Bria Hilgers and Katrina Volker review a case study using salesforce.com on demand software for the Customer Intelligence and Effective Communication course.

Today’s web-savvy sales students will have the ability to jump more confidently into tomorrow’s more complex, challenging selling environment with updated curriculum from the Center for Sales Innovation. We have benchmarked the latest competencies — with strategic input from key business partners — to continually update the core competencies of the business-to-business sales curriculum launched in 1989. To be relevant today, our students are getting up to speed on how to apply science to the art of selling.

The timing couldn’t be better as companies are looking for strategic salespeople who are savvier in not only building relationships but also understanding the customer’s customer, industry trends, financials, and ROI. As organizations shift the ways in which sales people work, a new set of technologies is being employed to more effectively communicate with prospects and customers.

	Two Center for Sales Innovation students will be participating in the Northwoods Sales Competition on November 15-16 at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire. The students, Bria Hilgers and Lauren Dunlap, recently practiced using a role-play exercise. Lauren Dunlap worked with David Ledo, a manufacturer's rep in the role play.

The science applied to the art of selling is evolving with many tools to gather and analyze data, which are used in our classrooms. Web-based communication and hosted services foster collaboration and information sharing between parties. Our curriculum builds on the interests of an already tech-savvy generation to bring their skills in social networking, search engines and e-mail into the selling arena. We offer a practical approach to help students gain experience in how to research, communicate and collaborate with customers using web technologies.

Interested in seeing how technology is integrated into the sales classroom? Email me at lfschleeter@stkate.edu and we’ll schedule a time for you to join a class.

Where do the best, actionable ideas for sales productivity and improvement come from? Sales Executive Forum is dedicated to support the professional development needs of senior-level sales leaders in the Twin Cities community. It's a place for candid conversations with peer professionals responsible for top-line sales results.

“In today's challenging times the Sales Executive Leadership Forum provides a network of professionals who are dealing with the same strategic issues I am. The chance to exchange ideas and debate solutions has become an invaluable resource for getting outside my own company’s ‘think,’” says William B. Smith, 3M Corporate Marketing and Public Affairs.

With the business landscape rapidly shifting, being an effective sales leader continues to evolve. It demands innovative solutions and collaborative approaches to lead through the complexity of change. This engaging forum provides a place for individuals to gain valid ideas and be stimulated by what others are implementing to address important issues.

“Considering the rate of change at our customers, we have to accelerate change within our selling organization. In just a few sessions, I picked up ideas that have had a profound impact on our sales approach,” says Nat Porter, Innovative Furniture.

Call Lynn Schleeter at 651-690-8762 for more information.

As businesses face an ever-widening talent gap, sales representatives continue to top the list of hardest-to-fill positions. Smart companies today employ a variety of onboarding approaches to help retain new talent. “Onboarding” is the process that organizations use to introduce, train, integrate and/or coach new hires in the culture and methods of the company during their first year.

Research shows that Millennial generation (also known as Gen Y) employees require quality supervision and opportunities to gain responsibility, recognition and advancement. That’s why an early onboarding best practice during a new hire’s first week should include an in-depth, one-on-one manager interview to quickly engage her within the organization.

It may seem simplistic, but people who feel engaged and supported produce more and better work. Younger employees are more likely to stay at work when they understand how their work makes a difference.

In addition to the traditional first-day lunch with the manager, this onboarding step of a more structured orientation meeting is critical. The structure may include a script and objectives to help guide managers in discussing expectations, performance metrics, work tasks, training process, and development goals.

Beyond the hiring process, this face-to-face meeting helps the supervisor better understand the new hire’s personal attitudes, motivators, perceptions, influencers, and resources. As a result, it also creates highly involved managers/supervisors.

Here are some tips for preparing and holding this conversation:

• Apply your solid sales skills to develop the script and ask essential questions to evaluate your new hires’ thinking. You want to learn what motivates them to better align expectations with real work and help them clearly understand performance metrics to advance in the organization. Then a professional development plan can be created.
• Ask permission to learn more about them, then pose open-ended questions that invite an expansive response using words that start with “what,” “how,” “where” and “when.” For example: What is most/least important to you in working here? How do you see making a difference in the world?
• Don’t assume you know what’s best for them; listen intently to identify personal priorities. They rely on their friends and family for everything, so ask about them.

Today’s new talent arrives on your doorstep with a wholly different set of social norms. For more information about onboarding best practices, contact Lynn Schleeter, Director, Center for Sales Innovation at lfschleeter@stkate.edu