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After many months of writing and editing, my 7th book is printed. The Passionate Sales Manager is filled with systems, processes and tools to help the new and existing manager to effectively build and manage a high performance team of salespersons. Like my other books, this is a practical resource book that describes to the reader how to manage, what to do and what to say to increase their personal professionalism, productivity and profitability and do the same for their salespeople. Soon the book will be available in e-book as well as paperback.

There is an added bonus in this book. There is a brand new self-management methodology called OpenAgile. We have been testing OpenAgile in many sales teams with groups of managers and groups of salespersons. The results have been impressive. This new model of management that was developed in 2009 and is built upon a consultative philosophy. This type of management, OpenAgile, honors the individual and creates an environment where everyone has the opportunity to participate in the methods that lead to success. Management methods are evolving and the needs and attitudes of the salesperson are changing. OpenAgile effectively responds to the changes in society, the marketplace and the needs of the individual.

We hope you enjoy the results of this effort.

We are in our final month of the summer and I am sure you have all seen a drop in activity and results. As a field manager I found the month of August always a challenge for everyone (managers, salespeople and customers) seemed to be in vacation mode. Everyone seemed to have an excuse why they could not work. Unfortunately if we wait until September to get back into the business, we will not see results until October. So we will lose results in both August and September. You have heard me say this before ...
Teams don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan!

I thought I would share some ideas how you can begin to prepare your sales teams. The objective is to be running hard in September and get good results in September. Below are some steps you and they can take this month.

1. Focus all team members, managers and salespeople on prospecting. Develop a quick competition that would reward the salesperson who gains a number of prospective customers and the manager who gains a number of prospective candidates.

2. Prospecting Blitz nights - choose one night a week, for 4 weeks, where all managers and salespersons gather together and make a number of phone calls, to set up prospecting meetings.

3. Celebrate the gathering of names. Maybe Pizza and coca cola.

4. Appointment Blitz nights - choose another night a week, for 4 weeks, where all managers and salespersons make a number of phone calls, to set up recruiting or sales appointments.

5. Celebrate the achievement of booked appointments. Maybe bowling or sporting event.

The objective is to fill the recruiting and sales funnels with potential candidates or potential customers.

Sales Funnel - Prospecting for potential customers -> Approaches -> Appointments = New Sales

Recruiting Funnel - Prospecting for candidates -> Approaches -> Appointments = New Salespeople

I guarantee if you wait until September, you will not be impressed with the production achieved or the new hires.

I wish you luck. Remember you, your managers and your salespeople only control activity, not results. August is the month you focus on activity!

If we can help in the fall, please let us know. According to the feedback we have received, our seminars result in dramatic and improved activity and results. Please contact us at:

jimheidema@gmail.com

As businesspersons selling our services (training, coaching and consulting) we are often faced with a dilemma. Our existing and potential customers want to add value, motivate and support their teams. This is a critical time for all corporations in the world. They need their sales teams to deliver results. Often our typical contact is a leader in a sales organization.

They lead a sales team comprised of salespersons and managers who are broken into three groups. They are divided by the very successful (a few), the average (many) and finally the failing salespersons and managers (too many)! We call them A's, B's and C's.

A - category salespersons/managers are doing most things they should be doing and are succeeding.

B - category salespersons/managers are working hard but not really succeeding yet!

C - category salespersons/managers have given up and have stopped working.

The leaders of these teams have limited budgets and limited time to find ways to add value, motivate, and support to these various categories of salespersons/managers. So where should they invest their limited budgets. As you would expect, we have an opinion.

First we recommend they spend nothing, no time or money on the C category salesperson or manager. It is too late. These persons have adopted a culture of failure.

Second, our feeling is that motivational trips or events only reward a limited number of people and often it is the same people each time. They are fun and I qualified for a number of these events as a salesperson, then as a manager. They did not have a lasting effect upon my effort or my results.

Third, we believe your A category individuals represent your present reality. The C category represent your past and the B category represent your future.

The top companies in the world, regardless of the industry, invest heavily in their future. How do they do that. They train for excellence. They focus on their B categories. Many of these B people can become A's if they receive the right training, at the right time.

If I am a salesperson or manager on your team and I qualify for a trip or a special event, attend that event, then I probably have a good feeling about your company for a limited amount of time.

If I become even more successful as a manager or salesperson because you have provided ongoing and just-in-time training (I receive the right training at the right time in my career) then I will have a great feeling about your company for a long time.

We believe salespersons or managers who are well-trained and earn a great income, will produce and perform above your minimum requirements, stay with your company and add great value in the future.

We know the economy is weak at this moment, but we also know this is the best time to give your salespersons and managers the systems, processes and tools so they can survive and thrive in this economy.

Even though we are in tough times, choosing not to invest in training will lead to unacceptable results. We are currently working with companies who in previous years stopped training and are now losing far too many salespersons and managers and not meeting their sales objectives. The lack of on-going professional training does have dire consequences.

We can help for we have a solid track record of improving results in many companies around the world. Please contact us at jimheidema@gmail.com or titus.peride@gmail.com so we can begin the process.

If your salespersons or managers don't survive, then neither will you or your company.

We are pleased to announce we have just entered into a contract with Bohdan Krustavchuk, of Lion Group Consulting, to become our agent in the Ukraine. Bohdan will promote our seven books and the various seminars we offer. Bohdan will initially distribute Russian versions of our books and eventually Ukrainian versions.

Bohdan can be reached at bogdan_lev@ukr.net or at his company e-mail, liongroup@ukr.net for further information. We feel very fortunate to have Bohdan on the PSP (Professional Sales Plus) team and we are sure he will add great value to the companies, managers and salespersons working in the Ukraine through this joint relationship.

Welcome Bohdan!