Colleen’s Blog

You cannot grow your business with a particular client if you're relying on a singular point of information. Growth comes from not only the quality of contacts, but also your quantity of contacts in a particular organization. If members of your sales team are not diversifying their contacts within an organization, it's time that you ask them to start doing so. The truth is, your team needs to be increasing their engagement or "infiltration" with their clients if you have any hopes of growing your business within your existing customer base. What's the best way to begin practicing this? Start building an organizational chart. When a member of your sales team meets with a buyer, either in person or on call, get them to ask this one simple question:

It’s been an exciting week addressing Sales Leaders from across North America. Here is what I have learned:  1. Money is not the best tool to ensure your team hits quota, accountability is. 2. If your company is consistently not hitting their sales goals, it’s the sales leaders fault. 3. Both preventative and contingent coaching are required for the best sales results.

Chris and I spent an afternoon scuba diving with the team at Key Dives. What an exceptional experience they created for everyone on the boat! And, as usual, I can distill a number of lessons that you can use to grow your business from my experience. Here are the top three: 1) Expertise matters but it must be captivating as well. The captain of our boat was a commanding and authoritative man, but also fun and likeable. He had charisma and rapport with his crew and guests that made you want to listen to him. Diving is fun but also risky, and the briefings are critical for everyone's safety. Our captain held the entire boat with rapt attention. As a contrast, when was the last time you saw a flight attendant receive 100% attention to their preflight briefing? Lesson: Bored customers learn nothing (and buy nothing).