CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
Written by Hamish Knox; President of Sandler in Calgary, Canada
Creating accountable, sales focused organizations in Calgary
One of the most effective ways to grow your salespeople is through debrief; however, how you frame your debrief will either keep your salesperson in their comfort zone or prompt them into the growth zone.
Humans are wired to debrief. Consider the first time you asked someone out on a date and were turned down or the first time you attempted a new technique and it worked. You probably replayed those moments in your head multiple times.
The name of those “replays” is “counterfactual thinking. Counterfactual thinking comes in two flavors “upward” (or “additive”) and “downward” (or “subtractive”).
The cliche “if you’re not growing, you’re dying” fits the downward model of counterfactual debriefing. When you hear one of your salespeople start a sentence during a debrief with “I’m glad I did/didn’t” or a synonym they are framing their thinking in a downward fashion (e.g. I’m glad I didn’t push to get the decision maker in the next meeting. I would have ruined the relationship). This type of thinking keeps your salesperson in their comfort zone, which stymies their growth and traps them in the buyer-seller dance.
Upward counterfactual thinking frames the debrief in a future tense typically starting with “next time I will” (e.g. next time I’ll get permission to ask more questions before diving deeper into my prospect’s pain). Asking your salesperson to frame their debrief with an upward counterfactual activates parts of their prefrontal cortex (responsible for higher level thinking). Those parts of your salesperson’s brain create a new path for your salesperson to travel the next time they reach that particular “Wimp Junction,” which leads to greater growth an self-sufficiency for your salesperson.
A challenge you’ll encounter when you debrief using upward counterfactual thinking is that type of thinking tends to create feelings of regret in your salesperson. Keep them okay by reminding them of the mindset, “win or learn.” It’s natural for salespeople, especially high performers, to feel regret, anger or sadness when debriefing because they want to win every time. A win doesn’t happen every time in sales, but learning does.
Until next time… go lead.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube
Upcoming Workshop:
Revised & Updated Cold Call Bootcamp
An interactive sales workshop designed to produce results, learn effective cold calling techniques, and overcome call reluctance.
Thursday March 1, 2018 from 8.30AM-3.00PM
Click to register online or register by phone on 403-457-1507.
Most sales people hate making cold calls for one of two reasons: They don’t have a system, or the system they have doesn’t work. If this sounds like you or your team, this boot camp may be for you.
Are you…
- Anxious about making Cold Calls?
- Tired of not getting past the Gate Keeper?
- Sick of hearing “Email me some info”?
- Struggling to hit your numbers?
- Frustrated because you don’t have enough appointments in your calendar?
- Irritated because you keep getting stuck in voice mail?
You’ll leave with the tools to…
- Make a no-pressure prospecting call
- Ensure you maintain control during the call
- Develop a customized approach, geared to your business
- Know when and how to leave voice mails
- Understand how to eliminate stalls and objections
Click to register online or call (403) 457-1507 to register by phone.
Share This:
COMMENTARY: Canadians Should Decide What to do With Their Money – Not Politicians and Bureaucrats