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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 company's activity 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 :

Like a long, two-day meeting? Between these two somewhat exaggerated extremes, you probably want your company seminars to be a productive time that contributes positively to team life and allows team members to bond. This event is always a significant investment for your company, so it's important to use it wisely!

 

To help you achieve this goal, here are some easy-to-apply tips that will allow you to start on a good foundation for 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 diving headfirst into the logistical organization of your company seminar and the production of animation materials, take the time to reflect and clearly define the objective you set for this particular seminar: is it about communicating new strategic directions? Allowing team members to get to know each other to work better together? Undertaking an ambitious shift in the definition of your service offering? Updating the skills of your employees to establish commercial excellence?

 

Take the time to ask yourself these key questions before designing the content of the seminar: who do you want to address? What main message do you want to convey (in one sentence)? What result should this seminar ideally produce?

 

2. Encourage Active Team Participation

The annual company seminar is a symbolically strong moment in the life of the team and a unique opportunity to bring all its members together and exchange collectively on key subjects for the company. Nothing is more damaging to the group dynamic than to animate it in the manner of a lecture, with leaders who speak and collaborators who take notes without participating, expressing their opinions or communicating their ideas. More than ever, take care of your communication, and your sales management must think 'collaborative'!

 

Offer clear, visually appealing presentation materials and concise texts. Prepare your speech if necessary so that it is dynamic and encourages buy-in. Finally, and above all, promote participatory formats (workshops, quizzes, etc.).

 

 3. Give meaning to the activities and framework offered.

Seminars are generally an opportunity to offer team members a moment that is out of the ordinary, to allow them to get to know each other, to relax and create common "good memories". You can also approach these more informal moments of relaxation as an additional opportunity to convey a strong message related to the main objective of your seminar: as Victor Hugo said, "form is content that rises to the surface"! Be aware of the unconscious impact of the chosen location and proposed activities.

 

Choose a venue that aligns with the mindset you want to convey (convivial, intimate, studious, original, etc.). Opt for an activity related to the seminar's objective (improvisational theater for the ability to adapt, escape game for collective intelligence, etc.).

 

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

The company seminar is often a fairly intense moment in terms of exchanging ideas and producing avenues for reflection and action to redefine your sales strategy. It would be a real shame if the energy and proposals born from this shared team moment were forgotten upon returning to daily life and remained a dead letter! 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 raised have no concrete impact on the reality back in the office, the teams will not maintain their commitment.

 

Keep track of product ideas and suggestions during discussions, round tables, and workshops. Ensure they are accessible and known to everyone afterward. Make sure the decisions made translate into tangible actions as quickly as possible.

 

5. Offer a shared vision and new perspectives.

For team engagement to be real, 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, company culture and identity, etc. These elements must be known to the team and make sense to everyone in order to generate collective momentum. Also, take advantage of the seminar to call on external speakers (lecturers, trainers, etc.) offering an original approach to develop new skills internally.

 

Work on the foundational elements of your company identity and the accompanying narrative, using a « storytelling » approach to add depth and encourage ownership. Invite external speakers to create new perspectives!

 

To go further, download the COMMERCIAL SEMINAR white paper:

Sales Seminar White Paper

 

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

Other articles that may interest 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.

 

Want to optimize your sales team's time? In this webinar, learn how to refine your targeting and use appropriate tools to double the number of sales appointments you get per month:

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” 

Download the white paper

 

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)

 
Download the white paper
 

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

This is an essential and solid foundation on which to build your action. However, the hardest part remains: ensuring that this strategy is deployed as effectively as possible in the field to bear fruit and achieve your target results. 3 major levers are available to you in this area: team engagement, the translation of your strategy into operational action plans, and the implementation of effective management. What do they consist of?

 

Guarantee a high level of engagement from your teams

To engage means getting your teams to decide to carry out concrete operational actions, that are effective and measurable. The level of engagement of your managerial and sales teams depends on various non-exclusive factors. How to operate to act favorably on this commitment?

 

First, 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 engaging also means listening to your teams about their motivations and obstacles, in order to address these obstacles, and to strongly involve them in developing the actions to be taken.

Finally, don't lose sight of the fact that you must also "create desire", beyond the constraints, by proposing an inspiring ambition! Annual seminars, in particular, are key moments to act on the commitment of sales teams effectively (we have dedicated an article to best practices for successful seminars and engaging teams)

 

Translate the commercial strategy into operational action plans

Sales action plans serve as the roadmap for your employees. They determine the key moments of the year (sales seasonality, trade shows, contract renewals, etc.) and the precise planning of actions, resources, and tools to be implemented on a weekly, or at the very least, monthly basis.

 

They serve as the operational link to the commercial strategy defined upstream: number of opportunities to identify, frequency of visits per customer or prospect segment, type of visit to conduct (needs discovery, identification of decision-makers, closing, etc.).

 

They ensure the practical implementation in the field of the expected level of effort, coverage, and commercial pressure on their portfolio.

To ensure the implementation and scope of these action plans, however, one last point is crucial: their management, and therefore the management style implemented.

 

Implement effective sales management.

What are the components of a sales management approach that ensures the effective deployment of your strategy and the implementation of action plans?

 

    • Monitoring actions and supporting sales representatives: segmenting accounts in the CRM, planning actions, creating reports and monitoring coverage and sales pressure dashboards, associated with conducting regular individual interviews and co-constructing progress plans to improve results.
    • Results analysis: monitoring and managing KPIs. For example, during the sales pipeline review, track and analyze volume, value, and time spent on opportunities to optimize the allocation of sales effort.
    • Regular coaching and training of sales representatives: developing the performance of sales representatives by focusing on skills and competencies. Field support and coaching sessions, in particular, lead to demonstrable results. (Read our article on field coaching on this topic).

 

It is necessary to act on all of these levers to ensure an effective deployment of the commercial strategy that you have defined and to secure the achievement of your objectives. In some cases, however, it is complex for Sales Directors to act on all of these factors in a coordinated manner, for example in a context of strong pressure on their market. That's why we offer support programs to act successively or globally on each of these levers, in order to accelerate the implementation of actions and optimize their results.

 

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

Selling is a sport. It requires behavioral and methodological skills and demands perseverance. An external perspective through a coach (most often, the sales manager themselves) allows you to reconnect with performance and/or improve an already established sales technique: we have observed a 20 to 40% improvement in the results of sales representatives following the implementation of on-the-ground coaching.

 

Why is this type of support in real-world situations essential to your teams' success? What involvement does it require from you as a Manager or Sales Director? And above all, how can you make it successful in order to reap all the benefits? Here, we provide you with some keys to success based on our field coaching assignments.

 

1- Field sales coaching must be integrated into the company's recurring practices

In a manager's role, field sales coaching should be a major practice. It is indeed the only way for a sales manager to be in touch with the practices of their sales teams "in real life", but also with the reality they face on a daily basis: that of their customers' expectations. In terms of management, this is an essential complement to the monitoring of quantified indicators and the reporting carried out by the sales representatives themselves, and enables much better results to be achieved.

To do this, field coaching must be established, almost "automated," with regular check-ins and follow-up appointments. Field coaching should not be used on an ad hoc basis, but rather as part of an ongoing process to provide the most beneficial effects.

 

Also, be aware of strong reactions if coaching is only "sprinkled" occasionally. Some salespeople may tend not to accept this coaching, potentially perceived as a "punishment" if it is not integrated into the company's logical processes. Out of ego, and fear of external scrutiny, rejection reactions are common. These are limited if the support is presented as an advantage offered to all (see the next point), and not as a patch in case of underperformance.

 

2- Coaching should apply to all salespeople

The mistake made by many companies is to "reserve" sales coaching for only some of the sales representatives. However, this support is for everyone. Whether it's someone in the process of integrating into the company, a sales representative who is well-established and achieving good results, or someone experiencing a slump, coaching can and should support them all in their mission.

But what's the point of supporting the best? Isn't there a risk of over-qualification? Remember that some salespeople are good because they have genuinely good practices and solid experience, but others may show good performance thanks to a combination of factors and a significant amount of luck.

 

Personalized coaching aims to identify the influence of these irrational and unknown factors, to build upon already excellent performance with solid and lasting elements.

 

Even the best need a coach! Take Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, as an example. He uses a coach because he knows he must do everything to maintain his excellent performance level and even improve in certain areas. He leaves nothing to chance.

 

This also applies to sales representatives. Supporting an already good sales representative will help them confirm their strengths and work on their areas of difficulty, helping them become even better.

Coaching is therefore not only there to point out areas for improvement, but it also serves to develop the confidence and commitment of the people being supported. A true HR tool!

 

3- Coaching isn't there to help you "win" deals... at least not immediately! 😉

Sales coaching involves helping someone progress, regardless of the outcome of a sales meeting or a negotiation. The goal is to capitalize on what is seen and heard, exchange ideas, and find ways to improve. Whether the order is secured or not is secondary here… unlike pure sales support, which is when a manager supports an employee to help them win a contract.

 

Don't get the wrong objective. When you are in a coaching approach, disconnect from the commercial aspect and the purpose of the order. Bringing back the contract is not the priority in this context! Not always obvious: you will attend appointments that go badly without being able to intervene, and therefore potentially lose business... Difficult and frustrating? Yes, but that's precisely what will allow you to identify the mistakes made by a salesperson to prevent them from happening again!

 

You have to accept losing a deal and missing an appointment, to be able to give your salesperson the means to win the next 10 deals alone!

 

Do you find it hard to stay calm and not intervene? You need to work on yourself to remain in observation, because intervening at this stage would be counterproductive and would disrupt the coaching.

 

4- Coaching must have a specific objective

Before achieving tangible results and providing relevant solutions to salespeople's needs, coaching must have a specific objective. This could involve improving their sales pitch, refining client interactions, or enhancing physical presence. Regardless, it's crucial to communicate the goals to achieve and the areas that will be observed with the salesperson beforehand. Without this clarity, they may feel globally evaluated.

 

Furthermore, we need to move away from the classic evaluation scheme with the post-visit report that lists the negatives and the good points. There are techniques for better exchange, initiating discussion and prompting questioning. Delivering what is wrong all at once does not help a person become aware of their faults and correct them. It is essential to question a person properly to get them to express knowledge.

 

5- Coaching must be a long-term commitment

Coaching must be integrated into a continuous process (which relates to our first point) and, to that end, leave a trace. It is important to formalize observations in writing and record them in a reference document. This will serve as a common thread to track the evolution of objectives over time, and remind everyone of the progress of the support. Because words fly away but writings remain, take the time necessary for this step. This will also allow you to measure the progress made and to evaluate the scope and results of this support over time, which represents a real investment. So it's not a waste of time, on the contrary!

 

This is also an important point for the motivation of the sales representative, who can refer to the elements put down on paper: not only will they be able to recall the concepts discussed, but they will also have the satisfaction of seeing that they benefit from real follow-up and genuine involvement from their manager in order to succeed.

And how do you help your sales representatives achieve their goals?

 

 

Did you know that 95% of your success is linked to your state of mind? To learn how to manage your emotional load more effectively, discover the Triad method in this webinar:

 

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An 'unmissable' event in the life of many companies that comes around every year, and to which they often devote significant resources in order to make it a memorable and 'successful' occasion (with the help of charming hotels, exceptional destinations, and original and fun team-building activities). This deployment of resources makes sense in light of the challenge underlying this event: to sustainably engage teams in the dynamic of achieving the company's commercial objectives. But it is far from being 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!" effect.

Let's be clear. For a company, the more resources allocated to the sales seminar, the more likely it is to find a venue that will please the participants, or an activity that will leave a lasting impression. This is what we call the « Waouh » effect: a positive emotional imprint, which can stay in people's minds and provide a strong experience for employees. But this positive marker should not be the only objective of a sales seminar. The “Waouh” effect is temporary. What will remain of the seminar in 1 month, 2 months or 3 months after the event?

 

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

 

If employees only remember the buffet and the beautiful decoration, but not the sales techniques taught, it's a failure. Therefore, we must stop prioritizing the form and also focus on the content. The objective of a sales seminar should be the primary concern of the management in charge of the event. The choice of location will come later.

 

2) Each seminar actually has a different objective

Last year's sales seminar was a great success. Good listening, good feedback, a venue appreciated by the participants. So, we don't change anything. Unfortunately, many companies have this reflex to put themselves on 'autopilot'. We replicate past success, we minimize risk-taking. Mistake. Each seminar is different. Of course, it can take place in the same location. But it necessarily has a different objective. Each time, therefore, we must ask ourselves the question of the real objective of this seminar.

 

What change do you want to instill in the company? What strong message do you want to convey? What new techniques do you want to pass on? What do you really want to achieve after the seminar?

 

Too busy repeating the success of last year's sales seminar, many companies do not anticipate the future and take time to change and evolve. This phenomenon was very clear in 2008 and 2009, especially in the heart of the crisis. Rather than reassuring sales teams, working on fears, self-confidence, and the future, many of them chose to hammer home a well-mastered institutional message... an exercise that is unfortunately in vain if the underlying expectation of employees is actually to be supported and listened to. The objective definition phase of a sales seminar should therefore not be brushed aside; on the contrary, it should concentrate all the reflection and is in fact the determining point.

Discover KESTIO webinars, where we discuss

All topics related to sales performance with our experts: 

Fabien Comtet, CEO

Dominique Seguin, CEO

Nicolas Boissard, Marketing Director

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3) A seminar must be precisely paced

Too many companies, in an effort to simplify, have fallen into the bad habit of organizing their sales meetings with a siloed structure. In other words: the morning is a conference in a plenary room with 80 slides on a giant screen, and the afternoon is go-karting! This sequencing between serious moments and relaxation moments should be avoided because it is counterproductive. It recreates unconscious mechanisms already experienced at school... There are moments in class to learn and be serious, and moments during recess that allow you to let off steam but are considered “unnecessary” with regard to the final objective.

 

It is possible to create interaction and fun while conveying serious messages. It is particularly recommended to organize co-construction sessions with the participants. If they are involved, they will apply the rest of the seminar with conviction.

 

There are always "off" evenings or times for distraction, which allow you to let go and are obviously not to be banned, but be careful of an overly rigid organization that will make the serious periods difficult to follow in a top-down mode with participants thinking "I can't wait for tonight..."! Fun yes, but with a goal! Karting, paintball or laser tag, why not, but with an objective, to serve a purpose. Make sure the message conveyed is consistent with the theme of the seminar, ask yourself what symbolic or practical connections can be made.

 

4) A good seminar should integrate digital technology

The digital revolution must be integrated into sales seminars to make them even more enjoyable, productive, and sustainable. Start from the principle that if a material is produced, it will only have value if it is digitized. Ideas thrown on a paperboard, discussions in the room, everything can be digitized today with simple co-creation and sharing tools. We must not let this creativity and these exchanges go without a trace.

 

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

 

Digital technology is also a tool that allows you to prepare a sales seminar in advance. In the same way as for quality training, it is possible to send materials before a meeting so that participants can familiarize themselves with them beforehand. On the day, they will already have a base of knowledge and will not be discovering the topic, which will improve information retention, the quality of participation, and the effectiveness of discussions. For information to be retained, it must be communicated 3 times. So, it's best to convey the key messages before the seminar, repeat them during, and recall them afterward.

 

5) Your sales seminar must be consistent

Beware of the lack of consistency between a seminar organized in a prestigious setting and budget cuts for several company services in the same month! It is not possible to give a speech focused on cost rationalization throughout the year only to "splurge" on a very high-end seminar. Consistency is key!

 

The seminar must be integrated into a continuous process and bring meaning to the company's strategy. It must also be integrated into the company's financial logic.

 

It is possible to alternate locations, activities, and vary the resources allocated depending on the health of the company, but also and especially depending on the objectives targeted by the sales seminar. An event can very well take place in a privatized castle, while for the second meeting of the year 6 months later, nothing prevents arranging the offices to experience them differently and bring more fun to them during an effective seminar.

 

 

Want to optimize your sales team's time? In this webinar, learn how to refine your targeting and use appropriate tools to double the number of sales appointments you get per month:

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: defining objectives and content, developing the program, assisting with choosing the venue and themes, suggesting activities, etc.
  • Creation of facilitation materials: defining key messages, designing original and effective presentations, creating participatory quizzes and "intelligent" games.
  • Facilitating all or part of the sales seminar: communicating strategic messages, leading workshops and participatory games, and providing sales training in challenge mode.

A recent study published by the American firm Forrester predicts the imminent demise of field sales representatives in the face of e-commerce. However, a different outcome is possible for B2B field sales representatives, provided they revise their positioning to adopt a consulting stance, particularly through the quality of their questioning and a more "customer-centric" approach.

What are the other components of the consultative salesperson's approach, and how can you adopt them? That's what we'll see in this second part.

 

Position yourself as an expert

While listening is key to creating the conditions for a trusting relationship, it is also important to demonstrate your added value.

In companies, formalizing a project is very often delicate and complex. Even if they are increasingly informed and autonomous, customers therefore expect their sales representatives to have in-depth expertise that will enable them to refine the outlines of their project.

 

Buyers want salespeople who can challenge them: analyze a situation, conduct a diagnosis, and model the data collected. This will allow them to formalize and synthesize the guiding ideas of their project, and thus help them to "sell" it internally.

 

The sales consultant should be seen as an expert whose opinion the client values. However, be careful not to confuse "opinion" with "solution proposal"… That would again be trying to sell something!

The expert salesperson must express and stand by their convictions on a given subject, and encourage their counterpart to react in turn. They must be able to deliver a point of view and develop it, not to convince but to provide factual insight into their client's concerns.

 

The value provided by the salesperson is also measured by an approach oriented towards "profitability."

 

All companies operate with a focus on return on investment. The consulting salesperson is there to help their client realize their idea, so they must provide indicators to measure the effectiveness and profitability of their solution, the famous ROI.

Consequently, the client is no longer focused on the cost of the solution but on the financial gain or savings it will enable them to achieve.

 

Leverage the restatement of the client's challenges.

Finally, the consulting salesperson demonstrates their value by their ability to integrate and restate the issues and concerns of their interlocutor.

Reformulation helps avoid misunderstandings: if something important has escaped the salesperson, their interlocutor will have the opportunity to clarify it without feeling attacked. On the other hand, a well-mastered reformulation demonstrates professionalism and leads the interlocutor in the desired direction. Finally, reformulating the stakes will give rise to new questions that will allow the introduction of new ideas, suggestions, or proposals.

 

By bringing together all the mentioned components (quality of questioning, provision of expertise, demonstration of the value of the solution, rephrasing of the client's challenges, etc.), the sales consultant creates the conditions for a collaborative and partnership mindset.

 

Register as a partner

The advisory approach requires acting like a consultant, and adopting a caring attitude towards your client to help them define their need, advance their project, and make it a reality.

Within a company, the project leader has every interest in being supported by an external consultant to help them "sell" their idea internally and convince the forces involved and concerned.

Therefore, you need to associate yourself with their project's success, and offer to act as a conductor with the various teams, making them understand – tactfully – that the sales team and the client share the same interest: the progress of the project.

 

Identify decision-makers.

During this pre-sales / sales phase, the challenge for the sales representative is also to identify the decision-makers and then gather their vision on the ongoing discussion. This step will allow them to remove any potential obstacles, give meaning to the approach, generate buy-in, and begin to engage all individuals towards a decision. Of course, they will keep their primary contact informed of the progress of their interactions to strengthen the relationship of trust.

 

The sales consultant may suggest "working sessions," "co-creation workshops," or a "summary meeting to understand the issues."

These meeting formats demonstrate much more effectiveness and impact than the classic "presentation meetings", "discovery meetings" and other "proposal submissions", which remain the panacea of all-terrain sales representatives.

However, clients sometimes reject this approach. It's important to analyze the real reasons for such a refusal. Often, this type of resistance indicates a lack of desire to collaborate. This raises the question of whether or not to continue discussions with the client. In other words: Go / No Go?

 

A 'No Go' will avoid wasting time and commercial energy on a deal that has little chance of succeeding, allowing you to focus on more promising projects.

 

In summary…!

The advisory approach is based above all on the salesperson's ability to disregard their need to sell in order to focus solely on listening and advising.

 

Thus approached, the act of selling becomes an act of non-selling.

 

And this paradigm shift is not insignificant! Positioning oneself as an expert cannot be improvised or decreed. Salespeople wishing to adopt a consulting approach must cultivate and develop additional relational skills, which have now become essential to gain a client's trust, including mastering their discourse, behavior, rhetoric, and the art of questioning and responding.

With that said, we wish you Very good sales Apologies, excellent advice… ; )

 

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

 

1 External resources:

 

Our exclusive methods and training modules on this topic:

– The Chessboard Method© – Key account sales and complex sales
– The KESTIO System© sales training modules – Sales effectiveness and dialogue tools
– The DISC Method© – Behavioral analysis for sales representatives and managers

" Is the « species » of the field salesperson irrevocably destined for extinction? Or does it have a chance to adapt to survive? KESTIO provides you here with some keys to emerge victorious from the natural selection process! "

 

Buyer Power!

According to the Forrester report1, the change in customer purchasing practices and behaviors largely explains this disruption.

These individuals now have very powerful tools at their disposal that eliminate the need for a sales representative to deliver a presentation brochure: websites, social networks, comparison sites, e-commerce platforms. This is much less expensive and more effective than a meeting.

The generalization of these tools has accentuated the autonomy of customers and buyers. As a result, the perception of the value of the sales profession seems to have never been so undermined.

 

However, meeting with a salesperson remains necessary, but for different reasons and at different stages of the purchasing and decision-making process: to be supported in their thinking and helped in defining a need or a project, to understand this or that specificity of a solution, to negotiate, and finally, to benefit from advice.

 

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

How to transform (or mutate?) into the 'BtoB salesperson of the future'? This is what we are going to explain in this 2-episode saga...

 

The salesperson, an inveterate egocentric?

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

The salesperson encounters the same obstacle. By focusing too much on their product and sale, they miss their real objective: gaining the client's trust. To achieve this, they must concentrate on one area: the quality of the interaction with their contact.

However, many factors affect a salesperson's state of mind when starting a relationship: anxiety about not meeting targets on time, the conscious or unconscious obsession with making a sale.

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

 

The salesperson must mentally forget about closing and focus solely on initiating a quality relationship based primarily on trust. The Consulting approach involves adopting a mindset resolutely focused on the client's interests.

Let's stop thinking egocentrically, let's be "customer centric"!

 

The advisory approach: the science of listening and the art of questioning

Most of the time, people are inclined to talk about themselves and like to discuss their profession. Customers and buyers have the same desire. So, we must take an interest in them. Showing interest in the person, focusing on the quality of the relationship, showing empathy... all this leads your interlocutor to open up.

But is simply listening to a client enough to uncover all their secrets, meaning their needs and projects? Does one suddenly become a client's confidant overnight?

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

 

By definition, a client doesn't have a problem. On the other hand, a client – a company – may have an ambition, wish to develop a program, want to optimize its resources, strengthen its growth, or launch a new product…

 

And in the face of such objectives, the client does not necessarily have fixed ideas about the levers at their disposal.

 

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

The essence of the advisory posture lies in the quality of questioning and the ability to build on the information gathered to broaden the scope and deepen the subjects. The consulting salesperson must be focused solely on researching and understanding their client's challenges. The art of questioning is to make their interlocutor aware of their need, often expressed implicitly, and to formalize it into an explicit need.

 

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

 

The advisory approach also involves putting oneself in the customer's shoes. The salesperson must immerse themselves in the discussion as with a friend, in a disinterested manner. They must assume that they have nothing to sell, they are simply there to listen and understand.

 

For the client, these questions of understanding are all signs of interest that strengthen their confidence and position the salesperson as an ally, not an adversary.

 

Listening and the art of questioning are very powerful psychological levers that allow you to discover client issues that are much broader than just the immediate need.

However, these are not the only components of a 'consultative approach'. To achieve the 'status' of a consultative salesperson and prove your value to your clients, you will need to develop and accumulate other skills (providing specialized expertise, a ROI-oriented approach, rephrasing client issues, and identifying decision-makers). We will reveal them in the article: the selling salesperson is dead, long live the consulting salesperson, episode 2!

 

 

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

1 External resources:

 

 

Our exclusive methods and training modules on this topic:

– The Chessboard Method© – Key account sales and complex sales
– The KESTIO System© sales training modules – Sales effectiveness and dialogue tools
– The DISC Method© – Behavioral analysis for sales representatives and managers