The X Factor 2008 final, Alexandra Burke and determination? You might ask exactly what has that got to do with sales management training and development. Well the truth is it is a perfect example of the fact that “the great results we achieve in our life all start with us”

The you tube video above gives a brief snapshot of Alexandra’s story. Have a look at some of the other videos on You tube to see how she has improved each week on X factor 2008.

The top facts are, Alex auditioned in 2005 for the x factor and was rejected at the later stages and told to go away and do some more work.

Now unlike a lot of other people when they are given feedback she actually went away and implemented what she was told.

Believing in herself and what she was capable of, she took action and really put in the work. She went through some dark times as well and yet still kept the faith.

The result was winning on Saturday in front of millions of viewers. In fact over 9 million of them voted for the three finalists. Half way through the night she performed in a duet with Beyonce which was awe inspiring.

Over the weeks you can see her development and how she really worked at her craft. Improving bit by bit across the last few months.

It is easy to think. Yeah but! its different in business. Well the truth is, it isn’t. The greatest impact on our performance is us. We are our own biggest leverage point. That leverage point starts with what we think, how we then respond to our thoughts and the pictures they conjure up for us.

Now, most people don’t really think through this process and what it can mean for them and the results they do or don’t achieve. Let’s break it down.

First off we have a thought. We then have an emotional response to that thought ( yes we all respond emotionally just to different degrees) this then moves us to take actions which then bring us the results.

Lets use an example. We have the thought.
Perhaps it is that you would love( a desire) to play the piano. This conjures up pictures , sound and emotions as you imagine yourself playing the piano. Having a ball and entertaining people. It gives you a good feeling. You start to think about it more and more. You daydream during the day. You start to notice more programmes on the TV with pianists. The paper falls open at an advert for pianos. You strike up a conversation with someone and find out they are a music teacher. Get the picture? I thought you might. This is how it happens, have you noticed?

Now, some people ignore this. Others who have a really strong desire then take some action and sign up for a few piano lessons.
It’s not easy at first and yet they love it. So they keep going. A few months down the line they can play their first tunes.

Now this is how easy it can be. You know in your work place it is exactly the same. You have a desire to be the top sales manager. You start to obsess about it. You have decided that 2009 will be your year. You are now getting really fired up. Lots of ideas are coming your way. Ones you have never had before. You have this picture in your mind of what success looks like for you.

Now here comes the big question. Do you take action? because its the action that will lead to the result.

Let’s go back to Alexandra. She went away in 2005 and practised and practised. While her friends were out ” clubbing” she was singing in local clubs and pubs. She studied great singers. She kept her vision. This is how it works.

So what will 2009 bring for you in business?, the answer is it can bring anything you want.
You just need to be clear about what it is you want to achieve.

Then understand how you can make this happen.

To you and your teams success,

Denise

I was talking to a friend of mine about development and how important it is to keep learning no matter what level you are at. He shared with me a great story about golf ( his passion)

I wonder what you will think of this one…enjoy!

The flight was uneventful and I landed at Glasgow Airport – off to see a client and help them with growing their turnover and profits.

And as…

The director of the client company was an avid golfer he’d suggested I arrive the day before and we’d play golf; talk; go out for dinner and generally have a good time before the day of the consultancy.

Naturally…

I agreed – playing golf at a top Scottish course was a certain “Yes – I’ll be there!”

And so…

There I was ambling through the airport concourse pulling my wheeled suitcase in one hand and dragging my wheeled golf-bag in the other.

I arrived at the taxi rank – and waited my turn.

The next free taxi arrived and the helpful taxi-driver put my suitcase and golf clubs in the boot (trunk)

As you might imagine…

We got into a conversation about golf – the driver was a keen golfer too. And he told me a story which was just so insightful.

Here it is…

A young man was taking lessons with a golf professional. The young man had only just taken up the game of golf.

It wasn’t going well. He was spraying balls all over the practice ground and getting more and more frustrated with every attempted shot.

Finally…

In a fit of irritation he started swearing. Not at the professional but at his inability to produce the shot he intended.

It was at this point…

The professional uttered the phrase that, in the taxi driver’s retelling caught my attention, imagination and memory

“You’re not good enough to be that angry!”

WOW!

Isn’t this a fabulous expression – and one you and I can have as a ‘stop’ anytime we find ourselves frustrated with our results.

If we haven’t…

Taken the time to learn what we need to learn; taken the time to practise our skills – then is it any wonder – at times – we won’t get the results we desire. There’s no point being self-angry if we’re not good enough – yet!

An intersting story don’t you think. It is so easy to get angry and annoyed. when things don’t go our way. On reflection though have we put in the time effort and persistence to make it work?

Post on the blog and let me know…go on don’t be shy!

Have a great week

To you and your teams success

Best Wishes

Denise

As a facilitator and coach it’s gratifying to see the lights go on when Sales Managers realise the difference between training and development. So I thought I’d take a moment to discuss it.An easy way to think of this is Training is an ‘event’ and Development is a ‘process’.

Training is just like a story. Training has a beginning, middle and an end. Delegates are introduced to maybe new knowledge or skills associated with their products or services they are providing during a training event.  It’s surprising how many companies think, “all we have to do is conduct some sales training and everyone will embrace the new: strategy, system, method, process, procedure, tactic, tool or product!”

Then everyone will go back to work the next day, use the new way and be an expert within a short period of time.  Interestingly, some research I came across recently suggested that:

 the training event contributed only 20% of the overall result of the training.

Can you believe that! An incredible 40% of the result was in the planning and preparation of delegates for the course. The final 40% relied upon the degree of follow up after the workshop. Follow up is not something that companies are especially good at doing either.

I have a question for you, “what impact do the above figures have on the return on investment of the training your company provides?”What results do you actually get then?

Well in reality, you will see a temporary positive change in behaviour in some of the learners. After a while things seem to slowly drift back to the way they were. Maybe it doesn’t drift all the way back, but the positive impact you expected fades rapidly and eventually falls short.  It would n’t be unheard of for you to experience a mini revolt as some of the team resist applying what they learned:

Some of the reasons you hear from your sales people are:

1. I don’t have time to do it that way

2. I prefer my way

3. I can’t remember how to do it the new way

4. It wouldn’t work with my customers

5. I’ve had good results for a long time doing it the old way, why should I change now?

6. The training was good in theory, but this is the real world

And of course the list goes on and on Now here’s the thing. There is another often overlooked list of reasons. These are the reasons that sales managers use to avoid having their team taken away from their daily activities to attend training workshops.

Here are a few examples, you may have heard colleagues say, or even found
yourself having similar thoughts:

1. I’ve got other pressures so we can’t focus on this right now

2. I never agreed with this in the first place

3. I don’t understand why this is important to the company

4. The compensation, recognition, and rewards system still reinforces the old behaviours

5. I didn’t get this training and I did ok!

So how come a training event doesn’t create the sustainable behaviour change you’re looking for? The answer is simple and straight forward. Doing something new involves taking risks, maybe even failing. People don’t want to fail. Not everyone can appreciate that truly successful people believe the only way to learn, is to fail. So, what happens? People naturally resist change.

If that’s true then how do you realise the return on your investment? And how do you effect sustainable positive behaviour change? It’s really simple. You develop your people.

You develop your people through your daily relationship and interactions with them. As a result you can develop the person so they move from operating in a dependant way to more independent over time.
Sustainable behaviour change takes time. People learn and embrace change at different rates.

As a Sales Manager, it’s about viewing the development of your team as a marathon rather than a sprint.

Two of the key things you can do as a manager to develop your sales people is, ‘delegation and coaching’.  Which are probably topics worthy of discussion another time?

Our blog and the work we do is all about development. Thought to a number of uninitiated we call our selves trainers so we are talking a common language. However we are in the business of development. Why because it is sustainable and prepares people for the laong haul rather than a quick fix.

Take Care,

Sharon