Category Archives: Sales Teams
The Five Star 5 – “Dinner? Not Again!”
How do you spell sales team dinner? “B.O.R.I.N.G.”
Ok, it is not always boring, but over my career the team dinner concept has been uneventful most of the time. Why not mix it up and plan an event that will be memorable to the team in the future?
If you are having trouble deciding what to do, ask them! Reward the winning creative idea with a gift card.
I can honestly tell you that I barely remember anything that happened at team dinners over the years. But from my list below, I have vivid memories of laughter and fun that will last a life time. You don’t have to make a big splash with an expensive outing for this to be effective. Just try something new to show the team that you are thinking outside the box.
I could blog for a couple of weeks straight sharing stories from participating in these events:
- Weekend retreat at a Sales Manager’s cabin
- Go Cart Racing with the sales team
- Movie Night with the sales team
- Golf outings (many gatherings were at dream locations in the picturesque Rocky Mountains)
- Professional sporting events
Great Sales Team – Yep They Still Exist!
Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is success – Henry Ford
As I reflect back on my sales career with 13+ years behind me now, so many people have played an integral part in getting me to where I am today. Without their leadership, mentorship, and most importantly friendship, I have no idea what would have become of me. I had the good fortune to work with a team for many years which was as close to perfect as I could have ever imagined.
The team members:
- Celebrated each other’s wins without jealousy. They were also sympathetic to their associates losses or challenges
- Helped each other as required, without hesitation
- Were not afraid to share selling success stories, or how they overcame challenges and defeats. It was not uncommon to share presentations that were successful, or bulletins for promotions.
- Identified the “it is all about me” behaviour within the group (on the rare occasion), and assisted in addressing it with management as soon as possible. This reduced negativity and problems within the team
- Valued time away together as a team to bond, to get to know each other better, and just have fun
- Had a great leader who motivated, inspired, coached and mentored everyone
- WE HAD FUN TOGETHER! (I may do a post some day about all the great stories that came from working with this group!)
The one point that I really have to stress about the people on this team is:
If any of the team members called me today asking for help, no matter where in the country they were living at the time, my response would be,
“What do you need, and do you need me to come to where you are?”
I think I would get the same response from them if I asked for help. We were not only colleagues, but also friends. We battled at work every day to be the best that we could be, and had a lot of fun along the way too.
It has been close to five years since I left that organization, and am I lucky to be as good friends with many of them today, as the day I left in 2007!
- What great teams have you been fortunate enough to be a part of?
- What was it about those teams that made them “a cut above the rest”?
Have A Laugh Fridays – Sales Are Up?
Great sales results are always a reason to celebrate! See why this party should not be happening! Check out this quick 30 commercial in my latest edition of “Have A Laugh Fridays”
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 