Virtual Platforms the New Norm!

As we are seeing, virtual platforms are becoming the new “norm” I wanted to share, for those of you in any doubt, that virtual sessions are impactful, applicable and effective if conducted and focused in the right way.

Listed below are just some of the feedback comments from virtual sessions with Sales Directors.

Are you potentially missing a trick here?

·       I felt that David managed to compress a much longer course very successfully into smaller chunks for managers and covered some key principles to support us in our development of solution selling as a standard way of doing business.

·       Excellent format. Really appreciate having a specific version for managers instead of sending managers through the same sales curriculum. 

·       It was a good virtual education (my first one) and showed that it's working well with a good interaction between the participants.

·       Great Program. Very well managed by the trainer to have attendees being focused. No time to "escape", even if Virtual. 

·       Great content. Very applicable and usable. Your win rate will definitely improve if applying this toolbox 

·       Time to think about the need for coaching as day to day business at times does not allow for this and I need to find time to dedicate to it as it will enrich the sales individual’s skills and understanding. 

·       "Thanks for this ""refreshing"" education! Please establish also virtual educations for the sales teams." 

DG’s top sales stat:

50% of sales professionals spend 3–10 hours per week using social selling tools. (State of Sales, LinkedIn).

How much time do you spend?

Virtual Feedback!

Wanted to share in this new current world, as per the quote from Charles Darwin, that sales workshops and coaching via online can be very effective and impactful:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” 

Below just sharing some feedback comments and testimonials from sales professionals that have first-hand experience of virtual sessions that I have been running during lockdown.

Feedback comments

·      Great sessions

·      More time would have been welcome … it is a pity! 

·      Very good - of course did not realise that you could negotiation working on a virtual session. 

·      This session was great as a virtual session. 

Testimonials

·      Exciting experience from an obviously super salesman (facilitator) 

·      David is a great facilitator and the team I’m training with is good because we are all in various fields of the business. 

·      Pace is quite fast particularly around the individual exercises but appreciate a lot to get through over 3 days virtually.  

·      I think this is a well-presented practical course. Well done to David for keeping our attention and participation whilst doing this course online. 

Prism profiling for performance excellence and coaching.

We are seeing an Increasing demand and requests for:

Prism profiling for performance excellence and coaching.

·      Do you have a sales team that you wish to develop further?

·      Are you an individual sales professional looking to develop your performance and confidence levels?

“Extremely useful and a great tool for our sales environment, we found it very accurate and gave additional areas that we can develop our sales professionals in, we especially liked the insight that we not working to our most natural ways for some aspects.”

PRISM profiling is the science of clearly defining superior performance in a role and then using objective criteria to understand what is required to coach them in terms of behavioural strengths, work aptitude and work environment preferences. 

Get in contact for more details.

DG’s top sales stat:

“46% of salespeople didn’t intend to go into sales. (Hubspot)”

Providing Insight now more than ever.

Given the current limitations on our ability to travel, I had a quick look at some of the places that I have been fortunate enough to have carried out coaching and training in the last 9 months, (see LinkedIn post for further details.)

Some wonderful sales professionals and Directors that I have been working with, this has now currently moved to virtual sessions. 

At this point, I believe that it is important that we still offer insights and help to our customers, clients and contacts during this rather challenging time.

DG’s top sales stat:

Want to hit your quota faster? Social sellers hit their quotas 66% more often than those who don’t use social media. (Sales Benchmark Index)

Sales academy cohort with Global distributor

New sales academy cohort with Global distributor. Always enjoy helping new sales professionals embarking on the sales career path.

Great group that managed the new skills, pressure and real plays in a practical and interactive way.

Looking forward to the follow up sessions to see and measure impact. Clearly current new challenges will test their resilience and creative thinking.

DG’s top sales stat:

90% of top-performing sales professionals use social media in their sales strategy. (State of Sales)

Great time to focus on using and engaging with Social media.

Solution Workshops in Dubai

Here in Dubai for the week working with Global IT organisations and working with Resellers that work in the Middle East region.

Focus is on solution selling and great to be here again, warm sunshine is always welcome and enjoyable.

Looking forward to follow-up sessions to see and understand impact of the workshops.

DG’s Top sales stat:

More than 70% of sales pros use social selling tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (State of Sales, LinkedIn)

Solution Selling in Bratislava

Working with Global IT organisation making a concentrated effort to move to a solutions selling based approach. Great to see an organisation backing up the strategy with the right level of investment and support for the sales professionals.

As part of that investment working with the sales professionals in Bratislava on a solutions selling approach, the feedback coaching sessions have already shown the benefits and impact that can be achieved with the right support and focus. 

DG’s top sales stat:

84% of buyers start their buying process from a referral. (Harvard Business Review)

Consultative in Tallinn, Estonia

Been remiss at posting, been in the fortunate position of my clients keeping me busy. 

Working with a Global IT organisation supporting the sales professionals through the transformational change of being more consultative in approach.

So had a great time in Tallinn, Estonia, a place that is well worth a visit as the old town is wonderful.

Sales professional over the 2-day workshop were very involved and clearly understand the need for a more consultative approach to their customers. 

DG’s top sales stat:

Stay vigilant. 83% of prospects who request info don’t buy for 3–12 months. (MarketingDonut)

Solution Selling Internationally

Working with Global IT organisation and the pilot programme for Solution selling, customers buying patterns and expectations have been increasing and the need for sales professionals to meet these needs has become ever more important.

So great to launch a programme that both meets and exceeds expectations, looking forward to monitoring the impact and gain operational feedback as this programme is rolled out internationally.

DG top sales stat:

“The average B2B buyer who relies on social media to make buying decisions is senior, has a big budget, makes frequent purchases, and has more power to make buying decisions. “(Social Buying Meets Social Selling)

UK Channel Relationships

Working here in the UK with Global organisation, with a focus on developing and engaging higher within accounts, how to engage with more senior contacts.

Great discussions, best practice sharing and ideas with an engaging European wide audience, looking forward to the follow-up coaching to measure and understand impact.

DG Top sales stat:

84% of C-Level executives and 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions. (Social Buying Meets Social Selling)

Selling skills in Germany

Working with one of the largest global IT organisations, running a workshop in Germany, workshop focused on Key selling skills, if these are executed correctly, they help sales professionals progress opportunities in a more “relaxed” and structured manner.

Interactive and fun group that engaged very well and shared some great experiences.

DG’s Top Sales Stat:

“92% of sales pros give up after the 4th call, but 80% of prospects say no four times before they say yes. (MarketingDonut)”

When do you give up?

UK Territory Management

Working with Global IT organisation, and this workshop ran here in the UK, focus on territory management for channel.

Great interactive and fun group, looking forward to the follow-on coaching and understanding what has been applied and impact. As they say watch this space!

DG’s Top sales stat:

High-performing companies are 2x as likely to provide their sales teams with ongoing training. (Highspot)

Brussels

Working in Brussels, Beligum, with a Global IT services and solutions provider. Working with a mixture of sales professionals, pre-sales and channel account managers.

Focus is on how to sell and position what are great solutions, but in a manner that works for customers and end users. Very interactive and must say focal group. 

DG’s Top sales stat: 

What do buyers want from sales professionals? 69% say, “Listen to my needs.” (Hubspot)

Global Distributor

Working with Global distributor here in the UK, covering a number of topics such as qualifying and questioning, priority and time management and value proposition.

Excellent interactive group that, are keen to learn, apply and get involved. Also good to see management involvement to help with the application and reinforcement of the training.

DG’s Top sales stat:

 “42% of sales professionals say prospecting is the hardest part of their job. The rest say it’s closing (36%) or qualifying (22%) (Hubspot)”

Helsinki

Working in Helsinki, Finland, with a Global IT services and solutions provider. Working with a mixture of sales professionals, pre-sales and channel account managers. Focus is on how to sell and position what are great solutions, but in a manner that works for customers and end users.

Helsinki is a great place and would recommend a visit to experience all that it has to offer.

Neuroscience based benchmarking and coaching

Engaged with Progressive and leading Financial organisation, working on developing a structured approach to developing and coaching the team members to achieve their high-performance potential. 

The approach has been built on understanding and producing a benchmark that allows individuals to compare themselves against, which then highlights areas for coaching and development in an inclusive and collaborative manner.

There is always a realisation that our view of ourselves, hence and strengths and weaknesses, is not always the in line with want others see and experience. One of the reasons that a neuroscience-based approach, such as Prism is so impactful and enlightening.

Feedback such as very enlightening, very accurate, so true, taken aback, so helpful give an understanding of impact.

I have also provided details of special report by Harvard business review on this exciting topic.

Strategic Account planning in South Africa

Working with global agriculture organisation and running Strategic and key account planning down in South Africa. Wonderful location that certainly helped with engagement and allowing for maximum learnings and impact.

Great interaction and engagement from all team members and to quote one of the delegates:

“I would like to say thank you for all your efforts with the training it was very interesting and insightful. I honestly feel it was an enriching experience and I will definitely put what I learnt into practice.”

Sales Academy update.

Working with Leading global distributor and another new sales Academy intake. Always love the excitement, enthusiasm, and in trepidation of new sales professionals embarking on a sales career.

Can you remember how you felt when first starting out in sales?

Managing and communicating change.

Working with Global organisation and sales leadership team here in the UK. Number of key subjects to be covered and key one to start with… Managing and communicating change.

If there is one thing, that is constant in our environment today and that is change, but also the speed of change creates an extra challenge. So, a great opportunity to spend time with the sales leadership team going through tools, techniques and approaches that help equip us to manage and communicate change to our sales professionals.

Great interactive session with some great experiences and ideas shared and to quote Charles Darwin:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

Executive sales Coaching.

Executive sales Coaching.

Love working in the city of London, as some iconic and wonderful buildings, history and get vibe.

Working with financial organisation and providing coaching to senior executives, it seems there is no substitute for having an unbiased and having no emotional baggage input to help provide support, clarity, supporting tools and acting as a sounding board.

Going to be interest to measure and understand the impact and benefits over the coming months.