The Dance of Onboarding: Integrating New Hires into Your Corporate Culture By Desiree Grace Have you ever tried to waltz or swing dance with someone who couldn't match your rhythm or didn't know the steps? It can become a clash of styles or cultures, or, worse, somebody gets their toes stepped on. A similar thing can happen when a new hire doesn't quite 'get' the culture. Much like dancing, though, skills can be learned. I recently facilitated a panel on Cultural Quotient (CQ) where we discussed best practices for increasing CQ. This involved intentional learning, self-awareness of physical cues such as body language and personal space, and the willingness to adapt to new cultures. I have some amusing stories about what not to do based on experiences with insensitive former colleagues. However, it's more productive to focus on how employers can improve the onboarding experience and subsequently enhance retention and employee engagement by welcoming people into ...

It's Fourth of July week in the United States.  Independence Day, America Day, and the Fourth of July all celebrate American freedom.  The distant beat of John Philip Sousa's patriotic melodies mingles with the steel gray smoke of fireworks in the distance.  Friends and families gather at the local park, enduring the summer heat, grass stains, and mosquitoes. To steal a phrase from my pal, Tom; “That’s how we roll in America.  We’re celebrating Freedom and if you don’t like it-- tough.”   I would like to raise a discussion under this great backdrop of Freedom, Independence, and Liberty.    Electronic Privacy in the Sales Department It is well known that the government has easy access to our phone records and electronic data.  Deep within a top-secret vault in a nondescript suburb of Washington DC, they have our text messages, emails, and other information.  They can determine how much time you spend reading this blog and can also track your ...

My grandmother was the Spring Clean Queen.  About this time every year, she began a process that lasted several weeks. She started with her carefully curated and revised list from the previous year, a habit she had maintained for over 50 years of housekeeping.  Since I was Grandma’s favorite, I knew precisely where she kept the list.  When I was eight years old, I thought about adding my younger siblings’ names to a couple of tasks.  Two things kept me from doing this – fear and common sense.   At the time, I did not appreciate Grandma’s plan, but as the years passed, I realized it was a great tool for maintaining clutter and keeping her small house crystal clean, especially for impromptu visitors.   I decided to apply the concept to distribution, as well as to my workspace.  Here are some distributor-centric fundamentals to consider:   Declutter the office : ·          One distributor we know ...

True Confessions:  I have never really cared for the use of the term “adult” as a verb.  Over the past few years, after h earing lame and seemingly made-up excuses from several people, I have decided it is appropriate in many ways, especially in the field of Sales.  We know we all got a little too comfortable with working remotely in our PJs and some are still fighting the return to normal. You see, I spent my entire life in one way or another tied to the selling process.  I self-categorize myself as a salesperson. I love everything about the whole concept of asking questions and presenting potential solutions to engaged customers.  I have made it my job to help others get started and grow in the business.  In the process, a trend has surfaced. I would call it a lack of Adulting. "Alexa, order me an alarm clock on wheels" Adults get to appointments on time. Let’s start with the simple premise, you tell someone you will be at their office at 9:00.  Cool...

Who needs to read this book, who doesn’t, and why? Ask any authors and they will freely tell you about the inspiration behind their penned masterpiece.  They will also give you a list of reasons to buy (and read) the book.  It’s unheard of for an author to tell you NOT to make the purchase.  But, I’m not just any author.   My motivation for writing this book. I have been personally involved in the sales process for Knowledge-based Distributors for a very long time; forty-five years at last count.  I have assisted new salespeople in some way or another for at least thirty years. As a Knowledge-based distributor salesperson with over 45 years of experience, I acknowledge that most of the skills and methodologies I learned early in my career are outdated.  While most experienced salespeople do not have as much experience as me, it’s safe to say sales leaders who started their journey after the launch of the iPhone in 2007 have a completely different exper...

Sales managers are under pressure to increase sales calls and productivity. This leads to scrutiny of call reports, which often reveal poor results.  To improve their reports, salespeople are counting drop-by visits with no customer contact as sales calls, which is ineffective. Several factors contribute to the lack of customer visits: poor time planning, inefficient travel, failure to make appointments, getting caught up in trivial tasks, excessive focus on customer emergencies, and complex individual situations.  To address these issues, you need a coaching plan. Over a 6-8 week period, sales managers should review each seller's planned activities for the upcoming week, log data on their plans, and compare them with the actual results. This allows for the identification of: • Scheduling issues.  Are they really planning ahead? • Issues with setting appointments.  Do they need some coaching here? • Emergencies that took them out of the field.  Are they j...

Now that your new graduates are settled in at your company and have been wowed by HR paperwork and sales meetings, the race is on to get those joint calls under their belts.  It's back to school for these wide-eyed wonders as they soak up as much knowledge as possible.  The following is a tweaked version of an oldie but goodie-- focused on creating expectations for success.  It would be great fodder for your experienced salespeople as well.  Now, let's get those books cracked and ready. We've said it before- product knowledge is the bedrock of selling. From this sound foundation flows the ability to present solutions, grow enthusiasm, and drive sales. Product knowledge pushes to the surface like a fresh spring in the desert wilderness. And, just like the spring water, the most productive flows are channeled to the place where they do the most good. In sales, a well-developed process serves to direct product knowledge to the most productive utilization. Think of this...

Here’s the challenge, with just over four months till year end, everyone is looking for a plan to eke out a few more sales dollars. I firmly believe there’s still time to make a difference. Further, if done correctly, the plan can impact the future as well. One of the most tried and true methods for creating quick success comes via targeting. This process comes from the extensive research we have carried out in the preparation for a book on targeting at distributors. The beauty of the effort arises from three important points: 1) Current customers are the focus of your efforts, eliminating the need for time consuming prospecting, cold calls and the endless phone tag associated with it. 2) It can be combined with normal daily activities to drive the sale of new products. 3) Success comes quickly and is easily measured. How to get started Distributors are often noted for a few of their flagship product lines. Typically, these top five to ten product lines represent over 60 p...