monika d'agostino Archives - SalesTactics.org

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Sales Expert Interviews at SalesTactics.org

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Jason Kanigan

Sales expert interviews are rare. Nobody thinks to interview them. And the reason why? They are usually busy working, and not connected with the online marketing sphere that likes to interview experts. Most people have heard of marketing consultants; few have heard of sales trainers.

Over the past 60 days or so, I have interviewed five sales experts. I have also been interviewed several times as a sales expert. So here we now have a library of sales expert interviews at SalesTactics.org. Do not take this lightly. Where else can you find such discussions? I arrange these interviews to show you the concepts I talk about are not the unproven theories of a lone thinker, but shared by many oft-unheard fellow experts in the sales training field.

Five Key Sales Expert Interviews at SalesTactics.org

Here are the five sales expert interviews completed over the past two months:

Richard Ruff on How the Fortune 1000 Train Their Sales Teams

Monika D'Agostino on Commitment in Sales Training

Eddy Ricci, Jr., on Training Gen Y Salespeople

Claude Whitacre on Local Online Marketing

David Brock on Change in Selling Organizations

and as a bonus from earlier this year,
Dave Kurlan on Effective Phone Selling.

It's said that if you read three (just three!) books on a subject, you will know more about it than 95% of the population. Consider how much farther ahead you will be about selling if you absorb these interviews.

Sales Expert Interviews with Jason Kanigan

I have also been fortunate enough to have been interviewed several times recently. Rather than "just" cold calling or typical sales ideas, I've been able to discuss the mindset of a successful salesperson. This is one of my most valuable interviews to date.

Business Unleashed did a written Q&A with me on getting started

Inner Success Radio had me delve into the mindset of a successful salesperson

Nicholas Loise, president of Glazer Kennedy Inner Circle, interviews me on high ticket selling (episode 24).

This is a virtual library of sales training methodology you could pay a considerable amount of money for. Think about it: what do you think the billable hourly rate of each of these experts is? And totaled together? At a bare minimum we have a $1000 program on this page. And it's provided here for free.

>> Jason Kanigan is a sales force developer. If you know someone who will benefit from seeing this information, please Share it. Also, you can Like our Facebook page to be advised of new content like this. And if you have a question about any of these interviews or another topic in sales, please comment below to let us know! We want to hear from you. And if you'd like to get better customers, better projects and make more money, get The Small Business Sales Effectiveness Report available FREE at the top of this page! <<

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Commitment In Sales Training: Monika DAgostino Interview

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Jason Kanigan

Monika DAgostino Interview On Commitment In Selling

Consultative sales trainer Monika D'Agostino spoke with me about her experience and trends she's seen in sales training. As the principle of the Consultative Sales Academy, Monika offers certifications through an eight month program.

That might sound lengthy, but with a concentration on one vital selling skillset every month it's obvious Monika is out to make her clients develop effective new habits. And that does take time--every personal development expert will tell you it takes 30 days to create a new habit.

It's not surprising, when you learn a little about her background in the Monika DAgostino interview, why she stresses practicing and technique. I'll leave that for the interview. But as she said, "I didn't learn how to skate in a day," so why would you expect to learn how to sell in a one-day seminar?

Key Takeaway from the Monika DAgostino Interview

Turns out that Monika is on a similar mission to my own: to elevate the profession of selling. And it's a tough mission, because sales is so vilified in popular media and by the public; everyone really wants to think of salespeople as rip-off artists.

You wouldn't expect to become a world class chef overnight. So expecting to develop the skills to be an effective salesperson in a similar timeframe is silly, isn't it. As we hear in the Monika DAgostino interview, companies and individuals must show commitment to learning and applying these skills or they simply will never get them.

That's also a great qualifier for companies who may want to work with Monika. Those expecting an instant transformation are fantasy seekers who need not apply.

And we discuss a whole lot more about selling.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Monika DAgostino

One of the most interesting things Monika reported was a client saying the skills her training provided were not unique. They could be taught by other trainers. However, what did stand out to the client was her stance on commitment and how the delivery of the training--over the eight month certification program--is done. That is what makes the difference. A weekend seminar will just slide right off you. Working day in and day out on these skills is what makes them stick.

>> Jason Kanigan is a sales force developer. What was the most surprising thing for you from the Monika DAgostino interview (note that the apostrophe in D'Agostino disappears in urls and for SEO, before you send me punctuation mail)? Let me know by Commenting below! Also, please Like or Share if this interview helped you. After that, if you haven't yet read The Small Business Sales Effectiveness Report, go get it FREE! <<

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Don’t Have Time for Sales Training?

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Jason Kanigan

Do you find yourself saying things like, "We don't have time for sales training"? "We're too busy"? A writer recently recognized just that.

Lest you begin to believe the field of sales is dominated entirely by men, Monika D'Agostino is indeed a woman. She does point out the "male-dominated hierarchy" of the Austrian insurance industry, which she spent 17 years climbing to the top of before moving to the US, however.

Saying you don't have time for sales training is as easy as saying "We're too busy" for anything else. I receive a good dozen emails a day in the midst of the usual blizzard that promise quality content I would like to review--but I just don't have the time. Even when I buy a product, it can take weeks before I'm able to force myself to carve out a spot in my calendar to look at it. And that leads us to D'Agostino's conclusion: Priorities.

What You're REALLY Saying When You "Don't Have Time for Sales Training"

Here's what you're saying when you announce, "We don't have time for sales training":

Business Development is not a priority for you.

The status quo is just fine. Ensuring your results don't decline is not a priority for you.

Being a top performing company is not a priority for you.

Are those the things you want to be known for?

A Quick Story About Performance Improvement Projects

I think it's also worth sharing some stats Monika provides about her sales certification program. The duration is typically 6-8 months. Sales is not something you're going to pick up in a one-day seminar. And the average growth of revenue is 30%. Now these are salespeople who likely were already performing well.

A little story to explain what I mean: when I was factory manager at a company that made backpacks and Gore-Tex jackets, I ran a sewing performance improvement program. When you make these things you do a lot of sewing. We had over 120 people in multiple departments, just sewing. Some lousy sewing staff were picked to be part of the program, and some competent ones. I had trainers work with both groups. And you know what? The lousy ones never got any better. I mean, they were dismal to begin with. No talent for sewing at all. They had no aptitude for the work, and never would...and had gotten their jobs because they knew someone already working at the company. I had to let these people go. The costs of their slow productivity, screw-ups and rework was too high.

The sewing staff who were already decent at the job before the training? That's who we got the best improvement out of. Big takeaway: you probably aren't going to get that wished-for 2000% performance improvement from your poorest performers. The truth is they shouldn't have been in the role in the first place. What's far more likely is that your high performers will see a good and realistic improvement. And that's where your sights should be.

A 30% improvement on a million bucks in annual revenue is a darn good bump from my point of view; and well worth the investment.

You know you lose an average of 10% of customers every year thanks to normal attrition. What are you doing to ensure you replace and increase upon those losses? Still think you don't have time for sales training?

>> Was this article helpful to you? We share this info for Free. So please please please with a sewing machine on top Like, Share or Comment! << P.S. The sewing machine pictured is called a Serger. It uses multiple threads for an extremely strong stitch, and makes a high-pitched but not unpleasant whizzing sound when operating. There, you learned something! (I also know a lot about glue thanks to that job...a good reminder that there's ALWAYS more going on than you think.)