By Garret Norris, Sales Training & Negotiation Specialist.
Only last week I was speaking with a Sales Director in Sydney about the success of the Sales Training and Sales Management Training programs we are running, and I was asking how things were going? To which he replied, “I am far too busy at the moment to even think about selling and I should be able to get back to it in a few weeks”.
This made me start to reflect and for some reason I thought about the walks I like to take:
On a beautiful December day, sunny, windless spring morning, I went for a walk in the bush near my house, looking forward to the scenery. Right? The Aussie bush, being from Ireland I did not and still don’t think about how many things can annoy you on a simple walk. Not 20 yards in, I met… Flying ants. Horse flies. Green-headed flies. Gnats of all varieties and a family of Magpies. They trailed just behind and a little above me, diving, flying into my ears, buzzing my eyes, hovering under my nose for brief moments, biting the back of my neck. “And the Magpie nearly scared the life out of me!!!!”
I raised a defence.
Waving my arms and hands around my head as I walked and ran, I whacked a few buzzy buggers this way and that, squashed a few on my head, and sniffed one up my nose.
The defence worked….for the most part….but I was so distracted, I didn’t get to look at the scenery much. I lost the main point of the walk!
Which can happen when we’re selling, right?
We get distracted; we lose track of the main point. Sometimes, we distract ourselves, pursuing customers that don’t quite fit, needs that are too small, or accounts that soak up lots of time.
Sometimes, we get distracted by our managers, or internal politics, or the relentless buzzing and diving of our company product managers each of whom thinks his or her products should be our first consideration. Bzzzzzzzz.
For the bush, the solution is easy: a hat, some bug spray, and a flyswatter.
In the office, not as easy. While insect repellent and a flyswatter can be helpful in meetings, other strategies might be required.
I like: business plans, reviewed monthly.
Three to five weekly top priorities, the weekly “A” list. Three to five daily priorities, the daily “A” list. And blocks of time dedicated to one thing, no multitasking, so we can focus on the most important clients and most important issues through which we earn the BIG bucks.
I like: Face to Face Sales Meetings.
On KONA’s Australian Sales Training and Sales Management Training programs it has been proven time and again that the most successful sales people are the ones who meet with clients Face to Face the most
Australians buy off people they like, not off emails, texts and voice messages
So if you need to increase your sales then increase the number of quality F2F meetings you and your team have a week
Avoid These Distractions in Sales
1/ Answering Emails
Many people fall into the habit of checking emails literally dozens of times each day. While we want to be responsive and timely when answering, most emails don’t need to be answered within minutes of receiving them.
It’s much more efficient to set up 2 or 3 times each day when you check and respond to emails. Checking and responding to emails each time one arrives in the inbox is a major waste of time. When it’s not time to check your email, keep the program closed so you’re not tempted each time a new email comes in
2/ Handling Follow up Work
After almost every sales call or meeting there is follow up work to get done. There are proposals to go over, records to update, and the next steps in the process to get prepared. These tasks are necessary and must get done in a timely manner. It is easy to get distracted and waste time in the same way as when emails are answered as they come.
Again, time should be set aside each day for follow up duties. Updating several records at once takes less time than doing it individually several times each day.
3/ Social Media
Most people already know that social media can be a bottomless pit if we let ourselves get distracted. It’s okay to occasionally take a break and check twitter or the latest headlines.
It’s important to keep screens to social media closed during work periods. Reward yourself with 5 minute breaks throughout the day to relax and enjoy what’s on social media. It’s also a good idea to keep your phone silent and only check it periodically. With texts, calendar reminders, and app notifications your phone is likely to be buzzing almost constantly throughout the day.
4/My “FAVOURITE” Office Gossip
As much as most of us would like to believe we don’t get caught up in this sort of thing, it can be a major distraction if you’re not careful. Sometimes there’s a fine line between networking and sharing information, and complaining about how awful a particular client or coworker can be. While you don’t want to be totally unavailable to coworkers, there are simple steps to take when you really need to stay focused and get work done.
If you’re in an office, closing the door for specific times throughout the day can send the message that unless it’s an emergency you shouldn’t be interrupted at that time. If you’re in a cubicle or other open area wearing headphones is a great way to keep from being distracted. People are less likely to interrupt someone wearing headphones. OR more drastic that I have seen in the past is to put up a sign saying – “MAKING SALES, GO AWAY UNLESS URGENT”………
To discuss how Garret can improve your sales results please contact him today on 1300 611 288 or info@KONA.com.au
Very few of a company’s top executives were signed up for executive coaching sessions unless there was an underlying performance concern
There was almost always a company-sponsored Australian sales training courses or 
Through all these years many things have changed in the way businesses interact with clients and customers but making them a priority continues to be crucially important.
In Australian customer service training, call centre training and sales training courses, customer centric organisations stand out as making every customer interaction a chance to build and strengthen relationships with their customers and in the process, impress them.
So here are 5 ways to make sure your team don’t forget to put customers at the centre of everything they do on a daily basis.
1. Get everyone in your business involved in customer service.
Ideally every employee, from the CEO to the receptionist, from accounts to sales, should be able to pitch in and lend a hand with customer support.Smart companies include ‘none sales’ departments in on customer service training and sales training in Sydney and Melbourne as they realise that not only will participation equip them with the right communication skills, it will also show none sales and service departments how important you regard this working philosophy.
2. Work out a schedule for all staff members to meet with key customers.
Customer service training should be a continuing aspect of every employee’s job and organising face to face meetings is one of the best ways for them to really get to know your customers and how your products are used.
Sure it may be unrealistic to expect everyone to do 20 meetings a week, especially with small customers, but at least free up the time to work with the sales and customer support people to meet with important customers
3. Make your customers the centre of your business
You and your management team should define the kind of company culture you feel is needed for the business with customer service an integral part of it.Set the tone by including customer service training and call centre training updates, issues and concerns during company meetings. Also, as you work out your vision and mission statements make customer service a critical part.
4. Reward service excellence
For excellent support from your frontline people, offer performance based rewards and incentives.
It shouldn’t just be the sales people who get the rewards.Your office bound top performers should likewise enjoy such rewards of being customer centric by recognising them publicly.
Ensure all internal communications reinforce to everybody they need to understand that this concept of being customer centered is important to your business and share real life examples of where employees have made a difference.
5. Make sure everyone has access to customer information.
Entering information onto your CRM should not be just the domain of sales people.
All departments and every employee should be in a position to know about your individual customers and by entering and sharing information they will become more productive and build more positive relationships.
When you make customers central to your business operations, you have a real opportunity to differentiate your organisation from your competition, and by putting these 5 tips in place you will establish the key corporate value that customer service is everyone’s responsibility
To learn more about KONA’s Australian