Colleen’s Blog

Get creative. That's my advice for any business owner or sales leader about to embark on a new phase of recruiting. Far too many leaders stick to the same old, same old when it comes to their recruitment process and trying to find great talent to join their team. It's surprising to see how many organizations stick with ads in the paper, online postings and even using the same recruiters they've used in the past. They don't switch things up! The result? The same tired and boring resumes that keeping flocking in. Sure - you may find a great hire in that pile of resumes. But, generally speaking, if you want to find a "stand out" candidate, don't use a worn out process to try and attract them. Here's how you can add a little creativity to your hiring process:

How often do you track your growth accounts? In order to be successful with your growth clients, you should be tracking them on a regular basis. More specifically, you should update yourself on their progress on a monthly basis. This may seem counterintuitive, especially because I recommend tracking key accounts on a quarterly basis. But, there are four big reasons that I suggest tracking your growth accounts more frequently.

Over the past 12 months, I have done some deep analysis of the sales pipeline, specifically looking for points of leverage that we can create more success with, as well as looking for any problem points that need to be fixed. Here's what I learned.

When professionals in virtually every industry think about "compensation" - especially when it comes to structuring compensation plans, rarely is anything but a dollar sign considered. Yet, there's another powerful way to provide commissions to your sales team, and you're likely overlooking it or underestimating its power and value.

Like many professional sellers, I travel all the time. Having racked up over 225,000 miles over two major airlines last year you could say that my most used office space is seat 3D. Air Canada and America are my preferred choices and I am always pleased with the levels of service they provide their elite fliers. Concierge service, priority numbers, access to the best seats and best flights, upgrades, free food and drinks - it really does pay to be a top tier with these two airliners. I need to be productive when I travel. For me, that means a business class seat for room and privacy, power, and WiFi. After all, this is my office! This month, I was surprised to be be missing key elements from these requirements with both carriers.

Response rates are critical in sales. After all, if you can't get a buyer to respond to a call or an email...you can't start a relationship let alone close a sale. Smart sellers know that email marketing to a warm list of buyers is a profitable way to both keep in touch with your current customers as well as attracting new buyers. That being said, you must pay attention to a few rules to ensuring your emails are responded to positively.

Recently, I was working with a client on some planning for their sales team. Specifically, we were creating action plans for every sales team members so that they would know how many calls, emails, meetings they need to take in a given day, week, month or year in order for them to hit their goal.

What if I told you that you may be standing on a sales gold mine and not even know it? There are actually countless organizations who will miss their sales targets this year, without realizing that if they took advantage of this gold mine, they could not only make up lost ground, but completely exceed the results they hope to create this year. Don't worry about grabbing your shovels, no physical labor is necessary to tap into and grab the gold that's already waiting for you. Wondering what I'm talking about? Enough suspense!

Home fitness is all the craze these days. You know, those big, bulky machines that supposedly deliver amazing results or certain 90 day programs that make you fit and healthy? Don't worry, I'm not about to bash anything that can increase your fitness, health and overall well-being. The fitness machines and programs are not my issue. In fact, if you eat right, work hard and stay committed, you probably will get into great shape. My issue is with the people who buy these machines/programs, and then leave them to collect dust. You can have greatest fitness program or gym pass in the world, but if you don't use it, the results won't come. 

This is one of the few times in a year where professionals across virtually every industry can look at their goals with hope and excitement. Unfortunately, for the bulk of goal setters out there, this excitement lasts usually until the end of the first quarter (often much sooner) - at which point they realize they've burned through 25% of the year with little progress on those new year's plans that offered so much to look forward to a couple months prior. Don't let this be you! Regardless of how 2016 ended, it's now behind us. Your full focus should be on making 2017 your best year yet, and the best time to take action is immediately. Let me help you by highlighting some simple disciplines that will send your sales skyrocketing this year.