly talented leader who has assisted us in defining industry leading strategy. I would recommend KONA to anyone requiring an honest, intelligent, strategic, motivating and hard working business leader.
Troy Dawson
Chief Information Officer
Dear Glenn
As we complete stage one of the Campbell’s and John Lewis learning and development programs, I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thankyou to you and the KONA team for all of your time, commitment and energy to the project.
The response from our managers and sales team has been absolutely outstanding and everyone has benefited immensely from your involvement.
I agreed with both Brian and Geoff at the time when they stressed the importance of developing a program tailored to our business and you more than achieved our expectations.
I know you invested a lot of time in preparation and the time you spent with our people out on the road, visiting customers, was obviously well worth it. Included in the feedback from participants from around the country are, amongst many others, the following quotes: “Already I am putting some of the new techniques we learnt into practise and getting results from them”
“ I now feel as if I have greater control and structure over my sales approach and customers”
“I am communicating with my customers like never before and they are telling me things about their businesses that prior to the course I didn’t have a clue about” “I am managing my people in a far more effective and productive way and I feel that I can now start to see the light at the end of the tunnel” Once again Glenn, thankyou very much for all of your efforts and I personally can’t wait for the next stage!
Kurt Wilson
National Training Manager
Since NOVA and KONA started working together we have almost doubled our results in less than 9 months!
I had identified a need for developing our sales skills, but KONA delivered so much more than sales training to our business. Glenn encouraged us to take a step back, analyse our methods and develop a performance culture. As a manager responsible for performance, I appreciated that he clearly and fearless articulated our performance gaps from an outsider’s perspective to our management team, helped us to reverse engineer our results so that we could clearly identify what was needed to achieve performance KPI’s, and delivered practical, real world and customised training based on our business.
I look forward to a continuation of our partnership with KONA and learning more to help NOVA move forward and be even more successful.
Anne Goyer
Training & Development Manager
KONA professional sales and sales management training has been an excellent educational journey on how to enter the Hearts and Minds of our customers and Shareholders. To become business resources and strategic advisors. To build a relationship that understands our customer’s hopes, fears, dreams and vision to create opportunities for future growth that we can be a part of. The course has been taught in detail that can easily be implemented and has brought the entire sales and management team at Plumbing World into focus looking to achieve a common goal. I highly recommend any time spent with the KONA Group.
Russell Thomas
Branch Manager
KONA Group’s services were used by Brickworks Ltd in the form of Sales Management training. Glenn is unlike any other in his ability to connect with the audience. Glenn motivated me so much during a session. I decided at that point I would change my life forever. There was a group of us, that very moment who decided it was a time for change. Glenn explained the model for change and by using this model, it was possible to increase your chances of success 10 fold in anything you wished to achieve. The change we wanted to make was a healthier lifestyle. We decided to embark on a weight loss challenge. Using the attributes of the model, many achieved their ideal weight within months. My personal journey has seen me continue with the challenge and have now lost 29kgs, with 10 kgs until I am at my ideal weight. My lifestyle is now very different, being very careful with what I eat, walking approximately 50kms per week and doing Crossfit 3 times a week. I am on the way to fantastic health. my dad said to me yesterday, son you are looking the best you have in 30 years. They were great words to hear considering I am only 44 years old. I am healthier, I am stronger than I have ever been, I am more motivated, I am more focused and feel like a real winner. I don't believe I could have achieved this without using Glenn's model for change. Thanks Glenn, I would not have been able to do this without you, you have changed my life.
Trevor Marshall
Sales Manager
I have been lucky enough to attend B2B sales training run by the KONA Group. I have found Glenn to bring the same drive and passion that he applies to Iron Man training across in his training sessions. His training is not something you could read straight out of a text book - there is no "turn to page three". Glenn delivers real world pointers that are applicable in the changing workforce of today. The tools that he gives you, help you go through the door to be become a true business/strategic partner for your customers. Without these tools you would be standing on the curb, looking in, being a 3 P flogger! I would highly recommend attending a training session if you get the opportunity.
Keith Geenty
Sales Representative
Glenn is one of those fearless "can-do" high achievers that every business needs. His team at KONA make a valuable blend of skills and experience that deliver Sales results fast and ongoing. The hands on approach makes the KONA business a Sales consultancy suited to SMB up to large corporate, because it is all about people and their activity. Highly recommended regardless how good you think you are!
Paul Scanlan
General Manager
I would like to recommend The Kona Group for sales training that is succinct and professional and works.
I would have to say that after the training that we had received we have noticed a huge difference to our KPI's and have made for the great results that we are now seeing.
Belinda Hamburger
Branch Manager
KONA has provided a unique sales program to the Sales Team at Plumbing World, with an in depth knowledge of the subject and passion for sales that has ensured that the key tools required to be a successful sale person and build business to business relationships has already started to occur in the company in only a short period of time.
Casey Stuart
Regional Manager New Zealand
KONA has a unique approach to sales training, which has allowed Plumbing World to make a significant step change with its sales team. The training is fully customised for Plumbing World, which is important, as the it has developed far more engagement and buy-in from the sales team. The results have been immediate, giving Plumbing World a better understanding of and relationship with, our customers. Leading to new accounts being opened and an increase in sales from existing customers. For example as a direct result of the KONA training, a customer who's spend had dropped away for the previous 12 months, has increased their spend 16 fold.
Mike Dyer
Sales & Operations Manager
I was so fortunate to be able to attend the KONA training workshop at the 4life office in Sydney in February. I cannot begin to tell you how motivating and inspiring I found it to be. You gave me tools that I can use for both my personal and business growth. You demonstrated in a very simple manner how to set short and long range goals that are attainable. As you said hope is not a business strategy.
The day spent training with you was so worthwhile I have been implementing some of the strategies and am passing it to my downline. I would recommend this workshop to anyone who is serious about business building.
Jyoti Sidhu
KONA has a passion for seeing both people and business's improve through the process of training and educating staff. They will encourage and coach the business and your people to become better at what they do and to improve your "bottom line.
I have known Glenn both professionally and as a friend for 13 years now, and I have no hesitation in recommending KONA as a Business professional and also as person who commits fully to whatever challenge, be it business or physical such, as Ironman triathlon or running across the Sahara desert.
Robert George
Team Leader Inventory Control
Following the reorganisation of the field sales force, the KONA Group provided a number of workshops and coaching sessions in order to improve the understanding of how the company was changing the way that it operated. KONA supported us with the change by building trust and gaining buy-in from the team. KONA did an excellent job of emphasising the role of the field force in developing new business and building the sales and performance culture.
Jonathan Shinn
Operations Manager
Glenn is one person who knows how cut through to the real issues facing sales organizations of today, unearth the real potentials of a market of opportunity and help managers develop their companies unique "point of difference" to increase sales beyond what they ever thought possible.
Glenn is a master coach for both business and life's goals.
Paul Winter
QLD State Manager
I had the pleasure of meeting Glenn Dobson through our participation in one of the toughest footraces on the planet, The Marathon De Sables. In the time we spent together leading up to the race I became quickly aware that Glenn was an extraordinary human being.
His athleticism and endurance not only humbled me but inspired me to push myself to peg new boundaries. Whilst Glenn's achievements in Ironman and other endurance events puts him in a very small minority group his drive, motivation, energy and business knowledge puts him amongst an even smaller elite group of people. I have been fortunate to have been a professional in the financial markets for close to 20 years and this has exposed me to a vast array of individuals, their ethics and work practices.
During this period I don't think I have meet a person with the focus and drive to consistently deliver quality outcomes to his clients and business associates. Having an opportunity to interact with Glenn on any level whether it be business or social is something that will ultimately make you a better person. I have been fortunate to have shared an extraordinary challenge with Glenn but have been as equally enriched by the relationship we now share as a result of the race.
Justin Gallagher
Head of Equities Sales Trading and Execution
During my tenure in the building and construction industry the KONA Group was engaged to help align the sales function with the business and marketing strategy - a major shift in how we presented to market. KONA’s Hearts and Minds program challenged past paradigms and equipped our sales resource with a robust sales strategy, along with sustainable sales management and tactical skills which continued to deliver year on year growth.
Linda Ginger
Marketing and Branding Director
Glenn Dobson is a rare individual worthy of being on anybody's list of potential mentors. Glenn is an entrepreneur, successful business-operator, world-class Ironman Triathlete, terrific father and rumour has it, a pretty good husband! We have worked together on various projects over the last decade and I continue to marvel at his pragmatic ability. Glenn is a master at taking any 'theory' in the field of sales and translating them into immediately applicable methods for any client. He truly understands that "Results Count" and has consistently been able to cut through the bullshit in our project work, for his clients and in his own businesses. If you ever wanted to see a living breathing example of a 'balanced' individual who exemplifies Covey's "Important vs. Urgent" Glenn is your man. Add to that Collins' "Disciplined (person), applying disciplined thought and taking disciplined action." and you've found yourself a winner! Good on you Glenn. You really are a role model.
James Michael
Founder and CEO
We have been very impressed with your capabilities and see you as a key player in rolling out our customer service programmes.
Andrea Westwood
Capability Development
Throughout my career with Commonwealth Bank I met several business coaches, but 'Glenn Dobson' is the only name that I don't need to challenge my memory to remember. Glenn is an amazing coach with unique techniques; structured and interactive. He is one of the most positive people I have ever met, his amazing achievements are certainly as a result of his dedication, his commitment and his 'can do' attitude.
Odette Shahnazari
Manager
I was introduced to the KONA Group some five years ago through a mutual and respected business contact. My first impression was that Glenn has a unique sense of purpose, he is driven, motivated and passionate about achieving results personally but also in supporting others to achieve beyond their own expectations.
Over the past five years I have witnessed KONA in many business scenarios including business consulting, change management projects, sales management projects and executive level leadership programs.
Glenn is a natural leader and a manager in these environments. People respond well to him and his down to earth style.
Personally Glenn has an engaging communication style, an unstoppable enthusiasm to exceed expectations and first class networking skills.
I am proud to call him a friend, colleague and business partner and would recommend you consider his services when required.
Susie Lomas
Director
I have been in Glenn's training groups for the past 10 months, 4 to 5 sessions. I have found him to be a very enthusiastic speaker with a wealth of knowledge for us to take on board and work with. His presentation is hands on and easy to work with.
Working with KONA has had a huge impact on the Nova's business as we have increased results in some areas by between 50 -100%. I would highly recommend him and his business.
N/A
Glenn is one of those clients that truly partners with you and adds value back to you as a service provider. He's not a slave to his own views, nor is he a passenger in the process. He's very outcome focused and understands the core drivers of personality and individual values in achieving goals. That said, this is a man that no doubts lives by the virtue that profit, without honour, is loss. There's nothing manufactured or contrived about his work, quite simply he is inherently like this by nature. His background and experience speaks volumes. Over and above that he is a quality person.
Craig White
Director
Glenn is an effective business owner and trainer, he is clearly passionate about his company and the services Kona provides. Glenn has an energy and enthusiasm that is both infectious and motivating, which leads to confidence in his delivery and professionalism.
Nick James
National Sales Manager
KONA Group facilitated several workshops at the Advanced Group of companies for both the sales and operations teams. They are highly motivational and provided the teams with tools and techniques to improve their ability to connect with customers in both business development and service delivery roles. KONA is very business focused and pragmatic and focuses on what gets results.
I would recommend KONA to any other business that is looking to improve their sales capability or turn their project managers and operations managers into customer champions.
Jonathan Shinn
National Operations Manager
You'll only meet one Glenn Dobson of this caliber. Glenn is an International Ironman, Businessman and Sales Guru. With an extensive career in sales across UK, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Glenn is a consummate professional who has 'been there and done it all' when it comes to competitive sales environments. Commercially aggressive, his ability to identify growth opportunities and drive activity to deliver results for his clients is astounding.
The energy and discipline required to compete as an athlete at the elite level is evident in everything he does. As a Speaker, Glenn is inspiring, direct and highly motivating. All his business engagements are conducted with the highest level of integrity and results are always the number one priority.
Sue Thompson
Business Manager
Glenn is a master at focusing the attention of any sales team, business owner or sales manager on the importance of having a strong sales pipeline to the future prosperity of any business. He lives and breathes what he teaches and is able to succinctly and very effectively impart his extensive knowledge of how to establish and then manage a sales pipeline that will continually deliver new and profitable business. If your business needs a significant improvement in its sales performance Glenn should be the first person that you contact.
I recommend him highly for any size business or corporate enterprise.
Daniel Watson
Managing Director
Glenn is one of those rare individuals that makes you feel positive about life, just by being in the same room with him. I have known Glenn for a couple of years now and I am constantly amazed at the total energy output this man has. A true strategic thinker who has the ability to spot a great idea and turn his skills into a passion that is so infectious. If you are considering getting alongside this true gentleman, then I would say that this is one of the best things you will do today, if not the week, month or even year.
Greg Gillespie
Owner
I have worked with the KONA Group for over 6 years and have found them to be some of the most consistent and driven people ever!
A dynamic trainers with a strong emphasis on activity and results, KONA has brought invaluable experience to my own, and my staff's training.
If you are involved in any Sales capacity, or are managing a team involved in Sales, then KONA Group is a "must call" individual.
Aaron Williams
Founder and Managing Director
Garrett and Sienna at KONA group, were absolutely fantastic from appointment right through to the follow up of initiatives post workshop. Both had communicated effectively prior to the workshop and made sure the day was a phenomenal success for our Leaders at Openmarkets Group. Most importantly, Garrett is very engaging and all our leaders were switched on throughout the session with some key insights. I highly recommend Garrett, Sienna and the KONA Group.
Heidi Mehl
Executive Assistant to CEO
Engaged Kona Group to deliver account training workshop for Etex - Siniat. Great collaborative approach to course preparation and workshop execution very effective and extremely engaging for all participants. Great job Garret!!
Joe Mori
National Business Development Manager
Right from my first call to the actual day of DiSC profiling session, the KONA group were fantastic and provided excellent service. Garret facilitated the session, and his delivery technique was impactful and valuable to all attendees.
Umesh Datwani
Operations Manager | Investment Services
Garrett is a great coach/mentor, it was an honour having him here, and the progress was WAYYY more than I had anticipated, so I am very thankful.Hope you guys have an awesome day, just like you! ☺
Hana Hellou
Customer Support Manager
I have recommended Garret and the team at KONA to many organisations I have worked with. Their methods constantly challenge the norm, creating and supporting high performing teams. Garret has lead and coached our team to deliver positive and sustainable outcomes that make a difference to our teams and stakeholders. The approach from KONA is unique to each business or organisation and it has proven to be successful time and time again. I have witnessed many dysfunctional teams make changes to the way they operate after sessions with Garret and it is such a delight to see our teams work collaboratively and cohesively. They begin to communicate in new ways due to the deeper understanding of how individuals operate, communicate and learn. I would highly recommend Garret and the team at KONA if you are wanting positive, sustainable and successful outcomes for your business.
Kathryn Emmett
Executive Assistant to Head of Asset Projects | Olympic DamExecutive Assistant to Head of Technical Portfolio
My team and I had the pleasure of hosting Garret for Sales Training and it was absolutely fantastic. A thoroughly enjoyable day as we tackled key concepts, engaged in role play and absorbed the benefit of Garret's extensive experience. We look forward to working with Garret and his team again in the future.
Melanie Pritchard
Group Manager - Digital Revenue
Truly the most insightful and relatable training/professional course I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of. Absolutely will leave a review - 5 stars
Narissa Chan
Senior Digital Account Manager
Garret took our team of 10 (experienced) sales consultants for the day looking at profiling and strategic sales techniques. It was motivating, insightful and fun. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Garrett and Kona - we will be back.
Stephen Richards
Director Sales Marketing
Thank you for the most insightful and relatable professional workshop session. It was gratifying, and I feel empowered and more confident.
Thank you so much for delivering such a valuable and engaging session. It was certainly in the spirit we intended. I have had positive feedback, and the team mentioned how valuable they found your session specifically.
Ekta Manwal
HR Advisor
Thanks Garret Norris & the KONA Group for an awesome day yesterday! We learned a lot, but also has so much fun along the way. We look forward to working with you again.
Peg Vaghaye
Executive Manager, Broker Relationships
Thanks Garret Norris for a fun filled 2 days with not only lots of laughs but lots of valuable lessons on how to improve our skills when communicating with our customers and fellow work mates. I know all of us are excited about putting all we’ve learnt into practice.
Heather Priest
Head of Sales APAC at Altura Learning
Garret has a gift which enables him to connect and engage with everybody in the room. Although he is very accomplished, he is very down to earth and uses his Irish charm and humour to put everyone at ease. His delivery of the training was excellent and kept our groups attention for the whole 2 days which is no easy feat! The tools learned in the workshop re-ignited my passion for the sales environment - which is exactly what I was hoping for. All feedback from our team was positive and I would not hesitate to recommend Garret and his team.
Jaime Reid
Senior Business Development & Training Manager
Excellent session with you both Garret and John. Really appreciate the insights into delivering a better experience for all parties involved in a negotiation. Couldn't recommend KONA enough for anyone looking to enhance their Sales and Negotiation capability.
Luke Day
Business Development Lead
Thanks so much Garret Norris and John Wright. It was great training and the team have been talking about it all week. Just what we needed! We will definitely be getting KONA back again!
Judy Cole
Managing Director
Garret delivered some sales training for our team in Brisbane. We are a specialist recruitment agency with people of various experience levels. He was able to tailor an engaging session that everyone was able to benefit from. Thanks Garret!
Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant & Director
The training that was provided by KONA and delivered by Garret was second to none. I believe my team and I have learned a lot over the training and have had a lot of positive feedback from them.
Benjamin Helmore
Branch Manager
This was a fantastic few days, thank you Garret.
Donavan Derman
CFO
Garret's Sales Communication Training delivered a strategic advantage to our team, who are now equipped with the practical tools needed to drive customer success.
Robert Guerin
Chief Executive Officer
Very interesting/enlightening experience. Quite surprising to receive and witness such accurate profiling of each individual's DISC Profile.
Mitchell Jeggo
Operations Manager
Hey Garret. Just a quick word of thanks. My time on the road with my team has become so much more intentional and productive. One thing I hear when I ask about what they want from the meeting is they say things they want to share. I am getting them to ask what do they hope to learn and discover from the meeting. Anyway just saying again, you have helped me.
Marco de Geus
General Manager - Sales
Really enjoyed our group training day. Learned some interesting insights about myself & colleagues.
Betty James
Senior Marketing Specialist
I couldn't speak any higher of Garret and his team! To gain the trust in our team and instil such empowerment so quickly, is incredible! The ongoing support and encouragement following the training has been wonderful and invaluable. To anyone looking for sales or leadership training for yourself or your business, this team is the best I've ever come across!
Samantha Sullivan
Sales & Marketing Manager
Very down to earth and very easy going.. extremely informative and made the day fun. Thank you greatly.
Adam Carr
Supagas Australia
I've had the good fortune of being trained by Garret on two separate occasions - firstly as a sales agent & later as a leader. His highly engaging delivery, backed by his extensive knowledge is inspiring & insightful. I will always be grateful to Garret at the Kona Group for re-igniting my passion for sales & mentorship.
Gary Lawson
Senior Sales Development Manager
We had the pleasure of John at KONA facilitating some DISC training at our workplace. The group was cohort of different leadership levels at a federal government department. John's expertise and engaging teaching style made the half day thoroughly enjoyable. His real-world examples and interactive approach kept everyone involved and provided valuable insights into team dynamics and personal communication styles. Highly recommend John and KONA for professional development needs!
Jahn Giolitto
Assistant Director
My favourite session at mid-cycle was the guest speaker Garret Norris. It boosted my motivation & made me rethink the way I have conversations in scoping calls with potential customers. I came out of that session with new skills in communication & questioning and found it really valuable as someone new to the sales world.
Natalia Henderson
Pharmacy Business Consultant
Fantastic hands-on coaching by Garret. Really appreciated the wealth of insights and strategies from Garret’s breadth of experience working with other businesses that we can reference. Highly recommended to anyone who would like to improve their external engagement or sales skills!
Lily Che
Senior UX/UI Designer
Thanks Garret, the team really appreciate everything that you did, it was extremely informative, you made the role play interesting and comments from our team that have been on sales courses before, "The best sales course they have ever done.” Our focus now is to put some of these techniques into play!
David Arndell
General Manager
It is really easy to improve our teams communications and ability to work as a team..... when you have a competent, engaging and professional facilitator delivering a message like "Communication and response". Garret Norris certainly gave our team at Rural Financial Counselling Service NSW - Northern Region access to the tools that they need to go forward in meeting our vision with enthusiasm! On behalf of the team.... Thank you Garret!!!
Gary Goldberg
CEO RFCS NSW - Northern Region
One does seldom come across a presenter that builds value, brings real world examples and enables you to be pushed in an environment that is not only safe but also fun. Garret's style is fitting and relevant to the world of today's customers and practices. In my career, I have been to a number of these sessions and left with a textbook approach. However, after spending time with Garret I have a new toolbox of solutions that enable me to best serve my customer and provide true value for all parties. If you're wanting a change approach and down to earth sense of fun with serious outcomes you cannot go past his sessions, real world examples and genuine impromptu approach.
Wade Bailey
Sales & Operations Management
An excellent few days of genuine, modern sales training and workshops. Garret has just the right demeanour to engage the room, providing new tools and sharpening existing ones, all whilst having a bit of fun.
Gareth Spencer
National Sales Manager
✨️"The quality of communication, can only be measured by the response you receive" - G. Norris.
Today, I had the privilege of participating in an incredible Account Management and Sales Training session delivered by Garret Norris. The experience was both insightful and inspiring, with practical strategies and techniques tailored to drive impactful client relationships and sustainable business growth.
What truly stood out was the focus on understanding personality profiles using hashtag #DISC, tailoring our conversations to suit, fostering trust, and aligning solutions to create value. The interactive approach and actionable takeaways made it not just a training session but a transformational experience. A huge thank you to Garret Norris and team for delivering such a well-structured and engaging program. I’m excited to implement these strategies in my work and continue refining the skills shared today. To those seeking to elevate their account management or sales expertise, I highly recommend The KONA Group. Let’s keep growing and delivering value together!
Michelle Koch
Strategic Relationship Manager
This is the first time we've worked with Garret, but it won't be the last. Garret's engaging style is totally relevant to today's market conditions. Our team left energized with many insights on how to grow and create business opportunities. Would highly recommend working with Garret and his team.
Lisa Collie
General Manager
Garret has become an integral part of uplifting the capability in our sales team. He is an engaging facilitator, very seasoned sales trainer and has become an integral part of our team. Thank you Garret!!
Cherie Habashi
Head of People & Culture
Great days training on questioning and value, highly recommend!
Daniel France
Business Development Lead
Thank you Garret for your fabulous words of wisdom to our Melbourne Jim's Antennas & Security Franchisees at our recent Mini Regional Conference. Everyone came away with something to implement into their small business. Looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday with the Sydney group.
Heidi Schieren
General Manager
Garret was a brilliant speaker. Emptying his knowledge on a group of technicians. I always get a lot out of sales trading even if it’s just to restore previous knowledge or learn new tactics about how I treat customers.
David McDonald
Antenna Engineer
We had a great session with the KONA Group today on sales prospecting. Garret did an excellent job shifting the team’s perspective on both selling and prospecting. The session was engaging, practical, and thought-provoking. I’ll definitely be a returning customer for more sessions!
Mouaz Alnouri
Founder
Garret from The KONA Group delivered fantastic training at our Melbourne and Sydney Jim’s Antennas & Security conferences. His energy, insight, and practical approach really connected with our team - the feedback was overwhelmingly positive!
Alex Legge
CEO - Jim's Digital
Thank you again for the fantastic session yesterday. The feedback from the team has been overwhelmingly positive - many shared that it was the most insightful and inspiring training they’ve had since joining Envu.
A number of people even described it as the best training they’ve ever received here. I’m looking forward to working with you again soon.
Thanks, Julii
Julii Liu
Commercial Excellence Manager - ANZ
Hi Garret, I’ll definitely leave a Google review, but I wanted to thank you here first for such a fantastic training session. I’ve heard nothing but enthusiastic, glowing feedback from the team. Everyone truly valued the experience. My only regret is that I couldn’t be there in person!
I especially appreciate your collaboration and flexibility in adjusting the agenda so we could incorporate the real sales planning work into the session. It made a big difference and was greatly appreciated by all.
Thanks again for an outstanding training!
Marilyn Hui
Strategy & Planning | Driving Strategic Initiatives, Commercial and Operational Excellence Director
For over 2 decades, our customers have reached out to us because we are an expert Australian team with local and global expertise. We are passionate about empowering individuals and teams growth - developing talents, cultivating leadership skills, and overcome any obstacles.
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