Activity Coaching Conversations

In this episode we talk about what happens after a sale is made. There’s plenty that happens in this final step of the sales cycle that contributes to building a strong client base and keeping business on the books. Today Sabine and Heather talk about follow-up as a critical business strategy to build credibility, trust, future sales, and a client base that no competitor can poach from.  In their Say That Again segment,  they role play the critical conversation between an FR and a new client in the delivery appointment to demonstrate the importance of this step.

Episode Highlights

01:50 The two keys to building solid, lasting relationships are following through on your commitment and staying in touch on a regular basis.

05:10 Making people feel good about what they did is really important, especially down the road when they think about “why am I paying for this? Why am I spending money on something I don’t actually have in my hand?” It’s a major opportunity to guarantee persistence and set mutual expectations. 

14:26 The post-sales service and delivery is a long-term process but it is how you maintain good persistence. This is one of the little anchors that you put down in your clients to keep them on the books.

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

In this episode, we discuss an important topic for all which is mental wellness. Mental health has been a taboo subject for such a long time but we see that the world is starting to open up and talk more about this important subject. Sabine and Heather talk about how essential it is to understand mental wellness for your benefit and the people you coach. Most of the time, we ignore the warning signs of poor mental health which leads to a much greater problem. As the two dive into this subject, they bring awareness on how you could reinforce healthy mental wellness to your FRs. They also share some basic stress management reminders.

In the ‘Say That Again’ segment, they role play an FR who’s been struggling overall and showing signs that there’s something more going on beyond the regular day to day stress.

Episode Highlights

1:22 I believe that successful businesses are bred from strong bodies and sound minds. Think about the correlation between your physical health and your mental vigor and the health of you and your FRs businesses.

8:57 It can unfortunately be a reality in this business, the whole mental health and mental burnout piece. 

11:50 I think people confuse mental health with mental illness. They think depression, ADHD, anxiety as mental health but that isn't mental health, that is mental illness. Mental health and mental wellness are about focus, pressure management, confidence, stress resilience, mental performance and even physical performance. 

18:18 Yoga and meditation, encourage your reps to make time for exercise. My guess is if they're overwhelmed and they're stressed, it's usually the first thing that goes so encouraging them to make time for exercise will help. 

20:01 Pay attention to what you're eating and what you're putting in your body.

21:22 Mental health doesn't look like you think it does, when it's missing. It doesn't always look like it's missing, like depressed people aren't moping around all the time.

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

In today’s episode, Heather and Sabine focus on the first 75 days of an FR’s career. They discuss Granums expectations for the first 25, 50, and 75 days and how to determine whether or not this career path is the best fit. They also talk about the importance of promoting and preparing for these critical meetings.

For each meeting they explain what the meeting should entail, who should attend, and how to get the most out of these meetings.  They emphasize the importance of preparation, reflection, and active participation.

In the “Say That Again” segment, they role play a coaching session with an FR to review their first 25 day expectations.

Highlights:

01:00 What most people aren’t aware of, probably because it’s not talked about very often,  is that Granum specifically calls out the first 25 days in his progressive expectations.

03:13 First and foremost is the importance of setting a clear expectation.

04:57 The first, second, and third 25-day reviews really should mainly focus only on activity.

06:03 How you start dictates the future.

08:06 Ideally there’s three people there. This really ensures that everyone’s on the same page, that you’re getting multiple perspectives, and you can identify themes when you have more people sharing those perspectives. 

12:25 The balance to maintain that level of activity is tricky. I do sometimes see people hit the 150 points and then they start freaking out. They start experiencing burnout and think “I’m not able to keep this up”. It’s important to tell them these are progressive expectations.

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

In this episode we talk about the psychology of prospecting. Prospecting is a vital process woven throughout the sales cycle steps. It is also one of the most difficult for your reps to master. Sabine and Heather will give you an in-depth understanding of the psychology of prospecting and talk about the mindset your reps need when prospecting. In the Say That Again segment, they role-play a conversation where the FR wants to get better prospects. 

Episode Highlights

2:24 I always tell our FRs that everybody wants the prospects who are at the peak of their success, but if you get them when they're just starting out and showing signs of success, those folks will stick with you when they reach their peak of success, because you believed from the start that they would get there and there's a lot of power in that.

3:06 Granum is adamant that quantity leads to quality. The more prospects the FR gets, the more likely they are to find some great ones in there. 

8:31 We always tell reps to ask 100% of their kept appointments for referrals and they know they should. Why don't they do it? Well, I think one of the reasons that I've uncovered over the years is the language. 

11:39 Updating people around prospecting is just the professional version of that, right? People appreciate it, because one of the biggest fears that people have when they give a Rep name is that the people they referred will get mad at them for some reason. So by updating them, you actually alleviate that fear and reinforce that they did something good. 

14:37 You know the interesting thing is, sometimes it's the same people that will give you names over and over and over again because they're comfortable with it, they have no problem with it.

18:09 Force your reps to roleplay. Make them step outside their comfort zone. 

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

Today’s episode focuses on the importance of coaching to the individual, and understanding that women have unique perspectives and needs. Heather and Sabine speak with Hannah Kirby and Kristin Herman, both advisors at Northwestern Mutual, about their experiences as women in this industry and their coaching experiences. 

They talk about what they love about being a woman in this business, the nuances around the sales cycle, the benefit of flexibility in your career in order to balance personal and work-life, and what types of coaching may resonate more for women.

In the “Say That Again” segment, Heather shares a few additional best practices for coaching women. 

Episode Highlights:

0:54 We would be remiss if we ignored the fact that we women do tick differently.

4:30 Authenticity is huge when it comes to sales. The fact that you can be authentic in what you do every day is awesome.

04:56 As women, we are natural nurturers and we take on a lot of responsibility in life. And I have seen through the progression of starting as an intern, into the surviving stage, and now with children, now the focus is onto significance. But I’m a better mom because I get to do this incredible work and I’m better at my work now that I’m a mom.

06:07 Women are wired with more empathy. And they have such great listening skills and they put people at ease.

08:00 Money is very much an emotional topic. It is not about numbers, and sharpe ratios and rate of return. What people are really craving is peace of mind and freedom. 

14:14 “Really, the difference between men and women is men sweat and women cry”. That is the only difference in how we get that stress out and that just really stuck with me, that’s true, a guy might go punch something or sweat or whatever and for us, it might come out in the form of tears. 

27:36 I think the positivity of having something to work toward has just been way more effective than, oh no, if I don’t do this then I’m just thinking of this doom and gloom hanging over me.

33:43 You have to drown your reps in belief. Let them know how much you believe in them, be dripping with it. You have to believe in them more so than they ever do.

Contact information:

Heather Price Consulting 

In this episode, Heather Price and Sabine Robinson talk about the psychology and objectives of each step of the sales cycle. It’s important to conduct each step but it is also essential to maximize the effort and the skill with each step. They both dive deep into each of these steps and give us the important facts we need to know in order to have a successful sales cycle. Understanding the psychology behind the steps is an important factor in order to have a successful sales cycle. In the Say That Again Segment, they role-play a conversation where the FR (financial rep) struggles with the close or the closing ratio is half of what it should be. 

Episode Highlights:

1:37 The face of the marketplace might have changed, but the human behavior of the marketplace has not. 

3:14 If someone continually says no to you, you’re just weeding them out. 

4:07 It’s a reassuring way and an encouraging way to tell reps that even though you didn’t get the results you wanted today, you followed the process and met some of those objectives. 

5:41 You are teaching people how to do business with you. 

8:06 It’s a balance of making sure you’re building the relationship, talking and getting to know them, but also getting some business done. 

11:23 The objective of the close is to get the prospect to make a decision. 

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

In this episode, Heather Price and Sabine Robinson introduce us to Meghan Hart, the Director of Training and Development at the Miller office in Pittsburgh. They dive deep into the importance of a solid DYM plan. Having enough quality names and a solid approach to reaching out to these individuals is one key to a successful start in the business. In the Say That Again Segment, they role-play a scenario wherein a rep has run out of people to call.

Episode Highlights:

02:24 As an activity coach, you want to make sure that you are revisiting this helpful tool and utilizing it as a resource in your coaching.

02:55 Discovering Your Markets has always been and will always be a selection and development tool.

08:12 I recently have found myself going back to the DYM a few months into the business, once they start to run dry and hit their first few roadblocks in the business.

09:55 The market surveys are so critical because they provide the closest approximation of what a field experience is going to be like.

14:16 I think really digging into the market potential and the market descriptor worksheets, giving them that feedback, making sure that they know what the reality is of who they're planning on calling is essential.

15:18 Financial feasibility is huge, a big part of whether or not they're going to make it in this business, I would say, don't wait to complete this until after you've made an offer or don't wait until the very end of the selection process.

22:39 Discovering Your Markets and all of the parts in it that really helped to make sure you are bringing somebody on who is not only a good fit but is also prepared and ready to go.

Say That Again:

28:16 Heather and Meghan role-play a conversation with a Rap that has run out of people to call.

Contact information:

Heather Price Consulting

In this episode, Heather Price and Sabine Robinson talk about how to keep successful Reps engaged and coach them to an even bigger and better future. It is important to remember that even when an FR is really successful, there are still going to be bumps and pitfalls, and sometimes these are the FRs who can be the most challenging. According to Sabina’s experience, they tend to be more independent, more confident, more competitive; they do not like being put in the box, being told what to do, and they usually come with some ego. Heather and Sabina share close to a dozen different things that you can talk to a very successful Rep about to keep them motivated. They also share tips on how to notice that a Rep might get recruited away and what to do when you notice their motivation has decreased. In the Say That Again segment, they role-play a sample of the conversation you can have with a high-achieving Rep. 

Episode highlights:

03:43 - Give them plenty of positive feedback. You want to make sure that they know what they are doing right. 

07:28 - Impact is one of the things that people really talk about in recruiting and that people want to have; they want a career where they have an impact. 

11:11 - Not everybody is necessarily motivated by money or by winning a contest. There are other ways to recognize them for doing a great job. 

16:52 - Let them know that you noticed. They may or may not open up, but just let them know. 

20:45 - They suddenly start asking questions about their contract. That’s almost always an indication that someone else is in their ear talking about how the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. 

Say That Again:

23:41 - Heather and Sabina role-play a snippet of a coaching session with a high achieving Rep. Heather plays the advisor who is four months in and is killing it. Sabina is the coach.  

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

Heather and Sabine introduce us to Sarah Koenig who is a performance expert with more than 20 years of experience in building systems and execution that drive performance growth. She is the founder of Optimize Advisory where she serves as a remote fractional COO and a positive intelligence coach. 

In the first part of the episode, Sarah gives us information about what positive intelligence is. She also gives us an overview of the steps needed to be accomplished in order to achieve your full potential when participating with the positive intelligence system. She also talks about the different saboteurs which are negative thoughts that hinders us to fully function with a positive mindset. 

In the second part of the episode, Sarah introduces us to an exercise called “PQ Reps” which helps the brain build up new muscles that eventually release endorphins that counter stress related hormones. Sarah and Heather also do a little role-playing which shows how Sarah handles her clients when going through the positive intelligence system. 

Episode Highlights:

1:59 Positive Intelligence is a simple three-step operating system that allows us to manage the negative thoughts that get in our way. 

5:47 People feel anxious because they know what they should be doing. They know that they aren’t on top of it. And that delay often creates more unpleasantness until that thing you’ve been avoiding becomes unavoidable. 

10:21 We want to command our brains to leverage its sage portions, which are the mid prefrontal cortex, the empathy circuitry and more right brained parts which motivate you through positive emotions. 

14:23 You realize that in that moment, it takes as little as 10 seconds of PQ Reps to activate a shift within your brain. 

15:47 It's amazing because as your day gets busy, you don't even realize just how much you hold tension in your body, how breathing becomes more shallow, and how business builds up in your day, taking a small break like that can really anchor you and change the course of the rest of your day.

16:54 The most impactful part of positive intelligence, because most development stops here, is that positive intelligence gives you a roadmap to move forward directly toward your goals. 

27:06 But ultimately, it's important to remember that as humans, your mental mindset will fluctuate. And our minds have that possibility of serving us more than they hinder us if we're in that positive zone.

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting 

In this episode, Heather Price and Sabine Robinson talk about the Success Cycle and the specific steps that occur whenever someone tackles a difficult goal. Step by step, they show us what this cycle looks like and what you, as an activity coach, have to do to help your FRs reach that goal.  In the Say That Again segment, they role-play each of the success cycle steps.  

Episode highlights:

 01:49 - Disbelief - this is the time where your Reps have committed to the goal, but they do not know they can do it.  

03:25 - Hopeful skepticism, the period where they’ve got some initial results.  

05:06 - High performance - they are consistently getting results and moving closer to the goal. Now they can see it. Cheer them and coach them across the finish line. 

07:40 - The epic letdown. They have accomplished the goal, crossed the finish line. You have to acknowledge it and coach people through it. 

09:00 - Back to step one by encouraging the next big goal. 

Say That Again:

12:18 - A mini role-play for each cycle step to show what it sounds like to coach somebody in each step of the cycle. 

Contact information: 

Heather Price Consulting