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While I was down in the otherwise beautiful Hawkes Bay recently running an introductory CSP seminar, I spotted this sign and couldn't resist taking a photo.
The best explanation, excuse or apology wins a free copy of SalesFish's sales training ebook "The Consultative Sales Professional"
Submit your's via the comments link at the bottom of this post.
by
Liam Venter: Author of the popular sales training manual
'The
Consultative Sales Professional'
You can obtain a copy here
I recently got the opportunity to meet with Richard Liew founder of the
REV Sales Network and his very enthusiastic team. Richard has been an
active contributor of insightful articles on the sales profession that have appeared
in many different publications in New Zealand.
Richard gave me the outline of the REV Sales Network and I like what they are doing for the professional sales community in New Zealand and I like the way they are going about it.
The following is a brief interview I conducted with Richard.
LV: What does the Rev Sales Network offer professional sales people?
RL: "Well two things really. Firstly we’re here to help our members learn more, sell more and earn more. All too often those sales people who are crying out for more training and more opportunities to develop themselves are deprived of opportunities for learning and development because their employer doesn’t think investing in their salespeople is a good use of company funds. We enable individual sales people to get access to top sales training opportunities and learning material on a regular basis, for much less than they would have to pay to put themselves through the average sales training or personal development program. This year we put on three free sales seminars with top speakers, next year we’re planning four and they’ll run in both Auckland and Wellington. And our offering will continue to grow as the membership base develops. The RSN also provides members with an objective third party they can call to discuss any sales or career difficulties they may be facing at any time.
Secondly, we’re working hard to provide those sales people who are committed to ongoing learning and development with a way to differentiate themselves in the market. Joining the Rev Sales Network is just as much about what it says about you, as it is about the services you get access to.”
LV: Can you tell us what's the intent of the REV Sales Network?
RL: "Essentially we’re about championing sales people and the sales profession. Many people will agree that sales people are the most important people in business - after all the quality of a businesses sales people can make average businesses great, and great businesses average! But how many kids do you know want to be a sales person when they grow up?
On a personal level I think the skills and qualities you need to develop to be a great sales person are many of the same qualities you need to be successful in life itself – optimism, determination, empathy, vision. NZ could do with as many of these people as possible.”
LV: How much does it cost for sales people to join?
RL: "For 2008 the New Zealand Institute of Management has agreed to sponsor memberships so apart from the time it takes to attend our seminars, make use of the tools, and commit to upholding our code of sales ethics – it’s free! Fees will be $195 per year from 2009.”
LV:
What was the catalyst for forming the REV network?
RL: "As
a sales person it often seemed like I was the only one who saw the
correlation between learning and results. The more I learned the better my sales skills and consequent income became. So the
first motivation was to provide a useful organisation for the sales
people out there who wanted to get ahead – to enable them to take
more responsibility for their own development and network with other
like minded, forwarding thinking sales professionals. We also noticed
that there were a whole lot of services surrounding the industry
being really poorly done. For example the recruitment of sales people
and the training of sales managers. Sales Managers are often thrown in the deep
end of sales management without any support.”
LV: Is the intention to service professionals operating in both the B2B and retail sales space?
RL: "Most of the sales people we deal with are in B2B sales and that’s definitely our focus. Reps, account managers, BDM’s, sales managers… The retail sales space is fairly well catered to in terms of training and support through organisations such as the New Zealand Retailers Association. Many people get their first taste of selling through retail though and then find it very hard to break into B2B because they don’t have a “proven track record” so if we can help them make the transition a bit easier that’s cool too.
LV: You have recently commenced publishing the first New Zealand sales professional magazine. I understand that you have had a terrific response to this. What do you attribute the initial success of this magazine to?
RL: "I think NZ Sales Manager has taken off like it has mainly because NZ’s sales professionals have secretly been crying out for a publication all of their own. Consequently when the first issue came out a couple of months ago (Issue 5 is due out next week) people were like “It’s about time! Why hasn’t this been done before?!
I also think the format of the publication has played an important role in the “stickiness” factor. Short, sharp and too the point; regular small doses (every fortnight as opposed to once a month); and of course as a pdf it lends itself to getting forwarded and shared while still giving those who want to the ability to print out articles or issues they like."
LV: Currently sales professionals can subscribe to NZ Sales Manager magazine for free. Will the subscription continue to be free in the future?
RL: "That’s a good question Liam and I’m glad you asked…
While there is a surprisingly large amount of work that goes into each issue, NZ Sales Manager will definitely continue to be free for the foreseeable future. The whole idea is to help cultivate that culture of ongoing learning and development in the sales profession and that could take a while!"
LV: Many thanks for your time and the interview Richard.
You can read issue 4 of NZ Sales Manager here, but if you If you would like to subsribe to the NZ Sales Magazine to receive future issues you need do so here. If you would like to know more about the REV Sales Network you can visit their web site here. www.rsn.co.nz
by
Liam Venter: Author of the popular sales training manual
'The
Consultative Sales Professional'
You can obtain a copy here
A picture speaks a thousand words....
I have been invited to do an introductory seminar on CSP (Consultative Selling Process) next week to a business networking community. A one and half hour long seminar is a very different format from the two day workshops I normally run. When I first started sketching the frame work for the seminar this is what I first came up with.
Because I teach strategy, sales processes and skills I like it - simple and to the point.
by
Liam Venter: Author of the popular sales training manual
'The
Consultative Sales Professional'
You can obtain a copy here
