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Mais se concentrer uniquement sur les résultats est-il suffisant ? Comment sont-ils construits ? Qu’y a-t-il en amont des résultats ? Quels sont les moyens d’action ? Quels sont les moteurs qui construisent la performance ? Sur quoi agir ?

Un client se plaignait il y a peu du manque d’efficacité de ses commerciaux et pensait qu’il devait investir dans leur formation. Le problème est qu’il n’avait aucun moyen d’être sûr que c’était là le bon levier d’action ! Peut-être était-ce une question d’outils ? Ou de motivation ? Ou d’allocation de temps sur les bonnes cibles ?

Dans le management et le pilotage de l’activité commerciale, il est fondamental d’établir le bon diagnostic afin d’appliquer la bonne solution. C’est un peu comme pour une douleur au dos qui serait la conséquence d’une mauvaise posture : l’ostéopathe va manipuler la jambe car agir sur le dos n’aurait aucun effet bénéfique à long terme. C’est une vision systémique. Et cette vision systémique s’applique pleinement à la performance commerciale, laquelle doit être vue comme un ensemble dans le dispositif du management commerciale. Les composantes de l’efficacité commerciale sont nombreuses et une analyse globale est nécessaire pour s’assurer non seulement d’identifier les points de progrès, mais également de les traiter dans le bon ordre en fonction des enjeux et des impacts entre eux.

Par exemple affiner la stratégie commerciale impactera les plans d’action marketing et commercial, qui peuvent impacter la motivation, voire aussi le contenu des formations, l’organisation de l’administration des ventes, etc.

Mettre en place un outil CRM impactera le management de ventes, les règles de gestion commerciales, et soulèvera aussi des sujets de motivation et de formation.

Mes moteurs commerciaux sont-ils bien allumés ?

Face à des résultats décevants il ne faut pas non plus se cacher derrière des excuses exogènes sur lesquelles on ne peut pas agir et qui de toute manière ne sont que de « fausses barbes » : le marché est tendu, la concurrence a lancé une nouvelle offre, c’est la période des vacances etc.

En revanche, le manager dispose de sept leviers d’action, sept moteurs qui doivent bien fonctionner afin que la performance commerciale soit au rendez-vous :

1. Une stratégie commerciale claire et partagée avec les équipes,
2. Un plan marketing multicanal détaillé et au service de la stratégie,
3. Un plan d’action commercial qui traduit de manière détaillée la stratégie commerciale en activités quantifiées et ciblées,
4. Un pilotage des plan d’action commercial et des processus et méthodes clairement établies
5. Un programme de recrutement et de management des équipes qui intègre motivation et développement permanent des compétences,
6. Un système d’information structuré et performant (CRM),
7. Un support administratif et technique efficace.

Il y a là un ensemble complexe mais concret et opérationnel qui permet de passer d’une connaissance et d’un mode d’action intuitifs vers une démarche structurée et pragmatique. Faire la bonne analyse, vérifier l’état de chaque moteur, et savoir agir dans le bon ordre, avec le bon niveau de priorité et de la bonne manière. Si tous ces moteurs de l’efficacité commerciale sont bien allumés, les résultats suivront !

Et cela ne peut pas se faire ponctuellement, par à-coup, uniquement lors de séminaires commerciaux par exemple. C’est au contraire une action durable et régulière. Kestio répond précisément à ce besoin de pilotage continu, connecté au terrain et à la réalité du moment, appuyé sur la vision globale du système !

C’est parce que « la maison n’est jamais rangée de manière définitive » que le manager a besoin de vérifier si ses moteurs de l’efficacité commerciale tournent rond !

Knowing how to reposition your business can be vital in a difficult situation. Discover the different stages of this process in this webinar:

Découvrez nos approches innovantes pour accompagner les dirigeants et managers dans cette démarche d’efficacité commerciale :

A long 2-day meeting? Between these two somewhat caricatural extremes, you probably want your company seminars to be a productive moment that makes a positive contribution to the life of the team, and helps create bonds between its members. This event always represents a major investment for your company, so it's important to use it wisely!

To help you achieve this goal, here are a few easy-to-apply tips to get you off to a good start in maintaining your sales performance (An infographic to summarize, followed by an article to go a little further).

Nous reprendrons, au long de cet article, les différents points résumés dans cette infographie réalisée par Kestio

1. Define a clear and unique objective for your corporate seminar

Before jumping headlong into the logistical organization of your corporate seminar and the production of presentation materials, take the time to think things through and to clearly define the objective Is it to communicate new strategic directions? To enable team members to get to know each other and work better together? Undertake an ambitious shift in the definition of your service offering? Update your staff's skills to establish commercial excellence?

Take the time to ask yourself these few key questions before designing the seminar content: who do you want to address? What main message do you want to get across (in one sentence)? What is the ideal outcome of the seminar?

2. Encourage active team participation

The annual company seminar is a symbolically powerful moment in the life of a team, and a unique opportunity to bring together all its members and collectively discuss key issues for the company. Nothing is more damaging to the group's dynamic than to run it like a lecture, with managers taking the floor and employees taking notes without participating, expressing their opinions or communicating their ideas. More than ever, you need to take care of your communication, and your sales management needs to think "collaboratively"!

Provide clear, visually appealing presentation materials and concise texts. Prepare your speech if necessary to ensure that it is dynamic and appeals to the audience. Last but not least, encourage participative formats (workshops, quizzes ....).

3. Give meaning to the proposed activities and setting

Seminars are usually an opportunity to offer team members a moment out of the ordinary, to get to know each other, to relax and create shared "good memories". You can also approach these more informal moments of relaxation as an additional opportunity to convey a strong message in line with the main objective of your seminar : as Victor Hugo said, "form is substance that rises to the surface"! Be aware of the subconscious impact of the chosen venue and the activities on offer.

Choose a venue that reflects the spirit you wish to convey (friendly, intimate, studious, original...). Opt for an activity in line with the objective of the seminar (improv theater for the ability to bounce back, escape game for collective intelligence...).

4. Put into practice the ideas generated during your corporate seminar

The company seminar is often a fairly intense time for exchanging ideas and generating ideas and actions to redefine your sales strategy. It would be a real shame if the energy and proposals born of this moment shared as a team were to be forgotten when you return to everyday life, and remain dead letters! Formalize the fruit of these exchanges, preferably in collaborative mode and on shared media... And above all, translate the proposals validated with the team into concrete actions. If the ideas discussed have no concrete impact on the reality back at the office, teams will not maintain their commitment.

Keep a record of the ideas and proposals generated during discussions, roundtables and workshops. Make sure they are accessible and known to everyone afterwards. Make sure that decisions taken are translated into tangible action as quickly as possible.

5. Propose a shared vision and new perspectives

For teams to be truly committed, during the seminar and in the months that follow, it is essential that the content is based on a solid "foundation" and a shared vision: the company's value proposition, strategic vision, customer commitment, corporate culture and identity.... These elements must be familiar to the team, and make sense to everyone in order to generate collective momentum. You can also take advantage of the seminar to call on outside speakers (lecturers, trainers, etc.) offering an original approach to developing new skills internally.

Work on the founding elements of your corporate identity and the discourse that accompanies them, in "storytelling" mode, to give them depth and encourage their appropriation. Involve external speakers to create new perspectives!

To find out more, download the white paper SALES SEMINAR :

KESTIO is a company specializing in services and solutions to improve Customer Performance. For over 10 years, we have been helping companies to secure and sustainably increase their revenues, by acting on all the levers that enable them to acquire and retain customers.

Other articles that may be of interest to you:

1. Les séminaires commerciaux sont des clés dans la vie d’entreprise

Pourquoi les séminaires commerciaux sont-ils des événements aussi importants ?

D’abord, parce que le séminaire commercial sert des objectifs stratégiques pour la Direction Générale et Commerciale, comme par exemple : mobiliser et motiver les commerciaux, présenter les objectifs commerciaux de l’année, et aussi bien sûr, créer les meilleures conditions pour s’assurer de les atteindre et pour viser une meilleur performance commerciale.

Ensuite, parce que c’est un moment exceptionnel : le séminaire commercial est organisé une à 2 fois par an, et c’est l’une des rares occasions pour l’entreprise de réunir tous ses commerciaux et managers. C’est donc une opportunité unique de créer une vraie dynamique de groupe, et cette dynamique est essentielle à la motivation de chacun pour atteindre ses résultats.

Enfin, parce qu’il représente un véritable investissement pour l’entreprise, à la fois financier et humain. Côté financier, le budget qui lui est consacré est souvent assez conséquent (hébergement, restauration, transport, activités team building…pour tous les membres de l’équipe). Côté humain, il doit être préparé soigneusement, car son impact sur la dynamique de groupe est important, et cela demande de consacrer du temps et de l’énergie à cette phase de préparation.

2. Vous ne pouvez donc pas vous permettre de rater vos séminaires commerciaux ! Et pourtant, cela n’arrive pas qu’aux autres….

Dans la pratique, les écueils rencontrés sur le terrain sont nombreux, et parfois lourds de conséquences. Nos clients nous décrivent parfois des séminaires « catastrophes » au cours desquels des tensions se sont fait jour au sein de l’équipe, la présentation des orientations stratégiques a donné lieu à des débats internes « animés », ou tout simplement n’a pas soulevé l’enthousiasme escompté…

Résultat : une année qui commence sur de mauvaises bases, une motivation des équipes en berne, des difficultés à venir pour le management qui va devoir « remonter la pente » et une sérieuse inquiétude sur la réalisation des objectifs…

Les difficultés rencontrées par les organisateurs des séminaires commerciaux sont de différentes natures :

- Le séminaire ne permet pas de générer l’adhésion souhaitée autour des orientations stratégiques de l’entreprise
- La Direction Commerciale ou la DRH consacrent énormément de temps à l’organisation du séminaire au détriment de leurs autres priorités
- Le programme du séminaire est sensiblement le même d’une année sur l’autre, et les collaborateurs les plus fidèles n’en perçoivent plus vraiment l’intérêt

3. Alors, comment s’assurer de « réussir son séminaire commercial » ?

On nous pose souvent la question, car nous animons régulièrement des séminaires commerciaux pour nos clients depuis maintenant plus de 10 ans.

C’est pourquoi nous avons décidé de rédiger un livre blanc de 30 pages entièrement dédié à ce sujet, dans lequel vous trouverez des pistes concrètes et retours d’expérience pour vous aider à organiser votre prochain séminaire commercial.

Notamment des réponses à ces questions que vous vous posez sûrement :

- Quel contenu donner à mon séminaire commercial ?
- Comment animer mon séminaire pour faire un moment stimulant et mémorable pour les commerciaux et leurs managers ?
- Comment faire passer des messages clés à l’ensemble de l’équipe à l’occasion du séminaire ?
- Comment mobiliser les équipes pour garantir l’atteinte des objectifs annuels

Nous avons souhaité vous proposer une approche pragmatique et méthodique, fondée sur les bonnes pratiques issues des séminaires commerciaux animés depuis 10 ans chez nos clients comme : LAGARDERE PUBLICITE, BOLLORE LOGISTICS, SANOFI, ou APRR.

Do you want to optimize your sales force's time? In this webinar, you'll learn how to target your sales force and use the right tools to increase your number of sales meetings per month by a factor of 2:

Pour la partie organisation logistique et hébergement, vous avez probablement déjà fait appel à un prestataire externe pour gagner du temps et être sûr de faire les bons choix.

Mais avez-vous déjà pensé à solliciter un intervenant spécialisé (formateur, coach, conférencier) pour vous aider à concevoir et animer votre séminaire? Cette opportunité est encore souvent méconnue ou peu activée par les entreprises et leurs dirigeants. Elle offre pourtant de multiples avantages et procure un bénéfice immédiat quant à la mobilisation des équipes ou encore l’apport de compétences.

Découvrez dans son intégralité l’article de Dominique SEGUIN (Directeur associé, KESTIO Paris) publié sur le blog de MyEvent :

Séminaire commercial : pourquoi faire appel à un intervenant spécialisé ?

Découvrez aussi notre livre blanc “Séminaire commercial : Fabuleuse opportunité ou moment à haut risque”

D’autres articles sur ce sujet parus sur notre blog :

KESTIO est une société de conseil et de formation en Performance Commerciale et Expérience Client.

Notre mission : aider les sociétés à accroître leurs résultats et améliorer leur rentabilité en optimisant la conquête et la fidélisation de leurs clients. Cela passe notamment par la formation des équipes commerciales au meilleures techniques de vente et de négociation.

Depuis 10 ans, nous animons très régulièrement des séminaires commerciaux pour nos clients, notamment : Lagardère Publicité, Bolloré Logistics, SANOFI, APRR, Jaeger-Lecoultre et Marchon Eyewear.

Nos expertises séminaire commercial :

– Ingénierie pédagogique (conception du contenu, des supports et du dispositif d’animation, en accord avec vos objectifs et le public du séminaire)
– Organisation et animation (animation de workshops et formations : techniques de vente, ventes grands comptes, relation client, management commercial…)
– Solutions exclusives d’animation : en parallèle des diverses techniques d’animation proposées (workshop interactif, quizz, animations vidéo…), nous proposons des solutions exclusives de type « serious game » : Kestio System(c)

C’est aussi un moment rare et précieux dans la vie de l’entreprise, car il constitue souvent l’unique opportunité de réunir l’ensemble de la force commerciale (équipe de vente, managers, directeurs commerciaux) et parce qu’il représente un investissement financier parfois conséquent. Autant de raisons qui font du séminaire commercial de rentrée un moment à fort enjeu ! Attention, cependant : c’est aussi un moment à haut risque et vous pouvez passer totalement à côté de vos objectifs, si vous négligez sa préparation… A l’approche de l’événement, petit tour d’horizon des principaux écueils à éviter.

1. Ne pas soigner ses supports de présentation :

Votre séminaire commercial approche et vous avez préparé un support ambitieux, rempli d’informations et de chiffres clés pour expliquer la stratégie commerciale à N+1, mais vous vous êtes un peu noyé dans les graphiques et vous n’êtes pas un as de la mise en page…

Le risque : le jour J, en pleine présentation, vous apercevoir que votre discours suscite l’incompréhension ou l’ennui, et vous retrouver face à des visages perplexes et des soupirs agacés, ou pire, vous apercevoir que les messages transmis ont été compris de travers et que le lancement de votre nouvelle stratégie commerciale annoncé à grand renfort de slides powerpoint part sur de mauvaises bases… !

►► Des slides légers et clairs, contenant uniquement les informations clés et laissant la part belle à l’animation orale seront vos meilleurs alliés. Pensez aussi aux images pleine page accompagnées de mots clés ou d’anecdotes marquantes, qui marquent les esprits et facilitent la mémorisation !

2. Confondre animation de séminaire et cours magistral

Bonne nouvelle : vous n’êtes pas du genre à avoir les mains moites ou le cœur qui bat la chamade quand vous devez prendre la parole en public, et vous pourriez parler pendant des heures de vos enjeux business et du plan d’action commercial, car ces sujetsvous passionnent. C’est une vraie qualité pour animer votre séminaire commercial… à condition toutefois de laisser de la place aux autres !

Le risque : vouloir tout dire, assommer votre auditoire, et surtout ne laisser aucune place aux questions ou remarques (donc, à la participation active) des membres de votre équipe. Une façon malheureusement très efficace de plomber l’ambiance malgré votre enthousiasme sincère, et de vous priver de l’adhésion de vos collaborateurs…

►► Un débit maîtrisé laissant la place à des moments de silence permettra à votre auditoire de mieux vous suivre et de réagir. Pensez également à varier le ton, et n’hésitez pas à insister sur les termes et idées clés. Prévoyez des questions destinées à faire réagir vos auditeurs et à vous assurer de leur bonne compréhension.

3. Mal choisir le thème de son atelier participatif

On ne risque pas de vous surprendre à tomber dans l’écueil précédent : vous êtes extrêmement sensible à la dynamique de groupe et à l’aspect participatif de vos réunions. Super ! D’ailleurs, vous avez prévu de demander à votre équipe de dresser une liste de toutes les propositions qui leur viennent à l’esprit pour améliorer les résultats l’année prochaine, ou des points d’amélioration potentiels dans l’organisation commerciale de l’entreprise.

Le risque : générer des débats collectifs « un peu trop animés » (voir réellement tendus) autour des orientations à prendre, ou des déceptions et malentendus, si aucune des propositions exprimées n’est ensuite jugée digne d’être retenue et appliquée dans la pratique au niveau de l’entreprise.

►► Gardez à l’esprit qu’en invitant votre équipe à donner son avis, vous prenez un engagement tacite : celui de prendre cet avis en compte par la suite. Ne les invitez donc pas à « refaire la stratégie » si cette dernière est déjà définie et non négociable, mais plutôt à imaginer quelle part ils pourront y prendre et comment ils vont la décliner dès demain dans leur pratique quotidienne !

4. Choisir le mauvais « écrin » pour votre séminaire commercial

Bien que cet aspect ne relève probablement pas de votre périmètre, les écueils liés à l’organisation logistique de votre séminaire ont également leur importance, et doivent à ce titre faire l’objet de votre considération : proposer des conditions d’hébergement décevantes à vos collaborateurs peut considérablement gâcher la fête ou pire, leur donner le sentiment d’être déconsidérés, dans un moment à forte charge symbolique.

►► Cela ne signifie pas que vous devez forcément avoir les moyens de leur offrir un voyage à Las Vegas : une cabane dans les arbres peut aussi constituer un lieu d’exception… C’est surtout l’intention qui compte, mais veillez quand même à ce qu’un minimum de confort et d’intimité soit assurés ! Evitez aussi que le lieu de rassemblement soit d’un accès difficile pour les participants, et qu’ils ne retiennent du séminaire que leurs ennuis de transport (grève des trains, trajet à rallonge, départ à 4h du matin pour arriver à l’heure…).

5. Mal doser l’ingrédient « émotion »

Dans le même registre, prévoir une activité team building « à haut risque » sous prétexte que cela crée des liens peut s’avérer contre-productif si la moitié de l’équipe refuse catégoriquement d’y participer. Pensez-y avant de réserver un vol d’initiation à la chute libre pour 75 personnes !

Evitez aussi la soirée festive qui déborde un peu trop, si vous devez le regretter le lendemain : le séminaire peut être un moment de vraie détente, mais on reste dans un cadre professionnel, et les anecdotes amusantes sur les participants peuvent aussi devenir de véritables « boulets » à long terme pour ceux qui en sont l’objet !

►► Adoptez un « dosage » des ingrédients festifs conforme à la culture de votre entreprise, et n’invitez pas vos collaborateurs à enflammer le dancefloor jusqu’au bout de la nuit si vous leur avez concocté un programme ultra-studieux pour le lendemain !

Cet article vous a été utile? Téléchargez notre dossier spécial “SÉMINAIRE COMMERCIAL”.

Vous pourrez découvrir les 5 clés de succès pour réussir vos séminaires de rentrée :

Définir les objectifs du séminaire et les messages clés que vous souhaitez transmettre à vos équipes
Concevoir des supports d’animation efficaces et originaux pour susciter l’intérêt et convaincre
Imaginer et mettre en oeuvre un dispositif d’animation qui assure la participation active de vos collaborateurs
Garantir la cohérence entre les enjeux du séminaire et son organisation (destination, hébergement, activités)

D’autres articles à découvrir aussi, en lien avec ce thème :

It's an indispensable and solid foundation on which to build your action. The hardest part, however, remains to be done: ensuring that this strategy is deployed as effectively as possible in the field, so that it bears fruit and achieves your results objectives. There are 3 major levers available to you in this area: the commitment of your teams, the translation of your strategy into operational action plans, and the implementation of effective management. What are they?

Guarantee a high level of commitment from your teams

Engaging means getting your teams to decide to take concrete, effective and measurable operational action. The level of commitment of your management and sales teams depends on a number of non-exclusive factors. How can you positively influence this commitment?

First of all, by sharing the defined strategy : present this strategy to your teams, clearly explaining the why, the what and the areas of work defined to involve them in its implementation.

But commitment also meanslistening to your teams about their motivations and obstacles, in order to deal with the latter, and involving them closely in the development of the actions to be taken.

Finally, don't lose sight of the fact that you also need to "make people want to do it", beyond the constraints, by proposing an exciting ambition ! Annual seminars, in particular, are key moments for effectively engaging sales teams (we have devoted an article to best practices for successful seminars and team engagement).

Translate sales strategy into operational action plans

Sales action plans are your staff's "roadmap": they determine the year's major highlights (sales seasonality, trade shows, contract renewals, etc.) and the precise planning of actions, resources and tools to be implemented on a weekly, or at least monthly, basis.

They are the operational relay for the sales strategy defined upstream: number of opportunities to be identified, frequency of visits by customer or prospect segment, type of visit to be carried out (discovery of needs, identification of decision-makers, closing, etc.).

They ensure that the level of effort, coverage and sales pressure expected of their portfolio is translated into concrete action in the field.

To guarantee the implementation and scope of these action plans, however, one final point is crucial: their management.

Deploying effective sales management

What are the components of sales management to ensure effective deployment of your strategy and implementation of action plans?

- Action monitoring and support for sales staff: segmentation of accounts in the CRM, action planning, creation of reports and monitoring of coverage and sales pressure dashboards, combined with regular one-to-one interviews and co-construction of progress plans to improve results.
- Analysis of results: monitoring and management of KPIs. For example, during sales pipeline reviews, monitoring and analysis of volume, value and time spent on opportunities to optimize allocation of sales effort.
- Coaching and regular training of sales staff: developing sales performance by acting on skills and competencies. Field accompaniment and coaching sessions, in particular, deliver convincing results. (See our article on field coaching).

It is necessary to act on all these levers to ensure effective deployment of the sales strategy you have defined, and to secure the achievement of your objectives. In some cases, however, it can be complex for Sales Managers to act on all these factors in a coordinated way, for example in a context of strong market pressure. That's why we offer support programs that enable you to act successively or globally on each of these levers, with a view to accelerating the implementation of actions and optimizing their results.

Adopt a tool adapted to your business and your expectations: choose a CRM... To better understand the usefulness of CRM and choose the right tool, watch this webinar:

Selling is a sport. It requires behavioral and methodological skills, and perseverance. An outside eye, provided by a coach (usually the sales manager himself), can help you get back on track with your performance and/or improve a sales technique you've already honed: we've observed a 20% to 40% improvement in sales results following the implementation of a field coaching program.

Why is this type of real-life coaching essential to your teams' success? What involvement does it require on your part, as a Manager or Sales Director? And above all, how can you make it a success so as to reap all the benefits? Here are a few keys to success from our field coaching missions.

1- Sales coaching in the field must be integrated into the company's regular practices

Sales coaching in the field must be a major part of a manager's mission. It's the only way for a sales manager to get to grips with the practices of his sales teams "in real life", but also with the reality with which they are confronted on a daily basis: that of their customers' expectations. In terms of management, this is a vital complement to the monitoring of figures and reporting carried out by the sales teams themselves, and enables much better results to be achieved.

To achieve this, field coaching needs to be installed, almost "automated", with regular check-ins and follow-up appointments. Field coaching should not be used on an ad hoc basis, but as part of an ongoing process, to maximize its beneficial effects.

Beware, moreover, of epidermal reactions if coaching is "sprinkled in" from time to time. Some sales reps may tend not to accept coaching, which is potentially perceived as a "punishment" if it is not integrated into the company's logical processes. For reasons of ego and fear of outside scrutiny, rejection is common. Such reactions are limited if support is presented as a benefit offered to all (see next point), and not as a patch for under-performance.

2- Coaching should apply to all salespeople

The mistake made by many companies is to "reserve" sales coaching for just a few salespeople. Yet sales coaching is for everyone. Whether it's someone who is just joining the company, a salesperson who is firmly established and posting good results, or someone who is experiencing a slump, coaching can and should support them in their mission.

But what's the point in supporting the best? Isn't there a risk in over-qualifying? Don't forget that some sales people are good at what they do because they have good practices and solid experience, but others can achieve great performances thanks to a combination of phenomena, and a large element of luck.

Personalized support aims to identify the contribution of these irrational and unknown factors, so that an already excellent performance can be built on solid, lasting foundations.

Even the best need a coach! Take Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world. He calls on a coach because he knows he has to do everything he can to maintain his excellent level of performance, and even improve in certain areas. He leaves nothing to chance.

This also applies to salespeople. Accompanying an already-good salesperson will help him/her to confirm the areas in which he/she has talent, and to work on the areas in which he/she has difficulty, to help him/her become even better.

Coaching is not just about identifying areas for improvement, but also about building confidence and commitment. A real HR tool!

3- Coaching isn't there to help you "win" business...at least not right away! 🙂

Sales coaching involves helping a person to progress, whatever the outcome of a sales meeting or negotiation. The aim is to capitalize on what is seen and heard, to exchange ideas and find keys to improvement. Whether or not an order is won is of secondary importance... as opposed to puresales coaching, when a manager supports an employee to help him or her win a contract.

Don't lose sight of the goal. When you're involved in a coaching process, don't focus on the commercial aspect and the purpose of the order. It's not always easy: you're going to attend meetings that don't go well, and therefore potentially lose business... Difficult and frustrating? Yes, but that's precisely why you'll be able to identify mistakes made by a sales person, so that you can prevent them from happening again!

You have to accept losing a deal and missing an appointment, so that you can give your sales person the means to win the next 10 deals alone!

Do you find it hard to stay calm and not intervene? You need to do some real work on yourself to remain observant, because intervening at this stage would be counter-productive and would disrupt the coaching.

4- Coaching must have a precise objective

In order to achieve concrete results and provide relevant answers to sales needs, coaching must have a precise objective. It may be to improve sales argumentation, to enhance customer contact, or to reinforce physical attitudes. It doesn't matter. But each time, it's important to communicate in advance with the coached salesperson the objectives to be achieved and the points to be observed. Without this precision, the sales assistant will have the impression of being evaluated on a global basis.

Moreover, it's time to move away from the classic evaluation scheme, with the post-visit report listing the black spots and the good marks. There are techniques for exchanging ideas, initiating discussion and raising questions. Just blurting out what's wrong doesn't help a person to become aware of his or her shortcomings, and to correct them. It's essential to question a person properly, to get them to express their knowledge.

5- Coaching must be a long-term process

Coaching must be part of an ongoing process (which ties in with our first point) and, to this end, must leave a trace. It's important to formalize observations in writing and to record them in a reference document. This will serve as a guideline for monitoringthe evolution of objectives over time, and remind everyone of the progress of the support. Because words fly but writing remains, take the time you need for this step. This will also enable you to measure the progress made andevaluate the scope and resultsof this supportover time, which represents a real investment. So it's not a waste of time - on the contrary!

It's also an important motivating factor for the salesperson, who can refer to the elements set down on paper: not only will he or she be able to recall the concepts evoked, but he or she will also have the satisfaction of knowing that his or her manager is genuinely committed to his or her success.

How do you help your sales team achieve their goals?

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A "must" in the lives of many companies, it's an annual event to which they often devote considerable resources in order to make it a memorable and "successful" occasion (with the help of charming hotels, exceptional destinations and original, fun-filled team-building activities). This outpouring of resources is justified by the underlying aim of the event: to engage teams in a lasting commitment to achieving the company's business objectives. But it's far from a guarantee of success!

Depuis 10 ans, KESTIO intervient régulièrement en Ingénierie de séminaire commercial. Nous vous livrons ici 5 clés essentielles à la réussite de vos séminaires commerciaux, issues de cette longue expérience.

1) The objective of the seminar is more important than the "wow!

Let's be clear. For a company, the greater the resources allocated to a business seminar, the greater the chance of finding a venue that will delight participants, or an activity that will leave a lasting impression. This is what we call the "Wow" effect: a positive emotional marker, which can stay in people's minds and provide a powerful experience for employees. But this positive marker should not be the sole objective of a sales seminar. The "Wow" effect is a one-off. What will remain of the seminar 1, 2 or 3 months after the event?

You have to combine the "Wow" effect with a real strategy thought out in advance, and define what the seminar should leave behind.

If employees only remember the buffet and the sublime decor, but not really the sales techniques taught, you've failed. It's time to stop focusing on form and start focusing on content. The objective of a sales seminar must become the primary concern of the management in charge of the event. The choice of venue comes next.

2) Each seminar has (in reality) a different objective

Last year's sales seminar was a great success. Good listening, good feedback, a venue that participants loved. Above all, we didn't change a thing. Unfortunately, many companies have this reflex of putting themselves on "automatic pilot". They replicate past successes and minimize risk-taking. It's a mistake. Every seminar is different. Sure, it may take place in the same place. But each seminar has a different objective. So each time, you have to ask yourself what the real objective of the seminar is.

What kind of change do you want to instill in the company? What strong message do you want to convey? What new techniques do you want to convey? What do you really want to achieve as a result of the seminar?

Too busy repeating the success of last year's sales seminar, many companies fail to anticipate the future, and are slow to change and evolve. This was particularly evident in 2008 and 2009, at the height of the crisis. Instead of reassuring sales teams, working on fears, self-confidence and the future, many companies chose to hammer home a well-mastered corporate message... an exercise which is unfortunately futile, if the underlying expectation of employees is actually to be supported and listened to. The phase of defining the objective of a sales seminar should therefore not be dismissed out of hand; on the contrary, it should be the focus of all reflection, and is in fact the decisive point.

Discover the KESTIO webinars, where we discuss

all topics related to sales performance with our experts:

Fabien Comtet, CEO

Dominique Seguin, General Manager

Nicolas Boissard, Marketing Director

3) A seminar must have a precise rhythm

For the sake of simplicity, too many companies have fallen into the bad habit of organizing their sales meetings in silos. In other words: in the morning, it's a conference in a plenary room with 80 slides on a giant screen, and in the afternoon, it's go-karting! This sequencing between serious moments and moments of relaxation should be avoided, as it is counter-productive. You recreate unconscious mechanisms already experienced at school... There are moments in class to learn and be serious, and moments in the playground which allow you to let off steam, but are considered "useless" in terms of the final objective.

It's possible to create interaction and fun while conveying serious messages. In particular, it's a good idea to organize time for co-construction with the participants. If they are involved, they will apply the rest of the seminar with conviction.

There are always "off" evenings or times of distraction, which allow you to let go and are obviously not to be banned, but beware of overly categorical organization which will make serious periods painful to follow in top-down mode with participants having in the back of their minds "Can't wait for tonight..."...! Fun yes, but with a purpose! Go-karting, paintball or laser-gaming, why not, but with an objective, to serve a purpose. Make sure that the message conveyed is consistent with the theme of the seminar, and ask yourself what symbolic or practical bridges can be built.

4) A good seminar must incorporate digital technology

The digital revolution needs to make business seminars even more enjoyable, productive and sustainable. Start from the premise that if something is produced, it will have value only if it is digitized. Ideas thrown on a flip chart, discussions in the room - everything can be digitized today with simple co-creation and sharing tools. We can't let this creativity and these exchanges go to waste.

The seminar is a source of information and reflection. Digital technology helps to capture these elements.

Digital technology can also be used to prepare a sales seminar in advance. In the same way as for quality training, it is possible to send elements before a meeting so that participants can familiarize themselves with them beforehand. On the big day, they'll already have a knowledge base and won't be discovering the subject, which will improve information retention, the quality of participation and the effectiveness of exchanges. For information to be retained, it has to be communicated 3 times. So it's a good idea to get the key messages across before the seminar, repeat them during, and reiterate them afterwards.

5) Your sales seminar must be consistent

Beware of the inconsistency between organizing a seminar in a prestigious setting and cutting budgets for several company departments in the same month! It's not possible to talk about rationalizing costs all year long, only to "splurge" on a very high-end seminar. Consistency!

The seminar must be part of an ongoing process, and make sense in terms of corporate strategy. It must also fit in with the company's financial logic.

It's possible to alternate venues and activities, and to vary the resources allocated according to the health of the company, but also and above all according to the objectives of the sales seminar. One event may well take place in a privatized château, while for the second meeting of the year, 6 months later, there's nothing to stop the offices from being fitted out differently, to provide more fun for the duration of an effective seminar.

Depuis 10 ans, KESTIO accompagne des entreprises – de la PME au Grand Groupe – dans la préparation et l’animation de leurs séminaires commerciaux :

Seminar engineering: definition of objectives and content, development of the program, help in choosing choice of venue and themes, suggestions for events...
Creation of animation media: definition of key messages, conception and design of original and effective presentations, creation of "intelligent" participative quizzes and games.
Running all or part of the sales seminar: communicating strategic messages, running worshops and games, challenge-based sales training.

A recent study published by the American consultancy Forrester predicts the imminent death of the field sales profession in the face of e-commerce. However, a different outcome is possible for BtoB field salespeople, provided they rethink their positioning and adopt a consulting posture, notably through the quality of their questioning and a more "customer-centric" approach.

What are the other components of the sales consultant posture, and how can you make them your own? That's what we'll be looking at in Part 2.

Position yourself as an expert

While listening is the key to creating the conditions for a relationship of trust, you also need to know how to demonstrate your added value.

In the corporate world, the formalization of a project often proves delicate and complex. Even though they are becoming more and more knowledgeable and autonomous, customers still expect their sales representatives to have the cutting-edge expertise they need to refine the contours of their project.

Buyers are looking for sales people capable of challenging them: analyzing a situation, carrying out a diagnosis and modeling the data collected. This will enable them to formalize and synthesize the guiding ideas of their project, and thus help them to "sell" it internally.

The sales consultant must be perceived as an expert, from whom the customer expects advice. But be careful not to confuse "advice" with "solution proposal"... That would again be tantamount to trying to sell something!

The expert salesperson must express and take responsibility for his or her convictions on a given subject, and lead the other person to react in turn. They must be able to deliver a point of view and develop it, not to convince, but to shed factual light on their customer's concerns.

The salesperson's contribution to value can also be measured by a "profitability" approach.

All companies are concerned with return on investment. The sales consultant's job is to help the customer bring his idea to fruition, so he needs to offerindicators to measure the effectiveness and profitability of his solution - the famous ROI.

In this way, the customer is no longer focused on the cost of the solution, but on the financial gain or savings it will bring.

Rely on reformulating the customer's issues

Last but not least, sales consultants demonstrate their value by their ability to integrate and reformulate the issues and concerns of their contacts.

On the one hand, reformulation helps to avoid misinterpretation: if the sales rep has missed something important, the other person will have the opportunity to clarify it without feeling attacked. On the other hand, a well-mastered reformulation demonstrates professionalism and leads the other person in the desired direction. Last but not least, rephrasing the issues at stake will give rise to new questions that will allow the introduction of new ideas, suggestions or proposals.

By bringing together all the components mentioned above (quality of questioning, contribution of expertise, demonstration of the added value of his solution, reformulation of the customer's challenges, etc.), the sales consultant creates the conditions for a state of mind based on collaboration and partnership.

Register as a partner

The advisory role requires us toact like a consultant,adopting a benevolent attitude towards our customers to help them define their needs, move their project forward and make it a reality.

In a company, it's a good idea to be accompanied by an outside consultant to help you "sell" your idea internally and convince the forces involved and concerned.

It's important to partner with him in the success of the project, and to offer to act as an orchestra conductor for the various teams, making him understand - tactfully - that salespeople and customers share the same interest: the progress of the project.

Identify decision-makers

In this pre-sales/sales phase, the salesperson also needs toidentify the people involved in the decision, and then gather their vision of the process underway. This step will enable the salesperson to remove any obstacles, give meaning to the process, encourage buy-in, and begin to commit all parties to the decision. Naturally, he will keep his privileged interlocutor informed of the progress of his contacts to consolidate the relationship of trust.

The sales consultant may propose "working meetings", or "co-construction workshops", or even a "meeting to summarize understanding of the issues".

These meeting formats are far more effective and have a far greater impact than the classic "presentation meetings", "discovery meetings" and "proposal handovers", which are still the panacea of the all-purpose salesperson.

Nevertheless, customers sometimes close the door to this mode of operation. We need to analyze the real reasons for such a refusal. But very often, a blockage of this kind is a sign of a lack of desire to work together. The question then arises as to whether or not to continue discussions with the customer. In other words: Go / No Go?

A No Go will enable you to avoid spending unnecessary time and commercial energy on a deal that has little chance of succeeding, so that you can concentrate on more promising projects.

In a nutshell...!

The Consulting posture relies above all on the salesperson's ability to put aside his or her need to sell and concentrate solely on listening and advising.

In this way, the act of sale becomes an act of non-sale.

And this paradigm shift is not insignificant! Positioning oneself as an expert cannot be improvised or decreed. Salespeople wishing to adopt a consultative posture must cultivate and develop additional interpersonal skills, which have become indispensable today to win a customer's trust, including: mastering their discourse, behavior and rhetoric, and the art of questioning and bouncing back.

On this note, we wish you ~~very fine sales~~ ! Sorry, very good advice... ; )

Knowing how to reposition your business can be vital in a difficult situation. Discover the different stages of this process in this webinar:

¹External resources :

Our exclusive methods and training modules on this topic:

- La Méthode de l'Echiquer© - Key account and complex sales
- KESTIO System© sales training modules - Sales effectiveness and dialogue tools
- La Méthode DISC© - Behavioral analysis for sales reps and managers

Is the field sales "species" irrevocably doomed to extinction? Or does it have a chance to adapt and survive? Here,KESTIO gives you some keys to emerging victorious from the process of natural selection!

Buyer Power!

According to the ^Forrester1 report, this upheaval is largely due to changes in customer purchasing practices and behaviors.

They now have powerful tools at their disposal, which mean they don't need a sales rep to deliver a presentation brochure: websites, social networks, comparators, e-ecommerce platforms. It's far less costly and more effective than an interview.

The widespread use of these tools has accentuated theautonomy of customers and buyers. As a result, the perception of the value of the sales profession seems to have never been so challenged.

Nevertheless, meeting with a sales representative remains necessary, but for different reasons and at different stages in the purchasing and decision-making process: to be supported in your thinking and helped in defining a need or a project, to understand the specific features of a solution, to negotiate, and finally, to benefit from advice.

The consulting approach therefore appears to be the best possible outcome for the sales profession, as it is through the provision of advice and expertise that salespeople demonstrate their added value. So, how can a salesperson move from a Push to a Pull approach, in other words, from a "Sales" approach to a "Consulting" posture?

How do you change (or mutate?) into the "BtoB salesperson of the future"? That's what we're going to explain in this 2-part saga...

Is the salesperson an inveterate egomaniac?

The mountaineer who, at the foot of a mountain, focuses solely on the summit and the time it will take to reach it, loses sight of what's essential: his technique, the precision of his movements, and thus his safety.

Salespeople face the same pitfall. By focusing too much on his product and his sale, he will miss his real objective: winning his customer's trust. To achieve this, they need to focus on a single objective: the quality of the exchange with their customer.

However, many factors influence the salesperson's state of mind at the start of a relationship: the anxiety of not meeting targets on time, the obsession - conscious or unconscious - with making a sale.

These factors lead him to focus on his own objectives and to distance himself from the customer's interests.

The salesperson must mentally forget about closing, and set the sole aim of initiating a quality relationship, based above all on trust. The Consulting posture involves adopting a mindset resolutely focused on the customer's interests.

Let's stop thinking like egomaniacs and become " customer centric "!

The consulting posture: the science of listening and the art of questioning

Most of the time, people are quite willing to talk about themselves, and like to talk about their business. Customers and buyers have the same desire. So we have to be interested in them. Showing interest in the person, focusing on the quality of the relationship, demonstrating empathy... all this leads your interlocutor to open up.

But is it enough to listen to a customer to discover all their secrets, and by that I mean their needs and projects? Do you become a customer's confidant overnight?

The answer is no, at least if we remain focused on finding "needs" or "problems".

By definition, a customer doesn't have a problem. On the other hand, a customer - a company - may have an ambition, wish to develop a program, optimize its resources, reinforce its growth or launch a new product...

And when faced with such objectives, customers don't necessarily have any fixed ideas about the levers available to them.

The primary objective is to gather information to understand and analyze the customer's environment. Data collection is king.

The essence of the consulting posture lies in the quality of questioning and the ability to bounce back on the information gathered to broaden the scope and go deeper into the issues at hand. The sales consultant must focus solely on researching and understanding the customer's issues. The art of questioning is tomake the customer aware of his or her needs, often expressed implicitly, and to formalize them into explicit requirements.

From then on, the salesperson focuses on finding the causes (the "why") and not on solving the problems (the "how").

The consulting posture also involves stepping into the customer's shoes. The salesperson must immerse himself in the discussion as if with a friend, in a disinterested way. He must assume that he has nothing to sell; he is simply there to listen and understand.

For the customer, these questions of understanding are marks of interest that reinforce trust and position the sales person as an ally rather than an adversary.

Listening and the art of questioning are very powerful psychological levers, enabling us to uncover much broader customer issues than a single need.

However, they are not the only components of a "consulting posture". To achieve "status" as a sales consultant and prove your worth to your customers, you'll need to develop and combine other skills (providing specialized expertise, ROI-oriented approach, reformulation of customer issues and identification of decision-makers). We'll tell you all about them in the article : the salesman is dead, long live the advisory salesman, episode 2 !

Knowing how to reposition your business can be vital in a difficult situation. Discover the different stages of this process in this webinar:

¹External resources :

Our exclusive methods and training modules on this topic: