Colleen’s Blog

You can discuss sales strategies, ideas, tips and methods to no end. You can set sales targets for your team to hit, implement a promising new strategy and motivate your sales reps with morning huddles. But, when the day starts, it's up to your team to do the work and create the results. Salespeople don't always struggle due to weak strategy, at times poor productivity habits will seriously hinder their progress as well. Let’s cut to the chase. The best way for your team to achieve true productivity in their work day is to ask them to cut off all inbound access. Now, before your jaw drops too low, let me clarify that you should only ask that they do so temporarily, ideally an hour or two each day. Consider asking them to turn their phone to silent or completely turning it off. They will also benefit from logging out of their email inbox while they work through important tasks. When your team is focusing on outbound business development prospecting, they should not have to deal with distracting, time consuming tasks which take the focus out of their work day. It's great to be able to multitask, but your team will always be able to accomplish more by laser focusing on the task at hand. Want a perfect example of how this simple tweak in productivity can benefit your team?

If you own a dog, you know how muddy they get in April. Conrad (our dog) definitely gets his fair share of spring cleaning baths. The good news? Spring brings about new opportunities and fresh beginnings. For example, while April means muddier dogs, it also means many more opportunities for them to get outside and exercise. Let's face it, winter can severely limit their time outdoors. It's also probably why "spring cleaning" exists in the first place. We seem to emulate nature and if the great outdoors are starting fresh, why can't we? It's important to take time to declutter your home, make space for new things and add that "fresh" feeling to your living space. But, are you taking the time to "spring clean" your sales as well? As we start a new quarter, it's as good a time as any to declutter anything that is blocking your sales success.

I recently had the honour of presenting at the inaugural Million Dollar Consulting Convention presented by Alan Weiss. Over 180 professionals attended the Convention, and while I was there to “teach” consultants how to create a Nonstop Sales Boom, I took in as much (if not more) than I gave out. Here are my top 10 from the week: The key to a successful life is loving every day. If you treat each day as an exciting new opportunity to explore, create, and experience you will always thrive. – Alan Weiss

As a leader, you must manage your sales force to maximize sales and create growing results month after month and year after year. Here at Engage Selling Solutions, we have volumes of work dedicated to maximizing your sales force's efficiency. From prospecting rituals to time management, our material covers every angle when it comes to increasing your numbers via your sales force. As much time as we dedicate to maximizing you and your team, there is actually a "secret" sales force that many leaders simply do not put to use. This "secret" force is easy to gather and put together, given you provide great service. 

Are you truly catering to your customers? It’s one thing to provide a great product or service, but unfortunately, that’s where the experience stops for many people. Sales is all about truly understanding your clients’ needs and issues. Their experience with you should not end immediately after their signature is on paper. The way I see it, all customers want the same 13 things from you. That’s right. Regardless of the industry you’re in, or the product you sell, customers all essentially buy and remain loyal for the same core reasons. <-- Click To Tweet Stay true to all of them and you will develop a loyal and profitable customer base who will refer you to everyone they know!