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What's under your sales-bonnet ( Part 3)

Written by: Trent Leyshan

Article Overview: I stopped talking and scanned their body langue for a response. Nothing, they all seemed shell-shocked that a young bloke ten-years their junior would address them in such a blunt and cocky manner. I continued. "I tell you what, I'm going to step into the tea room for ten minutes, and let you guys have a frank chat. After this discussion, if you all want to roll over that's ok, better men have failed and sometimes quitting is a good strategy if you're not passionate or energetic enough to see it through.

What's under your sales-bonnet ( Part 3)

I stopped talking and scanned their body langue for a response. Nothing, they all seemed shell-shocked that a young bloke ten-years their junior would address them in such a blunt and cocky manner. I continued. "I tell you what, I'm going to step into the tea room for ten minutes, and let you guys have a frank chat. After this discussion, if you all want to roll over that's ok, better men have failed and sometimes quitting is a good strategy if you're not passionate or energetic enough to see it through. If that's the case, I will also give you a refund and tear up our contract, case closed, I'll move on." They all looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "However, if you want to fight and turn this company around and into a sales-engine, I will fight with you every step of the way, but you will need to follow my lead and like I said earlier, this will be a massive culture and leadership change that starts from the top and burns down into the very foundations, it won't be easy, but you've all come this far, so that's says a lot about what you're all capable of. I'll be in the tea room, come and grab me when you have reached a decision." I snatched my folder off the dirty-pine boardroom table and walked out.

More than ten minutes past with no sign of anyone. I continued to drink my rancid mug of instant black coffee, each sip bringing a grimace and shot of hot acid into my stomach walls. I waited and waited. Thirty minutes past-and then forty. I was just about to go in to assess the situation, when Big Red hopped into tea room and sternly announced they were ready to see me. We said nothing on the trek back up the musty carpeted hallway back to the boardroom. I walked though the boardroom door and immediately noticed there were three bodies in front of me instead of four. In a curious tone, I opened with, where is John (the CFO)? Big Red cut the Greek off, "He's gone, he's had enough. You scared him off, we should sue you!" And they all laughed which lightened the mood-of-the-moment for two seconds, then the heavy fog descended from the ceiling and engulfed the room once again.

"Wow!"I responded. "How do you guys feel about that?" The Greek got in first, "it was well overdue I think. He's hasn't been happy for years." Bushy was next, "Well if he accomplished one thing today, it was he finally had the balls to say he would leave and actually go through with it for once. I think it's the best more for him and us? With the eye of a hawk I zeroed in on the term he stated: us. "What does 'us' mean John?" He answered promptly, "Us... is the poor..." he corrected himself, "Brave bastards that are going to stand our ground and fight, fight to the death!" The other two grunted in irony.

Bushy added, "For the past three years, he's (Goggle John) done little but complain about sales and how poor we are at selling, yet he would never willingly approve of a new salesperson on a salary that was anything more that a shopping trolley pusher. We've had some very impressive salespeople walk through our doors wanting to work for us, and we have successfully offended everyone one of them by valuing them at a slice of what they were really worth. Remember, that blonde Graham?" Big Red was sitting their ponderously, like a giant roo, responded, "Tracey or Stacey, you mean?"

"Yeh, Tracey, she was a gun, attractive and sharp as a whip. Bushy continued on his rant, "She was willing to take a pay-cut to come here, and wanted $70k and a car, we offered her $30K inc super and rust bucket tray-back. We never heard from her again.

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Article Tags: sales coach, sales training



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