Sales Growth Made Simple: For Trade, Construction & Industry Leaders – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Stronger Sales Teams, Ben takes a deep dive into the art of problem-solving in B2B sales management. Drawing from his experience in launching multiple sales programs across various organisations, he highlights the challenges of understanding and respecting customer boundaries. With years of industry knowledge, Ben shares a practical problem-solving framework that’s applicable to both straightforward and complex sales scenarios.

Key Takeaways:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of sales problems by categorizing them into controllable and uncontrollable factors.
• While you can’t change uncontrollables, identify areas where you can still exert influence and devise strategies accordingly.
• Encourage team involvement in identifying solutions and executing strategic sales plans.
• Explore opportunities to convert challenges into growth and improvement projects for the sales team.
• Emphasize the connection between personal well-being and professional success to drive a motivated and effective sales team.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro

3:25 Problem Solving Framework

4:40 Looking At Triggers

5:44 Classifying the Triggers Into Controllable and Uncontrollable

7:02 Uncontrollable

13:10 Controllable

16:40 Road to Cairns

18:21 Outro

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In this episode of Stronger Sales Teams, Ben Wright explores the often-overlooked challenges that arise when sales teams face unforeseen hurdles, despite thorough preparation and strategic planning. Drawing a comparison to the early optimism of an AFL season, Ben examines why sales targets can sometimes fall short and the necessity for organisations to adapt in order to remain competitive. Throughout the discussion, he stresses the significance of proactive change management within sales strategies to avoid stagnation and decline.

Key Takeaways: 

• Ensure that sales goals are well-defined and aligned across the team to maintain focus and coherence in efforts.
• Identify and concentrate on the ideal customer profile to improve lead quality and close rates.
• Develop effective communication strategies that clearly convey the value and outcomes of your products or services.
• Encourage active listening in sales teams to better understand and meet customer needs, aiding in relationship building and shortening sales cycles.
• Monitor sales activities through key metrics like sales numbers, pipeline size, and customer quotes to maintain motivation and detect performance gaps.

Time Stamps: 

0:00 Intro

1:15 AFL Season

4:35 What To Look At When Changing the Results of Our Team

5:30 Strategy

10:30 Talent

13:50 Energy

16:48 Recap

18:33 The Cairns Ironman Prep

19:55 Outro

Rate, Review, & Follow If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode! I’d also love to hear what you think, so drop us a review after you close that next deal…tell me what you’re liking, and what you want more of so I can look to cover it in a future episode.

In this episode of Stronger Sales Teams, Ben Wright explores the timeless craft of storytelling and its crucial role in B2B sales. Ben begins by highlighting the importance of storytelling in both personal and professional contexts, underscoring how a well-crafted narrative can elevate engagement in any environment. Drawing on his own experiences and industry knowledge, Ben offers listeners practical advice on creating powerful stories that resonate with audiences.

Key Takeaways:

• Always start with the end in mind, focusing on the purpose and outcome of your story to keep it on track.
• Grab your audience’s attention early and often using curiosity, visuals, or changes in tone and pitch.
• Deliver stories with genuine belief and passion, making them relatable and memorable.
• Use a four-part structure—problem, impact, solution, and outcome—for effective narrative delivery.
• Write down and rehearse your stories to improve effectiveness and delivery in various contexts.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro

4:20 Story Telling

5:35 What Makes A Great Story Teller

9:55 Where To Start in Story Telling

15:20 Frame Work Around Story Telling

23:07 Outro

Rate, Review, & Follow If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode! I’d also love to hear what you think, so drop us a review after you close that next deal…tell me what you’re liking, and what you want more of so I can look to cover it in a future episode.

Ben Wright introduces the Stronger Sales Team podcast, which is designed to help sales managers build, motivate, and keep together highly effective sales teams that grow revenue and make businesses profitable. He then explains the 4 key habits of successful sales leaders: a sales process, the Team Step Playbook, a form of measurement, and sales training. He focuses on the “S” in the Team STEP Playbook, which stands for strategy, and explains why the Team STEP Playbook is a better option than a traditional sales strategy document. It is a broad framework that allows sales managers to customize their strategic planning.

This episode focuses on the strategy elements of Team STEP, a model for business success. For the best organizations, a strategy should be viewed as an evolving process that informs their thinking, actions, responses, and learning. They should also consider their customers, capabilities, and the prevailing market when creating a strategy. As Henry Ford said, the best competitor is one who is always improving their own business.

The episode focuses on the importance of having a clear team vision and the strategies that need to be implemented in order to make it effective. The speaker states that having a team vision is powerful and can be used as a North Star to guide the business. To make sure the team vision is successful, there are five key selling strategies that should be implemented. The first is a sales process which should outline the steps that customers will go through. The next is a sales methodology which should connect the sales process together. After that is the consultation process which should bring the sales process and methodology to life. Finally, the speaker mentions demonstrations and leveraging networks as important strategies for different types of markets. In conclusion, having a clear team vision and the right strategies to back it up is essential for a successful business.

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:52 The Team S.T.E.P. Playbook

0:04:29 Why Do We Use the Team S.T.E.P. Playbook?

0:05:11 S.T.E.P: Strategy

0:07:00 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer

0:07:06 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Who are the Target Markets

0:07:32 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Key Target Geography

0:07:57 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Key Products and Services

0:08:35 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Pricing Strategy

0:10:12 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Revenue and Profit Targets

0:11:23 The Structural Element of the Team’s Offer: Team Vision

0:12:00 Key Selling Strategies

0:12:19 Key Selling Strategies: The Sales Process

0:12:41 Key Selling Strategies: Sales Methodology

0:13:14 Key Selling Strategies: The Consultation Process

0:14:38 Supporting Part of Strategy Plan

0:17:03 Elevated Pitch

0:18:21 Key Communication Templates

0:18:50 Industry Relationships

0:19:29 Recruitment Strategy

0:20:30 How Can Sales Leaders Bring Strategy To Your Teams

0:022:55 Health and Fitness Tip

0:23:53 Outro

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Today’s guest, Juan Sanchez, is the founder and head coach of Primley, a mental fitness coaching business. Juan has formal qualifications in mental fitness and a 12 year career in sales management and business development. He also volunteers for organizations such as Beyond Blue for suicide prevention and mental health awareness. The conversation focused on how to strengthen mental fitness for optimum sales performance. Mental fitness is linked to how one lives their life outside of their job. With care and dedication, listeners can optimize their mental health and improve their sales performance.

This conversation provides an overview of how to exercise the mind muscles in the same way as physical muscles. The three key components to build a strong mental fitness routine are mindfulness exercises such as mindfulness breathing and meditation, flow activities like playing cards, sudoku, and exercising, and lastly, avoiding distractions like phones, emails, television, radio, and music. Exercising the mind muscle is important in order to keep it active and to prevent atrophy. Following these suggestions will help to build a strong mental fitness routine.

In this conversation, the two speakers discussed how salespeople can improve their performance by exercising their mind muscle through various activities. The first one mentioned was mindfulness, followed by meditation and any other activity that requires single-minded focus. It was then discussed that being mentally fit also requires an understanding of the relationship between mind and body.

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:21 Guest Introduction

0:02:28 How to Strengthen Mental Fitness

0:03:17 How to Exercise the Mind Muscle

0:05:47 Improving Sales Performance by Being Mentally Fitter

0:09:05 How to be Better Sleepers and Eaters

0:13:38 Taking A Break

0:14:39 Frontal Alpha Symmetry

0:15:25 Pausing Activities

0:16:35 Being on Top of Your Game

0:17:48 The Science Behind the Tips

0:21:05 Guest Details

0:21:30 Outro

Juan Sanchez: 

• Website: www.primely.com.au
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primely

1. The average working professional sleeps 6.5hrs - Less than the recommended 7 to 9hrs of recommended sleep: https://www.hult.edu/blog/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-work-and-performance/ 
2. In the US, fatigue related to sleep deprivation costs employers US$1,967 annually per employee: Rosekind R, Gregory B, Mallis M et al. (2010) The cost of poor sleep: workplace productivity loss and associated costs. J Occup Environ Med 52(1):91–9
3. Brain activity peaks with 25 mg of glucose circulation (1 banana): https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2019/08/06/3-ways-your-diet-impacts-work-performance/?sh=42cb70536eac 
4. Microsoft WTI Pulse report: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/brain-research 

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If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
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In this Episode, Ben discusses the importance of building a successful sales team and why only 52% of sales leaders feel confident that they know what 'good' looks like. He provides insights and actionable steps to help sales managers build, motivate and keep together highly effective teams. He explains that salespeople have a wide range of skills that are essential for success such as; building relationships, being able to think on their feet, influencing people, challenging customers, working with numbers, being resilient and persistent. He also emphasizes the importance of managing personal health in order to have a happy and productive view.

Successful sales leaders are able to build a process that leads to a high performing team. In order to build an environment of performance without stifling creativity or reducing engagement, it is important to focus on responsibility. This means creating an environment that allows individuals to take ownership of their role and encourages them to learn through experience. It also involves providing feedback to help them understand what good looks like and developing strategies that reward performance. Finally, it involves setting clear expectations and providing recognition for a job well done.

This episode introduces the Team STEP Model, a new model for peak performance in sales teams. This model is focused on the four key levers of peak performance - strategy, talent, energy, and peak performance. When these levers are combined, they result in high engagement, successful close rates, efficient movement through the sales cycle, cohesive teams, and budget goals being met. The Team STEP Playbook will be available for free when you sign up and follow the podcast series as well as other resources to help teams understand and implement the model.

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:33 Why Are Only 52% of Sales Leaders Confident in what 'Good' Looks Like?

0:03:56 How to Build an Environment of Success

0:04:47 4 Key Habits that Drive the Success of Sales Leaders

0:04:53 4 Key Habits: A Sales Process

0:05:20 4 Key Habits: Key Levers

0:05:47 4 Key Habits: Measurement Model

0:06:13 4 Key Habits: Training and Coaching

0:07:09 Emphasis on 4 Key Levers (Team S.T.E.P. Model)

0:09:25 Team S.T.E.P. Model: Strategy

0:11:45 Team S.T.E.P. Model: Talent

0:13:42 Team S.T.E.P. Model: Energy

0:15:10 Team S.T.E.P. Model: Peak Performance

0:19:05 Where to get the Playbook

0:020:54 Health and Fitness Tips

0:023:16 Outro

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If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
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Ben Wright welcomes Juan Sanchez, the founder and head coach of Primely, to the Stronger Sales Teams podcast. Juan is an experienced sales manager, having been an equity partner at a successful renewables business and a BDM for 12-15 years. Primely offers mental fitness training for sales teams seeking optimal performance.

Juan and Ben discuss how to improve sales performance by learning from professional athletes. Juan explained that mental fitness is the ability to remain mentally focused, resilient, and motivated, even in challenging situations. Mental fitness is important for sales teams because it can help them stay motivated, focus on goals, and remain resilient during difficult times. Juan gave several examples of how professional athletes use mental fitness to succeed in their sports, such as visualization techniques, goal setting, and positive self-talk. Finally, Juan emphasized the importance of self-care for sales teams in order to maintain their mental fitness. Self-care includes taking time to relax, eat healthy, and exercise.

This conversation explores the similarities between professional athletes and salespeople. Both are professionally rewarded and rely heavily on their individual skills. Additionally, competition is fierce in both fields. To be successful, it is important to prepare properly, as what you do away from the workplace or court can greatly affect your performance. This is referred to as the 'Seven Ps': Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Pretty Poor Performance. Mental fitness exercises, such as positive psychology, can help people make rational decisions when they are in a fight or flight mode. With proper preparation, athletes and salespeople can both achieve success in their respective fields.

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:05 Guest Introduction

0:02:50 How to Improve Sales Performance via Learnings from Athletes

0:03:28 Mental Fitness

0:04:58 Red Brain and Blue Brain

0:06:17 Common Traits of Sales People and Athletes

0:08:29 Learnings from Athletes to be Leverage by Sales People

0:11:18 Judging Through Wins

0:13:13 How to Be Consistent

0:14:30 Pre-Meeting Routines

0:016:27 How to Deal with Pressure

0:19:01 Guest Details

0:19:40 Outro

Follow Juan Sanchez @:

• Website: www.primely.com.au  
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primely

Rate, Review, & Follow

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
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In this Episode, Ben covers the concepts of sales process and sales methodology and how they work together. He explains that the sales process is the game plan and structure that is built to maximize time and energy to ensure that the business can keep its promises. If a poor sales process is in place, it can lead to stress, lost hours and ultimately people turnover. If a good process is in place, it can lead to consistent performance, higher conversions, faster sales, and more engaged teams. The sales methodology, on the other hand, is the approach to implementing the sales process. It is the philosophy around how the sales team should sell. Ultimately, the sales process and methodology are both important and should be taken into consideration when building a successful sales team. Here, Ben talks us through nine sales methodologies you could consider for your team.

0:00:00 Intro

0:02:21 Difference Between a Good Sales Process and Sales Methodology

0:06:00 Common Sales Methodologies

0:06:22 Sales Methodologies: Spin Selling

0:07:20 Sales Methodologies: Solution Selling

0:08:07 Sales Methodologies: The Challenger Methodology

0:09:18 Sales Methodologies: Seamless Selling System

0:10:11 Sales Methodologies: Conceptual Selling (Melahymin Method)

0:11:07 Sales Methodologies: The SNAP Methodology

0:11:43 Sales Methodologies: The Consultive Methodology

0:12:20 Sales Methodologies: Inbound Methodology

0:12:53 Sales Methodologies: Targeted Account Selling (TAS)

0:14:00 Picking the Best Sales Methodology

0:19:18 Health and Fitness Tips

0:20:30 Outro

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If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
I’d also love to hear what you think, so drop us a review after you close that next deal…tell me what you’re liking, and what you want more of so I can look to cover it in a future episode.

In today’s episode, Ben shares a story of buying a house and how the experience relates to the sales process. After purchasing the home, the real estate agent that had managed the sale kept in touch with him regularly over the roughly ten years that followed. When it came time to sell the house, he made the easy decision to go with the same agent due to the level of trust and relationship that had been built. An illustration of how important it is to create a habit of building relationships with customers and to keep them engaged over time.

This episode discusses the fifth and final step of the sales process: the Post Game Review, or Key Account Management Program. Ben shares four key initiatives that should be implemented into a team's process. These four initiatives are based on Ben's experience working with hundreds of salespeople and teams over the past 20 years. These initiatives are aimed at helping teams stay in touch with customers and building future pipelines.

0:00:00 Intro

0:01:12 Selling a House Experience

0:02:35 The Post Game Review

0:03:09 Recap of Previous Episode

0:03:33 4 Key Initiatives to Implement in the Post Sales Process

0:04:01 1. Brand

0:006:37 2. Seamless Flow of Information in the Business

0:8:24 Stay Involved

0:09:21 Delivery: Data Hygiene

0:09:54 Delivery: Limit the Number of Handovers

0:11:16 Delivery: Remain Involved in The Handover to Delivery Departments

0:012:08 Delivery: Customers Must Receive Communication

0:12:43 Delivery: Sign-off by Multiple Departments

0:12:57 Delivery: Fast Feedback Loops

0:13:17 Delivery: Involvement Per Sale

0:15:00 3. Mistakes are Fixed Quickly

0:16:47 4. Meet With the Customer When The Job is Done & Thank Them

0:18:33 Recap

0:20:41 Health and Fitness Tip

0:21:47 Outro

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If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
I’d also love to hear what you think, so drop us a review after you close that next deal…tell me what you’re liking, and what you want more of so I can look to cover it in a future episode.

In today’s episode, Ben talks us through how salespeople often struggle with closing deals, due to a fear of hearing no. To address this, he provides eight practical tips and techniques to help managing sales teams close the deal and their success rate. These techniques range from having a clear closing process, having a pre-defined closing technique, leveraging skills across the business, the role of negotiation, workshopping deals, knowing the customer’s decision makers, making moving forward easy for customers, and asking more about the business.

This episode also covers four different types of closing techniques used in sales: the question close, the summary close, the soft close, and the limited-time offer.

0:00:00 Intro

0:03:15 Homerun: The Close

0:03:47 Recap of Previous Episode

0:04:14 Practical Tips for Sales Team to Close

0:04:29 Step 1: Sales Teams Should Have A Clear Process

0:05:08 Step 2: Closing Techniques

0:05:55 Closing Technique 1: Question Closing

0:07:35 Closing Technique 2: Summary Close

0:08:47 Closing Technique 3: Soft Close

0:05:55 Closing Technique 4: Limited Time Offer

0:13:35 Step 3: Leverage Skills Across the Business

0:14:44 Step 4: Don’t Underestimate the Role of Negotiation

0:16:44 Step 5: Work Shop Deals

0:017:50 Step 6: Know the Decision Makers

0:018:31 Step 7: Make Moving Forward Easy for Customers

0:019:10 Step 8: Ask for the Business

0:20:12 Recap

0:19:09 "8 Steps to Successful Closing for Business Development Managers"

0:22:13 Health and Fitness Tip

0:23:15 Outro

Rate, Review, & Follow

If you’re liking what you’re hearing, make sure you ‘follow’ the show wherever you listen to your podcasts…so you never miss an episode!
I’d also love to hear what you think, so drop us a review after you close that next deal…tell me what you’re liking, and what you want more of so I can look to cover it in a future episode.