The May SIG presentation and spirited discussion was led by Bill Seney of Sales Performance 2.0 and I would like to thank both Ron Dzombak and Bill Seney from Sales Performance 2.0, as well as Pamela Breault and Rick Baxter of GLISC for organizing and co-hosting this event with EMC.

  I was intrigued by the level of insight there was into how the mind and the beliefs of all of us, dictate and determine performance in all human beings.  It impacts our ability to make decisions, build relationships and validate emotions.

The ideal of "sales" is not limited to the "sales" professional and during the discussion and presentation; it became apparent that most in the room started to understand the impact of having a "sales" perspective in everything we do.  Most of our businesses today involve "sales" on some level internally, whether it is in convincing a co-worker about a good idea, "selling" innovation to a team of people, or the traditional "sales" model of services and products to external customers.  The idea here is that most people will only continue to work and collaborate if their emotions and intellect validate the trust and respect in a relationship.

Mr Seney went on to make a reference to an "Emological" state at this place in history.  Emologic centers around the impact of decision-making that is driven by logic that makes emotional sense...as defined....Something that would otherwise be considered illogical to non-emotionally driven people is logical in the "emo" sense.  This emologic is impacted again by the emphasis placed on emotional decision-making.  Those who choose to understand the emotion behind decisions can therefore predict the outcome of some decisions and prepare better methods of relationship-building, communication and collaborative approaches to impacting the results of decisions.

As a group, we discussed that the traditional model for "sales" has not changed in a number of years and even though we know that "people will not do long term business with those they do not trust" little time is actually dedicated to improving these skills by investing in our own development and training. 

As part of the presentation, Mr Seney also engaged the audience a number of times by using a quick questionnaire.  Many were surprised by what the results revealed about their own level of expertise in this area.  Many of us, so focused on what is important to us, often overlook taking a different perspective and understanding what do others need from me and where can I provide value.  

So, what are all of the elements that need to go into a "Predictable Performance" model?  As explained by Mr. Seney, it is a combination of skill development in 3 key areas; Critical Thinking Skills (IQ), Relationship Skills (RQ), Sales Skills (SQ).  With development and knowledge in each of these key areas, you can predict the outcome of your performance in a given setting.

Critical Thinking Skills build to put purposeful meaning behind what otherwise seems like an intellectual questioning process.  Basically, choosing questions that will give you the most insight into a person or circumstance.  Critical Relationship Skills focus on the emotional side of what drives emotional and behavioural responses and Critical Sales Skills is the development of both IQ and RQ and understanding the impact of needs, facts, beliefs and feelings.

In some respects, MR Seney drove home the fact that if we want different results then perhaps we need to be prepared to do things differently.  It starts with a commitment to develop your skills and be the best person you can be.