On the 21st October the cream of the sales profession came together for the Institute of Sales and Marketing Managers annual conference ‘Successful Selling’. The event was hosted at the Ricoh arena in Coventry where over 650 sales professionals were treated to a day of presentations and workshops designed to stimulate sales and business success. The highlight however had to be the presence of Charlie Duke, the 10th man on the moon and ‘the Voice of Houston.’
After hearing from ISMM president Eric Peacock, who spoke about the £3 trillion contribution that sales professionals make to the economy, the event kicked off with compere for the day, performance and behavioural expert , Jim Steele. Steele gave a fantastic presentation about mental attitude that broke away from the usual ‘motivational speaker’ routine. Jim’s take was that a positive mental attitude was not always the best attitude, using the example of a parachute jump. When do you require a positive attitude and when do you require a negative attitude, when packing your bag on the ground or when it comes to jumping. Steele highlighted that a negative attitude is more appropriate when packing the parachute, a positive attitude for the jump!
Steele left the delegates excited and buoyant, a mood that was maintained by Paul Stobart, CEO of Sage who spoke informatively about recruiting the right people, training in the right skills, job match and enrichment and support to make a good team great.
After a short break giving the opportunity for delegates to network, there were two further speakers. Marc Jantzen from Bluesky Performance Improvement presented on the theme of ‘the changing face of sales ‘, focusing on the importance of honesty, integrity and authenticity, based on a recent survey, which revealed that 77% of sales professionals felt that honesty was the most important attribute.
Jantzen was followed by Robin Fielder, who presented the theme ‘Closing more sales in the new economy’. Fielder highlighted that in tough times, where clients are more cautious, increasingly risk-averse and present the challenge of multiple buyers and influencers in the decision process, we need to keep our selling axe regularly sharpened.
Fielder also outlined some key points to successful selling such as;
· Be a trusted adviser
· Listen beyond your product
· Customers want to deal with the specialist – have the best knowledge
· Quantify as much as you can
· Make multiple contacts
· Ask great questions
· Broaden the gap of the differentiation you offer
· Put in the ‘crackle’ – enthusiasm
Following on from these presentations, and as a break from the ISMM’s previous scheduling preference, delegates had the opportunity to attend breakout sessions, hosted by a number of the country’s best thought leaders and speakers from the sales industry. After lunch there was a further breakout session before more networking and the final part of the day.
The final session went down tremendously with motivational speaker Steve Head giving a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking presentation. Head centred his presentation on the importance of ‘positive reinforcement’. His session was crammed full of funny stories and real life experiences from his family life and business experience.
Self-motivation and the investigation of success is a worthy and important message for all sales professionals, but Head had a key point to underline; current selling today often treats sales as purely a process of steps, but that has never been enough. He went on to explain the concept of I.D.E.A.L;
· Introduce yourself
· Determine customer needs and wants
· Explain how your offer will help
· Ask for the business
· Leave
The final presentation of the day, arguably the most entertaining, featured the headline speaker Charlie Duke. Few could deny that they were in the presence of a legend, a man who had been part of mission control for Apollo 11, the first time man stepped on the moon and the fateful Apollo 13 mission which was the inspiration for the Hollywood hit by the same name. Duke topped all his accomplishments when he finally got to visit the moon himself and arrived safely back on Earth.
His presentation was informative and exhilarating; he captivated the room with his stories of visiting the moon and inspired all to strive to achieve the most impossible of their dreams.
All in all, the day was a huge success and should definitely be one for any sales professional’s diary.