LET’S TALK TALENT

THE FUTURE OF SALES IS DIGITAL. IS YOUR TEAM READY?

WHAT will a sales professional’s workday look like in the next three to five years? Based on research by notable consulting firms Gartner and McKinsey & Company, most of it will be spent online. Gartner expects that by 2025, 80 per cent of business to business (B2B) sales interactions will take place via digital channels. This is in keeping with purchasing behaviour trending towards a buyer-centric digital model over the past few years, which became more prevalent thanks to COVID-19. McKinsey’s 2020 research also found that more than three-quarters of buyers and sellers expressed a preference for digital self-serve and remote human engagement models over face-to-face interactions.

According to McKinsey, digital channels have made it easier for buyers to research products, place orders, and arrange services with greater speed and convenience. It’s no wonder only about 20 per cent of B2B buyers expressed interest in returning to in-person sales.

Just as effective

On the sellers’ side, 75 per cent of the international B2B decision-makers polled believed that their fully self-serve or remote sales models are either just as effective, somewhat more effective or much more effective than in-person engagement. This is the case for both warm leads and connecting with new prospects. The McKinsey study also found that B2B buyers are now more confident in making large new purchases and reorders online. Their poll results show that 32 per cent of respondents would spend US$50,000 to US$500,000; 12 per cent would spend US$500,000 to US$1 million; and 15 per cent would spend US$1 million or more via digital channels.

Since many sales professionals would have already transitioned to at least a hybrid digital model during the pandemic, it shouldn’t be a heavy lift to prepare your team for this new reality and benefit from this shift. Here are some things you need to consider:

1) Upskill your sales team

A shift to digital means a shift in thinking, so ensure that you and your team are knowledgeable about what needs to be done to optimise virtual sales-enablement practices. At a most basic level, train your team to use the technology tools that are readily available. You can take advantage of online training courses on platforms such as LinkedIn Learning and edX.

2) Diversify your digital selling channels

According to Gartner’s managing Vice-President Cristina Gomez, “Sales organisations must be able to sell to customers everywhere the customer expects to engage, interact, and transact with suppliers.” Invest in your online presence, including your website, dedicated e-commerce platforms, apps, social media, ads, e-newsletters and even webinars.

3) Provide a rich virtual buying experience

Some products are well suited for incorporating virtual reality into the online buying experience. For example, many realtors are now providing virtual tours of properties to prospective buyers. Think about incorporating product demos and/or virtual try-outs, if possible.

4) Explore social selling

According to LinkedIn Sales Solutions, social selling or social commerce involves “leveraging your social network to find the right prospects, build trusted relationships, and ultimately, achieve your sales goals”. Work on establishing a brand for your business and encourage your sales team members to develop their personal brands as well. Social selling has been shown to “enable better sales lead generation and sales prospecting process and eliminate the need for cold calling”.

Going digital also has several benefits for sales organisations, including lowering overhead costs, reducing travel expenses for in-person visits and being able to reach a wider market. It’s also important to note that moving to a digital model doesn’t mean doing away with sales reps. Rather, it presents the opportunity for them to level up their skills and learn how to meet the customers’ evolving buying preferences.

Join us for our next fully UCC-accredited fundamentals of sales programme, where we cover the rudiments of digital sales. For more information e-mail us at info@tgltrainers.com or call 876-978-1364.

HR TIPS FOR BEING AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADER

– Think before you speak or take action.

– Don’t be stingy with praise for your team.

– Reflect on criticism and search for ways to grow from it.

CORPORATE SPOTLIGHT

Berisford Grey, Co-founder, President & Chief Executive Officer, Sygnus Group

BERISFORD Grey opens up about the importance of being prepared for challenging times, how he keeps his team motivated, and what it means to be a leader.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: I am one of those leaders who strongly believes in teamwork, collaboration, and trust. Because of that, my leadership style is very inclusive and collaborative. I lead by example and try to focus my energies on motivating and inspiring my team to achieve stretch outcomes no matter the circumstances.

Q: The pandemic has been challenging for companies across the board. How did you and your team pivot to help ensure Sygnus would remain viable over the past two years and going forward?

A: Interestingly, Sygnus has enjoyed significant growth in all our lines of business over the last two years. Why? It comes back to my earlier point about teamwork. At the end of the day, Sygnus is fortunate to have a very talented team with deep expertise in financial services, risk management, real estate, and other areas; leaders that have been trained in some of the top institutions in Jamaica and the Caribbean; and a solid board of directors that guides us through various scenarios. During COVID, we were able to pull together as a team, sit down, assess the state of the environment, and look ahead one, two, and three years at likely scenarios that we could face. We came up with what we call a strategy map for all our business lines to execute well and stay focused. We weren’t able to figure out how everything would unfold, but we assumed worst-case scenarios and we strategised what to execute month by month, quarter by quarter to get to a place where we were very flexible and could take advantage of many opportunities that arose. Most importantly, we were able to manage the risks in both the short term and medium term and plan for the long-term eventualities.

Q: What is one lesson the pandemic has taught you about yourself as a leader?

A: The greatest lesson the pandemic has taught me as a leader is that you need to be prepared and agile. You need to always assume that there could be shock events, and if there are shock events, what is your plan? Many times as leaders, we look at the current environment and see that business is booming, but if you don’t think about the blindside, when an event happens, you’re scrambling to try and overcome it. My leadership team and I were thinking about likely disruptions in the business cycle, so we were anticipating some form of disruption within a 12- to 24-month period. We planned ahead, but we certainly didn’t envision a pandemic of this magnitude! I’ve said before that I strongly believe in teamwork. When we sit down to strategise every year, we not only plan for the great upsides we’re aspiring to, but we also think about what could be the most disruptive environment that we could face over the period.

Q: Who do you look to for inspiration and mentorship?

A: I’ve been fortunate to have had many great mentors during different stages of my career. I don’t necessarily want to single out one, but Milton Brady, chairman of the Sygnus Capital board, who I worked with closely for many years at CIBC, has helped me pivot from an aggressive investment banker into an executive/leader where it’s now about harnessing the skills and the talents of my team, motivating and inspiring people so they can grow and develop professionally and personally. As an entrepreneur, Gassan Azan, one of the founders of Sygnus and a very successful entrepreneur, also takes the time to provide a lot of guidance. My father, Albert Grey, has also always been a great mentor all throughout my life and has instilled a lot of principles in me that will last me for life.

Q: How do you help to inspire and mentor others?

A: Most of my effort to mentor and motivate others involves spending time with them to understand their strengths and weakness. I like to focus on positive psychology because I’m a very optimistic person. I try to help young, aspiring managers focus more on their strengths. That’s where they can create the most value for themselves and their teams. I also encourage them to be very aware of their weaknesses and work on managing them to mitigate any negative effects they can cause.

Q: Which book(s) or podcast (s) have you read lately that you would recommend to an aspiring CEO?

A: One of the books I’m reading now that’s really inspirational is The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. Simon is one of the leading thought leaders around at the moment. That book encourages you to not get hung up on discrete outcomes but to stay true to your process and long-term strategy. Two other men I really admire are Stephen Schwartzmann, the founder of Blackstone Group, the largest alternative investment management company in the world, and Ray Dalio, who leads the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates. Stephen has done a lot of seminars and discussions around leadership and success and his latest book, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, is a top book for leaders, especially in the alternative investment space. Ray’s book Principles: Life & Work is probably one of the most impactful books about how to think big and then execute with high velocity and learn from the failures along the way. He says don’t change your vision. You might change your route, but once you stick to certain principles along the path, you will get to your destination.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: HOW EQ IMPACTS YOUR BOTTOM LINE

TO be a good leader, it’s no longer enough to just be skilled in your area of work and have many years of experience under your belt. More and more organisations are coming to understand that emphasising technical qualifications alone makes for a cold, rigid, and less-than-productive work environment. To get the most out of their teams, leaders are focusing on emotional intelligence, also called emotional quotient (EQ). Demonstrating a high EQ has been a proven factor in helping businesses thrive, both in staff morale and performance and the bottom line.

EQ describes a person’s ability to identify and manage their own emotions as well as empathize with and manage the emotions of others. The term ‘emotional intelligence’ was coined in the 1960s and later popularized by psychologist Daniel Goleman in his 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence – Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. A decade later, in an article in the Harvard Business Review, Goleman intimated that EQ is even more important to effective leadership than intelligence quotient (IQ) and technical skills, calling those “entry-level requirements for executive positions.”

EQ is a complex trait, which Goleman broke down into the following five categories:

1. Self-awareness – The ability to recognise and understand your own strengths and weaknesses, emotions and moods, and how they may impact your on-the-job performance and professional relationships

2. Self-regulation or self-management – The ability to control your emotions and maintain self-control under pressure and the capacity to adapt when faced with difficult or challenging circumstances

3. Internal motivation – The degree to which you’re able to motivate yourself, take initiative, and achieve your goals

4. Empathy – Being able to recognise and understand the feelings and needs of others

5. People or social skills – The ability to build rapport, trust, and influence with others as well as successfully manage conflict and change

Why EQ is important

IT’S easy to see why EQ is important for business leaders to have or cultivate as it helps an organisation set the tone from the top down. Emotionally intelligent leaders are able to better relate to their colleagues, motivating and inspiring teams and individuals to take positive action in pursuit of the company’s goals. They can skilfully resolve conflict to avoid unnecessary tension, which helps limit staff turnover. In fact, a recent Gallup study found that employees who had managers with high EQ were four times less likely to leave the organisation than those with managers of low EQ.

Fostering an emotionally intelligent organisation can also have a positive impact on how your teams relate with clients. Being more attuned to clients’ needs and concerns increases the likelihood that they’ll choose to do business with your company. In his 1999 study entitled The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence, researcher Cary Cherniss cited 19 examples of how high EQ can help a company’s bottom line. In one example, sales agents at global beauty brand L’Oreal who were hired on the basis of certain emotional competencies significantly outsold those hired using the company’s old selection procedure. On an annual basis, agents selected based on emotional competence sold US$91,370 more than their counterparts and had 63 per cent less turnover during the first year. (Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, & Kelner, 1997)

Increasing emotional intelligence

THE good news is that EQ can be developed or strengthened through practice.

E-mail us at elizabeth@tgltrainers.com or call 876-978-1364 to organise an in-house workshop to help your staff enhance their level of EQ for improved performance with less stress and better service and results.