Several weeks ago I had the good fortune of delivering a leadership/workplace wellness presentation called Living Above the Line for QNET as part of their Coffee with QNET series. I have delivered it many times in person as part of a 2 day Emerging Leader program offered by The Envision Group.

Although I am very familiar with the concept and the content, I am ALWAYS nervous about whether people will get value from the program and/or whether I will mess up somehow. Which is why I am always overwhelmed when the feedback is shared with me and it's overwhelmingly positive.  

I often ask coaching clients questions like:

"What are you proud of"
"What's going well"
"What's a recent success you would like to share"

I am going to take my own advice and share what I am proud of!

Because it's a great topic and I am proud of the results of the webinar, I am going to share a summary of the feedback and the scores I received from the QNET session. 

=========================================================================================​

• It was exactly what I needed to hear right now to help address issues within my new workplace
• Very interesting topic area and on point in todays times and up skilling leadership styles for success and modern work environments

 

• He is personable and funny. very good presenter.
• Fun. Engaging.
• Very engaging and knowledgeable
• Scott was easy to listen to.
• Funny, easy to follow, engaging

 

• The above the line and below the line slide was very useful. This slide alone will help me put into view an ideology that I had been employing for a while but spelled it out for me more clearly to follow.
• The Facilitator provided another way to think about and share the information. I like the visual
• Made me think of how I react and think and real questions to use
• The participants today were very chatty and involved in the chat. It always helps to see others are in the same situations and we are not alone
• Key leadership concepts were provided in a simple, easy-to-use tool for maximizing individual and team accountability, engagement and efficiency.
• Scott was very engaging and kept the session rolling at a good pace. the general model seems easy to keep in back of mind and hopefully just as easy to apply
• It reminded me of strategies to use with my staff. I have recently taken over as director with a new program and there is a culture. As I listened, I was able to identify strategies that I can implement with particular staff.

 
Attendee ratings of
Session:
60.8% Excellent
34.7% Good
 
Facilitator:
73.9% Excellent
21.7% Good

My message: Many of us are good at what we do and need to give ourselves more credit. Regularly acknowledge what's going well and what you are strong at. Also, Living Above the Line is a great concept for working with and leading others. 

Let me knw if you would like to learn more.

​Scott

Today I want to write about Outsourced Sales Management (OSM) and why it’s so critical for many small and medium sized companies today who want and need to grow. This is especially relevant after taking a beating for the last year + due to Covid.
 
Let’s explore why this could work for you.
 
Sales likely aren’t great. Or maybe they are ok but it sure would be helpful if they were even better. Sales and sales growth has really suffered during Covid and you’re not sure what to do anymore to increase them. Because you’re not big enough for a full-time sales manager, sales is reporting to the owner or some other function within the organization. A typical approach is that sales people aren’t doing enough.
 
Often, when in doubt, sales are asked to do more:

• More calls/dials
• More meetings
• More proposals
• More product demos

 
Which closes more sales right???????
 
You either keep doing what you are doing (and hope for a better result) or you look to increase activity as the best way to grow sales revenue. Often sales either pushes back or it doesn’t work like you think it should.
 
What else can you do?
 
I have encountered this situation a lot over the years and can tell you from experience that doing More isn’t always the best solution. We can also do Better 
 
There is a ‘Better’ way to increase sales. Sustainably.
 
There are a couple of approaches (or strategies) that SBD Growth Strategies provides that you should consider:

1. Sales Training – to work on overall skill development
2. Sales Coaching – to work with individuals and help them focus on their specific professional growth goals
3. (NEW) Outsourced Sales Management – to develop or improve sales process AND sales skills.  This is especially critical when you currently don’t have the internal Capacity (time) or Capability (expertise and experience)

 
Why is Outsourced Sales Management (OSM) important and why should you consider this strategy to boost your sales and build internal capacity to grow business for the long term?
 
Consider the following indicators (symptoms) you could benefit from an Outsourced Sales Manager:

• Are your sales results low or slower than you would like?
• Do you have a structured, repeatable and successful sales process?
• Can you effectively forecast your sales?
• Are sales people selling on price more than you would like (thereby eroding your margins)?
• Do you wonder if your sales cycle is too long, but you’re not really sure?
• Is your sales rep turn over higher than you would like it to be?
• Do you wonder if you could be earning more new clients?

 
Imagine a scenario where your company isn’t big enough yet to have a CFO or a VP of Engineering. Or you’ve lost your VP of Operations and you need to replace them. Have you ever thought that you should have your accounting, engineering and/or operations team reporting to sales?

Why not? We do it to sales all the time! And I don’t want to hear you say ‘yah but sales is different’.  Successful sales professionals and sales leaders have significant experience, education and training that directly contributes to their success. Companies that fail to appreciate this do so at their own peril-and likely less than desired sales results.
 
In my over 30 years of experience, I can help organizations with the following:

• Working with leadership and sales to develop or refresh the sales strategy
• Effectively manage recruiting, interviewing, hiring, coaching and training the sales force
• Creating and executing a sales plan focused on growth
• Reporting on and analyzing sales performance
• Supporting, training and coaching the sales team through opportunities and challenges
• Selecting, customizing, and fully leveraging an effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
• Developing and reinforcing best practices for sales
• And a whole lot more

 
I have yet to encounter someone without a strong sales back ground and with responsibility for sales being effective at, or having the proper time, to do these effectively. Without experience and/or time, any one of these activities are difficult. Especially if you are also trying to manage sales off the side of your desk all while overseeing other mission critical responsibilities.
 
Ok then Scott, what are the primary benefits to hiring SBD Growth Strategies as your Outsourced Sales Manager?
 
Great Question.
 
Here are the main reasons to hire an OSM:

1. Increased Sales and Profit Margin
2. Dedicated Focus on Sales
3. Lower Cost
4. Sustainable Operations 

For many small to mid-sized businesses and start-ups, outsourced sales management has benefits that lead to sustainable sales success and revenue growth.  This could be a long-term solution or an interim strategy until you either find the right person externally or build the capacity internally. Both of which SBD Growth can help with.
 
If you are looking to increase sales and build a sustainable sales engine at a lower cost than hiring someone full-time and, let’s chat.