We have always been told that in order for us to be successful in business, we need to work hard.
And in 95% of businesses, sales strategies and methodologies need to be applied if we want our businesses to grow.
Business expects to improve its sales over the previous month or year.
It is no longer enough that a sales person or a business earns the same amount of money each month as the expectation is that the business must improve its sales over the previous month or year.
This is why sales training and coaching should be conducted regularly
This is why sales training and coaching should be conducted regularly for sales people, so that they are updated with the latest strategies and techniques to make sure the business can grow.
Insanity is doing the same things, in the same way, and expecting a different result…
We have all heard the old cliché “Insanity is doing the same things, in the same way and expecting a different result” However when KONA start to work with many sales people (and managers) we find that most are still selling with the skills and techniques they learnt (or picked up on the way) years ago.
Or worse, they are ‘learning’ from and working for managers who also haven’t upgraded their skills.
Stuck in the 1980’s – 1990’s
Basically they are still 1980 – 1990s ‘product flogging, brochure dropping, price quoting, problem solving reps’. This is compounded at a time when customers are looking for a sales person and sales manager to really add value to their business, not just spout product stats and features.
If you think this is BS – a Global Brand recently flew all of their sales people into a conference recently and didn’t train them in ‘strategic account management’ or ‘complex negotiation in multi channel solutions’.
They did sales 101 as they realised their sales team didn’t know how to ask questions, discuss the customers overall business, or even find out “what keeps the customer awake at night”
Many companies used to think that the only way a person can be really good at sales is if they have a bachelor’s degree, have years and years of sales experience, or have the ‘gift of the gab’.
This way of thinking not only hinder them from being truly successful, but it also blinds us to what is real, as having all those attributes does not guarantee a sale.
So, What Does?
You may have noticed that much of the training you have attended has been carried out by so-called sales experts who deliver ‘by the manual’.
However, if you listen carefully and compare each training session that you have gone to, you will notice how generic that approach can be.
They would always go through similar topics but not actually train you – what you should actually do, what you should say, or how you should say it, keeping it relevant to YOUR industry and YOUR challenges.
In addition, many training sessions are too focussed on telling you how you should present your product more effectively.
What Your Customers Are Really Worried About
However the reality is that your customers rarely lie awake at night worrying about you and your product…
They are worried about:
Their market
Their future
Their customers
Their competition
Their pipeline of new business
Their people
Their cash flow
and many more issues.
Product training is all well and good but nothing beats learning about how to ‘DNA’ the challenges customer faces in their business. Then how to link your solutions, services and/or products to those challenges.
Take a look at your sales people and sales managers, what era are they selling from?
For more information on how to ‘DNA’ a customer contact KONA Training today at 1300 611 288 or info@kona.com.au.
COVID-19 is changing how B2B buyers and sellers interact. Clever adaptable sales leaders are learning how to adapt to the next normal.
COVID-19 has destroyed lives and livelihoods and continues to do so in many communities around the world. The full implications of the pandemic are far from certain, it is already clear that its economic consequences are dire.
For sales leaders contemplating how to react, taking care of their people and customers must be a top priority. Even as they manage that reality, sales leaders also need to adjust how their organizations sell in the face of new customer habits and trying economic times. In many ways, the changes in customer behaviour are an acceleration of digital trends that were in motion before the pandemic hit.
To better understand how both customers and sellers are reacting, we looked at sales statistics from 2019. While companies are generally reducing spend, a sizable number are increasing or maintaining it, with rates depending on company size, sector, and—more than any other factor—location in the world.
One thing is clear, while there is a lot of trepidation and uncertainty, causing significant reductions in spending, companies are still spending.
Almost 90 percent of sales have moved to a video-conferencing(VC)/phone/web sales model, and while some scepticism remains, more than half believe this is equally or more effective than sales models used before COVID-19.
Data is an amazing thing, when we look at it, we can see trends and insights that can help us be better at what we do. For example, imagine in 2018 to 2019 we knew that is takes, on average, 3.68 calls to reach a prospect. That knowledge hopefully encouraged you to make at LEAST 4 attempts to reach your prospects.
Now the problem is things have changed…
And with that, the data needs to change and be updated. However, what we are going through is unprecedented.
Looking at 2019, it took 8 calls on average to reach your prospect!! If you were going by previous data you’d be giving up at 4-5 attempts, missing tonnes of opportunities, so how many do we need to make in this COVID era????
To help here are some of the statistics out there from 2019 to help give you the insight and advantage you need to sell more. While our activity needs to increase, we don’t believe the methods have changed.
NOW
1) Studies show that asking between 11–14 questions during the course of a lead call will translate to 74 percent greater potential success. (Source – Gong.io)
2) Almost six in 10 buyers want to discuss pricing on the first call. (Source – HubSpot)
3) Customers are 4x more likely to buy when referred by a friend. (Source – Neilsen)
4) 80% of sales require five follow-up phone calls after the meeting. (Source – Marketing Donut)
5) Several industries reported a 50 percent revenue increase with social media selling. (Source – Forbes)
6) 75% of 1,000 executives polled were prompted to attend an event or take an appointment as a result of a cold call or email. (Source – DiscoverOrg)
7) 43% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it from friends on social media. (Source – Neilsen)
8) About 47% of top performers ask for refferals consistently, versus only 26% of non-top performers. (Source – HubSpot)
THEN
9) In 2007, it took 3.68 cold call attempts to reach a prospect. In 2019 it took eight attempts. (Source – Spotio)
10) 79% of all marketing leads are never converted to sales. (Source – Salesforce)
11) The biggest challenges in 2019 salespeople face: Establishing urgency (42%), Getting in touch with prospects (37%) and Overcoming price objections (35%) (Source – HubSpot)
12) 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up. (Source – Scripted)
13) 40% of emails are opened on mobile first, and the average mobile screen can only fit four to seven words max in the subject line. (Source – ContactMonkey)
14) The best days to call are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6:45 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.(Source – RingLead)
15) CRM system adoption increases sales by up to 29%. (Source – Salesforce)
16) 73% of executives prefer to work with sales professionals referred by someone they know. (Source – IDC)
17) 55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media. (Source – Blender)
18) The most successful reps use terms that inspire confidence, such as “certainly,” “definitely,” and “absolutely,” five times more often than low performers. (Source – Gong.io)
19) 79 percent of salespeople achieve quota by using a combination of social selling techniques. (Source – Microsoft)
20) On average, people made 33 dials per day. This is down from 38 in 2012. (Source – ForEntrepreneurs)
21) Research shows that 35% to 50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first. (Source – InsideSales.com)
22) Adding the word “New” to your subject line can increase open rates by 23%. (Source – Adestra)
23) Only 7% respond to leads in the first five minutes after a form submission. More than half don’t respond within five business days. (Source – Drift)
24) Subject lines with three to four words get more responses than shorter and longer ones. (Source – HubSpot)
25) Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. (Source – The Annuitas Group)
26) High-performing sales organizations are twice as likely to provide ongoing training as low-performing ones. (Source – HubSpot)
27) 32% of buyers post a review on social media. (Source – Avande)
SO!
Did any of these statistics shock you?
Were there any that you are finding to be happening to you right now?
Which ones have inspired you to work differently?
Statistic number 19 showed that a whopping 79% of salespeople achieve quota by using social selling techniques… however so many salespeople and sales teams are barely scratching the surface with it.
If you need help designing a customised, fun and highly charged training program to help you win more customers and grow your market share, contact KONAtoday on 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.aufor a confidential conversation.
Your Long-Term Strategy for Success with a Positive Sales Culture
As the old adage goes, choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life! To truly create a driven and positive work culture, you’ll need a long-term strategy of consistent, purposeful support for sales improvement. These techniques for good sales training can be used with a one-day conference, a workshop or short-term coaching.
1. CONTINUE WITH TRAINING:
Make training continuous with a series of workshops, online seminars, lunch-and-learns, and other sessions. Regular sales training should reinforce previously learned skills as well as help people learn new tips and techniques. Online learning and blended-model learning, a combination of online and in-person training, is an affordable and effective way to offer continuous support and education.
2. LISTEN AND LEARN:
Build a library of books, podcasts and other materials to provide your team with learning on the go. They can listen to sales training and motivational materials during transit to appointments or on their commute to and from the office. Some classics of sales include Garret Norris’s Build a Healthy Business, Brian Tracy’s The Psychology of Selling and many others. Don’t forget books on communication skills and, of course, a bank of product resources to help your salespeople increase their basic sales knowledge. The Kenan-Flagler Business School offers a list of the 10 best podcasts for building a positive sales culture. You can download Apple iTunes to your smartphone or iPhone and listen on the go and be well on track to building your own positive sales mindset.
3. DEVELOP A CASE STUDY LIBRARY:
Newcomers to the sales department may gain much from a bank of case studies your team has created. Although some sales skills are product – and company-agnostic, others seem to work best in specific situations and industries. Use this foundational knowledge to shorten the learning curve for new employees and to help everyone improve, in turn creating a unified and positive sales environment. Because salespeople are often on the go, written case studies may not work for your team. Instead, spend five minutes at your weekly sales meeting sharing case studies and record them with a small digital recorder. Upload them to the company intranet or share links via email. Staff can listen to them in the car, at home or if they have a few minutes at work.
4. PERSONAL COACHING AND MENTORING:
Partnering up skilled salespeople as observers and mentors with new or less-skilled sales members may also help in establishing a positive sales culture. Learning from peers in a safe, supportive environment is often an effective way to overcome personal blind spots. Because the information is coming from peers, it may be easier to understand or easier for participants to ask questions.
5. ALLOW TIME FOR A CHANGE:
It takes time to learn and apply new skills. It can take even longer to demonstrate results. While you shouldn’t have to wait forever to see positive improvement, demanding immediate change is counterproductive. Allow your employees time to learn, grow and change. Make sure they have enough structured time in their day for learning and training activities.
6. MEASURE RESULTS:
Hold people accountable for their sales goals. Use the goals they have self-identified in training to measure progress. Metrics to monitor include lead generation, sales calls, closing rate and revenues generated. Don’t forget to measure customer satisfaction, upsells and cross-sells, too. These, when taken together, can clearly show how much of an impact sales training has made.
7. PROVIDE FEEDBACK:
Managers can accompany team members on sales calls and provide immediate feedback once the meeting has ended. Providing feedback immediately after a situation helps reinforce both what went right and what could be changed in the future. Just make sure this feedback is given in private and not in front of the client!
PLAN FOR SUCCESS
For long-term sales success, you need a plan. Begin your plan by analysing and measuring the current performance of your sales team. Get to know each team member as an individual. Each person contributes something unique to the team while having specific weaknesses in their work skills. Identifying strengths and weaknesses is the first step to planning effective sales training. This is where you start. Even before you begin to think of your marketing plan
A clear road map for sales training includes both big-picture thinking and alignment to individual goals and KPIs. Aligning training activities to the company’s overarching key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals helps build executive buy-in, as well as necessary budget, for your proposed sales education program.
With these methods, both phone and field sales team members can demonstrate improvement over time. Having the right sales training program means tailoring it toward your team, their goals and their needs, and the company’s needs overall. With this in place, you can dispel the myth of sales training issues and demonstrate its positive benefits instead.
If you need help designing a customised, fun and highly charged training program to help you win more customers and grow your market share, contact KONA today on1300 611 288|info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation.
Have you calculated how much your customer service costs you? Do your Customer Service Officers (CSOs) know how to make the best use of time?
The concept of sales coaching, in an effort to reinforce the information learned during training and facilitate changes in workplace behaviour, is gaining moremomentum. And industry feedback reveals some businesses still need to do more.
In August 2020, the KONA and HBB Group coached over 500 salespeople virtually. However, it is important to understand that salesis not the only area where coaching has a key role to play.
In fact, coaching your staff in the art of customer service is every bit as important. Without doing so, you are unlikely to put together a truly customer-orientated workforce, increasing the likelihood of customers having bad experiences. That, in turn, can have some serious consequences for your business.
Most businesses recognise that delivering good customer service is now a prerequisite for success.
Indeed, customers are more demanding than ever before in this area. Also, the level of customer service that would have once provided a competitive advantage is now considered to be the bare minimum expectation.
It is, therefore, best to assess the importance of customer service by looking at the cost of failure.
One of the KONA Groupsclients – American Express, in a survey found:78 percent of customers have backed out of an intended purchase.
Why? Due to poor customer service.
Meanwhile, 67 percent have hung up the phone because they could not reach a live agent.
Crucially, it is not just the affected customers that may be lost. Research published by the White House Office of Consumer Affairs states “news of negative customer service reaches twice as many people as news of positive customer service”. This means, failure in this area can do catastrophic damage to a company’s reputation.
WHAT CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY WANT
Good customer service need not be complicated. In truth, despite customers having higher expectations than in the past, their demands are still all perfectly reasonable and achievable.
For example, in 2019, a HBB Group global survey revealed the single most important quality was “competent CSOs who could listen and empathise”.
The other main trend revealed customers do not want to have to wait ages for help. Again, this is a reasonable expectation. But when we speak to our customers, there is one common issue. Three quarters of all customers believe it currently takes too long to reach a person capable of assisting them.
What does this mean? That the focus of your customer service development should be on providing your staff with a detailed product knowledge and ways to reduce waiting times. Add in personalisation, such as insisting that staff actually use customer’s names, and you are well on your way.
Also, the cost to the organisation on not obtaining and recording accurate information can put undue pressure on the business. It also significantly heightens the customer’s frustration level. In a recent study conducted by The KONA Group while coaching 172 CSOs, it was found that one mistake caused 20 minutes to fix! If you amortise this – the time to the organisation is 1,964 days of productivity. That is an approximate cost of $765,000.
WHY CUSTOMER SERVICE COACHING MATTERS
Businesses that invest heavily in customer service training may wonder why ongoing coaching is required? The same answer applies to sales training and sales coaching. The role of a coach is to work with staff on a personal level, help them identify areas of weakness. Then, teach them to put their knowledge into action.
“Coaching is an interactive process that helps the other person improve, learn something new or take individual performance to the next level” explains Garret Norris, CEO of The KONA Group and author of “Build a Healthy Business”. “It is often an under-realised tool with which you can get the most out of your employees.”
In order to optimise your customer service, you are likely to have to need to make certain changes. That includes, reducing waiting times and personalising the customer experience. This requires staff to not only learn new ideas, but to actually use the information on a daily basis. Put simply, if you want to make improvements to your customer service, you cannot afford for them to revert back to old habits.
At The KONA Group, we offer a customer service coaching courses, learning how to develop talent and give feedback, with a view to improving performance and productivity, and in turn result in a strong ROI.
An astonishing 85% of sales training falls short of delivering on its ROI. Additionally, approximately 80% of new skills are lost within one week of training if they are not used, and about 87% of skills are lost within a month of training if they are not used regularly.Sales is the lifeblood of a company. Therefore, without steady sales, companies fail. Yet, some sales teams receive little, if any, training. Others receive inadequate one-hour seminars and are told they have just completed sales training. Is it any wonder why sales training doesn’t work?The best salespeople in the world are akin to Olympic-level athletes. However, companies treat them as if they can simply hit the ground running and sell, sell, sell without any training at all.
Consider how many hours go into training for the Olympics. Ultimately, an Olympic gymnast trains for years before hitting the mat with her teammates. So, we should do no less for our sales leaders!
There are many reasons why sales training doesn’t work. The right sales training techniques, however, can help your sales team train for their own unique “Sales Olympics.”
Sales Training Not Working? Here are Five Reasons Why Your Training Fails
A typical sales training scenario is a one-day, half-day or even shorter training session. That involves, an expert, consultant or high-producing salesperson to be invited into a company to speak to their sales team. The expert may hand out books or binders, encourage team members to participate in team-building exercises and listen to plenty of motivational speeches.After a day of receiving exhaustive knowledge on communications, persuasion, prospecting and follow-up, the sales team is told they have successfully completed training. They return to their regular work the following day, and soon the old habits return.
There are many reasons why some sales training sessions fail and others succeed.
Here are five common reasons why sales training often fails.
1. Activities are not tailored to adults. Considering the typical sales training model, it is unsurprising that companies fail to achieve their training ROI. KONA GroupCEO Garret Norris, an expert in adult education, identified several key factors for best practices for adult learning. Adults need training that speaks to their learning needs, not training modelled after typical university classroom practices.
KONA Group CEO Garret Norris on Why Training Does Not Work
Adults engaged in learning activities need to:
Know why they are participating in an activity.
Feel invested in the outcome — “What’s in this for me?”
Learn through doing. Newly learned activities must be practised to become second-nature.
Solve problems. Solving problems helps place a new activity into an adult’s long-term memory.
Learn in a social setting. Adults, even more than children, prefer to learn while among peers.
Tap into their life experience. That is, so they forge connections between what they have just learned and real-life scenarios and situations they remember.
Integrate new knowledge with existing information. They like to see a connection between what they have just learned with things they have previously learned.
Assuming adults who attend a one-day seminar will become exceptional salespeople the following day is an unreasonable expectation. Sales training issues aren’t problems with salespeople — they are problems with the model used to train adult learners, whose needs remain unmet by lecture-style workshops.
2. Not enough time allowed for results.
Another factor often overlooked in why sales training doesn’t work is leadership. Companies may invest in sales training, but if the company’s leadership team doesn’t support the time required to learn new skills, sales training may fail.Companies often seek immediate ROI for investing in sales training, but as we have seen, this is an unrealistic expectation. Failing to give the participants enough time to learn, practice and perfect new skills is like asking an out-of-shape adult to run a 10K next week — you can ask, but the person is likely to fail (never mind get hurt!).To truly enact a culture of continuous learning in your organisation, you must “put your money where your mouth is” and pay more than lip service to sales training.Corporate leaders must be willing to allow salespeople to attend training. They must be patient while new skills are learned. Systems must be set up to monitor, measure and report on sales results, with the data used not to punish low performance, but instead to coach and train for improvement.
3. Lack of leadership buy-in and participation.
Can you imagine a NRL team coach who never attends practice? Or the captain of the AFL team telling his players he’s too busy practising his surfing to attend team practice? The same thing happens with many sales managers: they assign personnel to training without attending training themselves.When sales managers fail to attend training, it leads to a big disconnect between “Do as I say” and “Do as I do.” They give mixed messages about the importance of training. Perhaps more importantly, they cannot model the appropriate behaviours because they haven’t learned alongside their staff what’s important.
Managers must be willing to commit the time and effort to sales training alongside their team members. Actively participating in sales training not only encourages team members but demonstrates support for the key concepts being taught. Whether it’s participating in classroom activities alongside trainees or role playing along with them, when the manager participates, training is more effective.
4. Start With the End in Sight: Set Goals
The first step to creating an ideal sales training model is to begin with the end goal in mind. Establish key goals, metrics and measurements first, before creating your training.
Identify what you would like the sales team to learn, know and do after the training is completed. The goals for product knowledge sales training may be quite different from the goals for sales skills training. Identifying which skills to focus on first, and the desired outcomes, will have the most impact.Additionally, practising in a safe, supportive training environment takes much of the risk out of trying new activities. A supportive and encouraging coach ensures people know when they have demonstrated a new skill successfully.
To GET YOUR TEAM INVOLVED IN ACTIVE LEARNING AND ENGAGED IN THE ART OF SALES contact
HOW TO TURN AROUND UNDERPERFORMING SALES TEAMS THAT ARE STRUGGLING DURING THESE COVID TIMES
It is 8.30 in the morning. You walk into your office alone as your team must work from home, coffee in hand. You wish you could hear the chattering and bustle of your team. You enter the room and look around.
Phones are not ringing, and fingertips are not dancing across the keyboards. You long to hear the excitement in the voices of your team members. You miss the energy that was electrifying.
You think, do we have an underperforming sales team or what is going on? Then the mood shifts.
Someone calls you on MS Teams, when you answer you see one of your team spinning around in their chair, accordingly she winks and says, “That’s $5,000 before noon, Boss.” Normally the cheering in the office would be truly equal that of a crowd at an AFL final.
You quickly get your mojo, even manage a smile and say, “this is going to be a good day, I can feel it in my waters”.
*Beep beep beep*
Then finally comes your rude awakening. The sound of your alarm every morning is brutal. In fact you dream of a pre COVID sales team that’s crushing their quotas on a daily basis and a team culture that’s both supportive and competitive.
However that is not the case. They are struggling every day. They are also not closing deals. Similarly, they do not even seem to know how to qualify leads in this environment, truth be told… nor do you. Revenue is down and quite frankly – you are in trouble.
The good news? Your dream is not far off.
HERE IS A GUIDE ON HOW TO TURN AN UNDERPERFORMING SALES TEAM AROUND
Firstly, start from the beginning: Where did things go wrong?Yes, you can “blame” COVID and no one would flinch if you did. Many sales managers tend to have the kind of reflexive thinking that ends up making the problem worse. Why? They never figured out what caused all these issues in the first place. Let’s take a look at how you can get there.
Often when things go wrong, we seek to blame rather than to solve. Have you ever had a conversation with a child, and they kept asking you “Why?” Regardless of your response, their next question was always “Why?” It is likely that you ended the conversation with a firm, and for the child very unsatisfying, “because.”
Well, guess what? While this is an excellent way for a child to drive their parents crazy, it’s also the same approach that turned Toyota into a $500 billion company. The company pioneered a problem-solving methodology for an underperforming sales issue, known as the 5 Whys Model. Let us take a look.
THE 5 WHYS MODEL
The 5 Whys Model has been praised by the start-up community as the quickest way to identify the root cause of a problem. We are going to take a look at how it works, the limitations to the model and what you can do to improve it.
So how does it work? You simply begin with a statement of the problem, that is, “I have an underperforming sales team.” Next, you ask “Why?” and you continue to ask “Why?” in response to each statement until you have arrived at what’s actually causing the problem. Here is what the conversation could look like.
Sales Manager:I have an underperforming sales team.
You:Why is your team underperforming?
Sales Manager:Nobody seems to be giving their best.
You:Why are they not giving it their best effort?
Sales Manager: They’re not personally invested in their success. They say they want to come into an office, do the day-to-day work, and leave at 5 p.m. sharp.
You:Why are they not personally invested?
Sales Manager:I think it is because we only reward the top sales rep, and everyone sees the top position as out of their reach. Only Glenn, the top guy, is killing it and the rest are not hitting target as they cant travel.
You:Why do they think the top position is out of their reach?
Sales Manager:Because Glenn has been the top rep ever since he started and they’ve pretty much given up on trying to even compete with him.
You:Why have they given up on trying to compete with him?
Sales Manager:Well, he is better than everyone by a long shot and still is.
Aha! In this situation, you have discovered – in less than two minutes – that your reps are not motivated to perform as well as your top performer. Voila – the reason for your underperforming sales team is now known.
LIMITATIONS TO THE 5 WHYS
While the 5 Whys approach can be a powerful problem-solving technique, it comes with limitations.
Single cause issue. It assumes that there is only one cause behind the effect.
Deductive thinking. Often, problem solving does not take place where the problem occurred. This leads to the discussion not being grounded in what actually happened.
Confirmation bias. The person asking the questions will jump to conclusions because they’ve “seen this happen before”.
Here are four simple ways to improve your use of the 5 Whys Model and turn your underperforming sales team around:
Use a timeline. Identify the events that detail how the problem occurred, outside of COVID.
“Go and See.”Observe what is actually happening, rather than make assumptions as to what might be happening.
Gather data. Demonstrate that the answer to any of the whys is plausible.
Ask again. For each of the causes your sales reps come up with, ask them another five whys.
A STARTING POINT
Despite its limitations, using the 5 Whys Model offers you a great way to explore the potential issue at hand and opens up the lines of communication. It will assist you in challenging your assumptions and identify the areas in which the issue lies. And once you have done this, you can start looking at solutions to the problem.
Next, let us take a look at the three most common causes of an underperforming sales team and how you and your sales team can get out of a rut.
1. DID YOU HIRE THE RIGHT SALESPEOPLE?
Good sales managers ask themselves this question constantly when faced with an underperforming sales team. But it is not just about deals closed or leads qualified – it is about your team working together. It is about your sales culture. To illustrate this, let us look at an example.
The LA SWAT team used to be a volunteer task force within the LAPD that took on the most dangerous missions. These volunteers were skilled at combat, and many of them had unique experiences, such as the Vietnam War. But because they were not a cohesive team, the early SWAT teams suffered from sky-high mortality rates.
Members of the SWAT team face life and death situations every day. For them, having the right people is not just important. It is the difference between waking up the next day and knowing that your teammates will too.
Today, the SWAT team no longer consists of volunteers. Each candidate has to go through a six-day selection process during which they need to meet mental as well as physical criteria.
THE APPROACH
One of the most challenging tests is called “Hogan’s Alley.” This is a mock street scene where candidates are confronted with surprise situations in which they need to make life or death decisions. This includes whether or not to shoot a suspect or deciding whether a person is a friend or an enemy. During these tests, candidates need to demonstrate that they can think clearly and make a decision while they are exhausted, and even physically hurt.
While this is an extreme example, it is an approach to hiring that can be applied to any team. In order to not just survive, but to thrive as a business, you need to make sure you have the right people onboard.
You don’t want just good sales reps, you want sales reps who are cultural fits to work for your company. Plan and mapout your desired skill sets and behaviour traitsand use them as a guide in your hiring process. You’ll find that your existing employees fall into three camps.
They are not just your money makers – they are the future of your company. Incentivise them to stick around. Put them inleadership positions, get them talking to your most important prospects and help them reach their career goals.
GREAT SALES REPS, BAD FITS
These are people who are great sales reps, but they are in the wrong place. Maybe they do not believe in your product, or they are better suited selling to a different type of customer.
BAD SALES REPS
The killer instinct does not come naturally to the majority of people. This is something that cannot be taught. No amount of intellect or positive attitude can make up for it. Cut your losses quickly by letting go of sales reps that are either in the wrong business or the wrong career as soon as possible.
While firing people is never easy, you are doing both them and yourself a disservice by keeping them around. If you have mapped them and maximised the key skills and they still do not perform, then you need to be a strong leader.
The tech community loves to say that culture is something that happens “organically.” As XPLANE founder Dave Gray points out, this doesn’t mean we should just sit back and wait for it to happen. It will not as HOPE IS NOT A SALES STRATEGY!
As a sales manager, it is your job to keep a finger on the pulse of the culture and provide support.
Create a road map for your sales culture using mapping techniques.
Below are the key elements to focus on.
Outcomes.These are the objectives that you want your culture to achieve. It can be that your staff loves coming into work or that all your employees perform at their best.
Behaviours. Look at how individual behaviours influence the team and their ability to achieve your desired outcome. Reward encouragement and teamwork, but reprimand behaviours that bring down morale. If there is a toxic person on the team, get rid of him or her ASAP.
Enablers and Blockers.Check to see whether you have tools and people who make the job easier and more efficient, or if you have tools and people who inhibit people from doing their jobs well.
Firstly – hustle. That is what great salespeople are all about. And no salesperson is going to hustle when the compensation is not worth the work they put in.
But compensation is not just about the money. It’s about how you value a rep’s hard work and incentivise them to do better.
However, one of the most common causes of an unmotivated sales team is a complex compensation plan. Harvard Business School’s Dr. Doug J. Chung spent half a lifetime researching motivation and sales compensation plans. And the result? Well, it does not take a Harvard degree to grasp where things can go wrong. Chung found that there were three main factors to consider when designing your compensation plan.
COMPENSATION PLAN
Salary v Compensation. This depends on the reliability of your industry’s sales cycle. If you are in a seasonal sales business, you can’t reward reps for blind luck. If sales do not fluctuate based on these outside factors, compensation should be directly tied to performance.
Timing.The influence timing has on reps directly correlates to how naturally motivated they are. Similar to great students, great reps just need a year-end bonus to motivate them, but middle-road and low performers need more frequent benchmarks to keep them on track.
Ratcheting.Many companies increase sales quotas of top performers year-to-year to get them to strive higher and higher. Chung’s studies indicated that this is actually detrimental to morale. This means that top performers are penalised for succeeding rather than rewarded. An alternative is to give over-achievement bonuses, where yearly benchmarks stay the same, but hitting an even loftier goal is rewarded with more.
It is simple: When salespeople do not know what they’re getting for the work they put in, they’re going to be less motivated. Structure and tailor your compensation plan in a way so that it incentivises each type of sales rep on your team to improve and get better –one plan does not fit all.
DRIVE YOUR SALES TEAM TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE
Sales teams do not become great overnight. They become great because they work at it continuously. This is why your role as the sales manager is crucial. It is your job to help your sales team succeed. It begins and ends with you.
ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
Swedish economist Tobias Fredberg found a fascinating pattern by examining how dozens of CEOs spoke in interview transcripts. CEOs who had successfully turned a company around shared the same way of speaking. They personally took the blame for problems—using the words “I” and “me”—and passed the credit to the team for successes—using the words “us” and “we”.
As the sales manager, you are responsible for your team. When stuff goes wrong, it is up to you to step up to the plate and be accountable for your own actions. That is what being a good leader means—and that’s what will inspire autonomy and leadership from within your team. The benefits are huge.
Ownership over problems.If you assume that every problem is yours to either fix or delegate, then nothing will ever fall through the cracks. Establishing clear ownership over responsibilities and starting from the ground up is how you empower your team to succeed.
No cost to morale.Blaming members of the team and taking credit for successes will make team members feel under-appreciated. They will feel like you are picking on them and taking their hard-earned glory.
Transparency.If you take it upon yourself to know the going-ons of the team, your sales reps will feel more comfortable telling you about potential stumbling blocks they are encountering. Otherwise, you will be unaware of an issue until it spirals out of control and blows up in your face.
When your team is doing well in the day-to-day, you can step back and watch everyone succeed. But at pivotal times, you need to personally bring on change and see your vision through.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Most people are natural sceptics. If you claim that something will work, they will need to see it to believe it. Instead of telling them, show them. Get into the weeds and start making cold calls, drafting emails, and closing deals with your team. Inspire them and set an example.
Mentor your reps.Give your sales reps someone to look up to. If your employees enter into a mentor-mentee relationship, they’ll be eager to learn and improve. They’re also more likely to stick around, as they’ll see their position as a learning opportunity.
Diagnose flaws in your systems.You might find a problem with a sales script, or an issue with how the team is finding leads. You’re not always this close to the action—take advantage of it.
GETTING ON THE TRACK TO SUCCESS
Often, as soon as an entire team agrees that there is an issue, you’ll see a shift in focus. Your salespeople will start questioning roles, processes and the direction. If it seems chaotic for a while—let it happen. This is a good thing.
It is always challenging to face a problem when you don’t know exactly what the problem is. It will take work both from you and your sales reps to align and bring your team back on a good path.
Remember to be patient. Things will not change overnight. The very first thing you try to turn things around is likely to fail, and that is okay. Keep trying until you have the culture, the goals and the vision that will help your salespeople crush it.
Soon enough, you will be walking down that hallway again and enter a room full of energy and excitement. Your salespeople will be closing deals again and there will be no alarm to wake you up.
Except for the sound of a sale, of course!
To roll-out this sales guide and turn your team’s performance around, contact KONA1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.aufor a confidential conversation today.
Tips for sales managers on how to destroy their team. Yes you read that correctly. For if we know how to do something wrong, then (hopefully) we stop doing it! In these uncertain times sales managers can not afford to fail. Especially those at the coal face, who are usually used to “coasting” and relying on past relationships.
Sales managers need to focus on motivating their team and building a new pipleline.
However, we’ve seen it time and again: when the pressure goes up, good decision making goes down. When your sales team is doing well, you feel pressure from executives to maintain those figures. If your sales team is having some problems, executives pressure you to push your team towards higher performance.
We’ve been there and see in every day when our customers ask us to assess the sales team effectiveness. And we understand no sales manager is perfect. However, poor decisions on your part can snowball exponentially and have calamitous effects on your team and your company. It’s right in the toughest moments as a sales leaders, when you are in the thick of it, that you need to pay the most attention to your attitudes and decisions.
From our own time on the sales floor — and from working with hundreds of sales managers and organisation — here are the top four ways you can unwittingly destroy your sales team:
The best salespeople are by nature extremely competitive. They constantly want to be the top producer and even if they have great relationships with other members of your sales team, at heart they want to outperform them. If you hire lazy people, you’re in for a world of trouble. Our clients regularly ask us to help them hire and before they make the offer we conduct a behavioural analysis on them to ensure that they are the right fit.
Lazy, Unmotivated People Don’t Do the Work
This is the kind of salesperson who spends most of their day behind a desk doing “admin” instead of being on the phone or meetings with potential clients. You may need to have salespeople who work best behind a desk, relentlessly making phone calls, hunting for new leads and setting up appointments. Lazy, unmotivated salespeople, however, don’t even bother to do this.
You will often find them hanging around the water cooler, talking about sports scores, their latest golf game, office gossip or denigrating fellow employees who are hard workers. Lazy, unmotivated salespeople are like a poison that works its way into the blood system of your team, causing resentment and bad feelings within the team. These people are also often the first to complain about their pay incentives and wonder why they aren’t making more money – totally ignoring the fact that their own laziness is the main reason.
Bad Managers Don’t Know How to Separate the Wheat From the Chaff
Everyone tries to put their best foot forward in an interview. So it’s your job as a sales manager to dig a little deeper. When you interview a potential hire, ask them about their history in terms of competitive sports or activities. Ask them to tell you about the last time they were involved in a competitive activity and how they responded.
Also, why not give them an exercise to do or to present to you on the sales strategy that they will implement in the first 60 days.
2. SET UNREALISTIC GOALS WHEN YOU ARE IN A PANIC
As we noted above, you can face pressure from your company’s executives whether your team is performing well or having problems. Company executives always want more. This can result in a sales manager setting unrealistic goals for their team because they’re panicking.
You naturally want to set higher goals for your team because you want to motivate them to reach those goals. Good salespeople respond to a challenge. They like hitting their goals and even surpassing them. They enjoy the feeling they get when they know they are performing well. When you create unrealistic goals, however, this has the opposite effect.
Bad Managers Don’t Set Appropriate Goals for Each Member of the Team
New hires need time to get up to speed. It’s best to use waterfall goals with them — ask them to do a little bit more each week or month as they get more familiar with their role in the team. Your best people can handle higher goals. In fact, they’ll want higher goals because they enjoy the challenge of exceeding expectations and because higher goals provide them with the most income.
You need to let your company executives know that your team works best with realistic sales goals. Even if company executives want you to keep pushing those goals higher and higher, explain to them that if you’re going to get the best from your team. You need to have realistic goals that will both motivate them and provide them with opportunities to showcase their talents.
3. DO NOT HELP THEIR SALES TEAM DO THEIR JOBS OR MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM TO EXCEL
When you manage a sales team, a normal day consists of tracking quotas and seeing how your sales reps are doing in terms of their productivity. Perhaps you sometimes even provide a report to the higher-ups on how the team is doing. Being a good manager, however, means going beyond the daily routine. You need to be out with the team at least 60% of your time.
Poor managers don’t pay attention to important factors:
They Don’t Have One-on-One Meetings With Their Staff
Bad sales managers tend to sit in their office and not spend time with each member of their team. They don’t pay much attention to growing that important employee/manager relationship. The result is that members of a sales team feel adrift. They lack the feedback necessary to improve their performances. When a sales rep works with a good manager, they know the manager will have their back when they need support. With the bad sales manager, sales reps never know where they stand, which can leave them feeling frustrated and demotivated.
They Are Never Available When a Sales Rep Needs to Talk to Them
Bad managers always seem to be too busy. No matter when a sales rep tries to arrange a meeting with them, the sales manager always seems to be in another meeting, on an important phone call or out of the office altogether. Sales reps are busy people, too, and they often don’t have many opportunities to sit down and hold these critical meetings with their manager. Good managers are available when their salespeople are available. Even if it means taking a phone call late at night to talk to a worried sales rep, a good manager will make the time and the effort.
Good managers are good leaders. Good leaders are available when their team members need them. Yes, sometimes this can lead to long days and even some hand-holding for a panicky sales rep. When you are there when your sales rep needs you, however, you build a stronger relationship with your team, and you inspire them to work hard for you.
4. DO NOT PROVIDE COACHING OR TRACK SUCCESS
Good sales representatives understand that they never stop learning. So good sales managers will arrange for them to receive sales coaching on how to improve their performance in various areas. They also provide them with ways to track that performance so they can both enjoy successes and improve in areas where they are lagging.
Remember those one-on-one meetings we talked about above? Bad sales managers neglect these meetings. Yet these meetings are essential for your sales reps to receive feedback on how they’re doing and for them to offer you feedback on how you’re doing. These one-on-one meetings are designed to improve individual performance and build trust. When bad sales managers fail to hold regular meetings or to provide regular coaching, they are neglecting one of the most important aspects of their job and will fail to build the trust with their sales reps that is the foundation of a good sales team.
Bad Sales Managers Don’t Provide Their Team With a Way to Track Their Successes
Since sales reps are such competitive people, they constantly want to see how they’re performing against the company’s benchmarks as well as their personal benchmarks. If managers fail to provide them with ways to access this information, they can cause frustration and annoyance to their sales reps. It also undermines the competitiveness necessary for a dynamic sales team.
Sales reps need regular access to information about their performance. They want to be able to see how they’re doing, if they are meeting quota and how this affects their income. If your company operates on an incentive system where sales reps will earn more commission if they meet or exceed their quota, sales reps will want to know how close they are to achieving their goal.
Good sales managers will make sure their sales reps have the information they need when they need it.
To GET YOUR SALES TEAM MOTIVATED AND HITTING TARGET EVEN DURING COVD-19, contact KONA1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.
For many of us, we may have issues about “coming back to the office”, or getting back on target, or concerns about our people being out of the physical hunt for results for too long, or simply – achieving ROI.
Soon the pace of pre-COVID days will return, do you have actions in place for when we all can come together again?
Have you considered:
How you are going to build a culture of performance?
How you will instil a mindset of positive thinking?
How to get results from your team?
How to re-frame your team’s conversations around the future?
How to React, Restore, Reset your business and people?
We cannot ignore the fact that COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the Australian economy. This has resulted in many business leaders enduring sleepless nights and scratching their heads over the current and future impact of this pandemic on their business. But it is important to remember that the situation is entirely out of our control – everyone’s in the same boat.
What is in your control however, as a Leader, is:
How your business recovers
What actions you take
How you get your team back on target
What outlook you hold
What strategic plans you have in place
What you are going to do to increase momentum
HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF HITTING THE RESET BUTTON ON YOUR BUSINESS?
For many of us, we may have issues about “coming back to the office”, or getting back on target, or concerns about our people being out of the physical hunt for results for too long, or simply – achieving ROI.
Soon the pace of pre-COVID days will return, do you have actions in place for when we all can come together again?
Have you considered:
How you are going to build a culture of performance?
How you will instil a mindset of positive thinking?
How to get results from your team?
How to re-frame your team’s conversations around the future?
How to React, Restore, Reset your business and people?
Have you considered a positive movement of encouragement and support for your team on their return – recognition of coming together when we can come together?
But how? How, as a forward-thinking Leader, do I encourage and support the return of my staff?The strongest way to support your staff and show them self-worth with a definite ROI, is through instilling a positive mindset – that is the gift that keeps on giving.
At the KONA Group we know the value and the power of Motivational Speaking. We can assist you in any capacity to harness positive thinking, spread its powers and skyrocket productivity as a direct result.
All our exceptional Motivational Speakers have great stories behind them, their teachings come from walking the pavement of life, the words come from experiences not textbooks.
Come on a journey with one of our team. Here is a snippet of one of our Senior team and the founder of the KONA Group.
10 years ago this week the 60-year-old inspiration climbed into the boxing ring with ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Australia John Hopoate all in the name of raising funds for very worthy Breast Cancer patients.
Glenn also ran across the Sahara Dessert for the same cause, AND – completed the Hawaiian Ironman in KONA.
Oh, and did we mention earlier this year he became the world’s oldest CAGE FIGHTER?!
His physical stamina is nothing compared to his mental strength – Glenn has built an outstanding reputation as a Personal Mentor, helping individuals of all ages to achieve goals they never thought possible. He is a specialist Business, Health and Sport Mentor.
And there are many more like Glenn for you to meet: kona.com.au/meet-the-team/Everyone has a story and every story can be transformed to lead to positive outcomes. Hit the reset button on your business, engage one of our modern Motivational Speakers and bring out the best in your team and business. We did.To learn how to RESET YOUR BUSINESS or book in your team’s MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, contactKONA: 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.
A successful customer purchasing journey starts with a strong account management process, and every process must have a strategic plan.
There are 7 Key Steps of Strategic Pharma Account Managementyour team needs to embed in its processes.
Does your team:
Know the Value of a Value Proposition?
Know the active ingredients of the Miracle PIL – Purchasing Infinity Loop?
Have their Finger on the Communication Pulse?
Know the 5 Steps of a Pharma Sales Conversation?
Have a Three Horizons of a Pharma Account plan in place?
Understand Customer Centricity and the Formulary?
Understand the relationship between the Pharma and the Physician?
When a Strategic Pharma Account Plan is in place, then everyone in the organisation is operating from the same manual and speaking the same language – that way everyone knows the benchmarks they need to create success.
As a result, there is consistency through your organisation and across all the business’ wide networks.
Having a Strategic Account Management plan is important for the account management team’s relationship building approaches with their customers, and also the processes need in knowing their product.
It ensures a Target Product Map is front of mind for all account managers.
Establish a Target Product Map
Does your account management team have a Target Product Map established with their customers, do they:
Know who they want to speak to?
What they want to present to them?
Why the customer would buy from them?
Then, know how to put the product in their customer’s hand?
The best practices and methodologies we have developed over the past 20 years will help your account managers build and apply daily their bespoke Strategic Management Plan, all the while bringing growth and profit to the business.
To start your account management team’s Seven Step Process to Developing a Strategic Pharma Account Management Plan contact KONA: 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.
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 Healthy Business Builder 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 Healthy Business Builder 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 Healthy Business Builder 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
Our team of expert coaches and trainers are dedicated to crafting personalised strategies that align with your unique goals and aspirations. We have the tools and expertise to guide you towards greatness.
By contacting us, you are taking the first step towards transforming your team and achieving the extraordinary.
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We cover all States Australia wide including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart.
COVID-19 is changing how B2B buyers and sellers interact. Clever adaptable sales leaders are learning how to adapt to the next normal.
COVID-19 has destroyed lives and livelihoods and continues to do so in many communities around the world. The full implications of the pandemic are far from certain, it is already clear that its economic consequences are dire.
For 
2) Almost six in 10 buyers want to discuss pricing on the first call. (Source – HubSpot)
3) Customers are 4x more likely to buy when referred by a friend. (Source – Neilsen)
4) 80% of sales require five follow-up phone calls after the meeting. (Source – Marketing Donut)
5) Several industries reported a 50 percent revenue increase with social media selling. (Source – Forbes)
6) 75% of 1,000 executives polled were prompted to attend an event or take an appointment as a result of a cold call or email. (Source – DiscoverOrg)
7) 43% of consumers are more likely to buy a new product when learning about it from friends on social media. (Source – Neilsen)
8) About 47% of top performers ask for refferals consistently, versus only 26% of non-top performers. (Source – HubSpot)
15) CRM system adoption increases sales by up to 29%. (Source – Salesforce)
16) 73% of executives prefer to work with sales professionals referred by someone they know. (Source – IDC)
17) 55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media. (Source – Blender)
18) The most successful reps use terms that inspire confidence, such as “certainly,” “definitely,” and “absolutely,” five times more often than low performers. (Source – Gong.io)
19) 79 percent of salespeople achieve quota by using a combination of social selling techniques. (Source – Microsoft)
20) On average, people made 33 dials per day. This is down from 38 in 2012. (Source – ForEntrepreneurs)
Consider how many hours go into training for the Olympics. Ultimately, an Olympic gymnast trains for years before hitting the mat with her teammates. So, we should do no less for our sales leaders!
10 years ago this week the 60-year-old inspiration climbed into the boxing ring with ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Australia John Hopoate all in the name of raising funds for very worthy Breast Cancer patients.
Glenn also ran across the Sahara Dessert for the same cause, AND – completed the Hawaiian Ironman in KONA.
Oh, and did we mention earlier this year he became the world’s oldest CAGE FIGHTER?!
His physical stamina is nothing compared to his mental strength – Glenn has built an outstanding reputation as a Personal Mentor, helping individuals of all ages to achieve goals they never thought possible. He is a specialist Business, Health and Sport Mentor.
To learn how to RESET YOUR BUSINESS or book in your team’s MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, contact
