“Success depends upon previous preparation and without such there is sure to be failure” Confucius
The Background
Work smart is often the mantra is highly tensed dynamic sales environments, especially in the financial industry. Often there are clients whose revenue generation potential is much bigger than all the other potential targets. My experience has made me practically realise the above. Couple of years back when I lead a sales team covering the Switzerland, the potential we could convert to tangible revenue from our largest clients had surpassed the combined revenue my team could generate from most of the small accounts combined in addition to the new business potential we could close before the year or quarter end. To add some numbers – Pictet managed around 470 bln CHF where the combined AUM of the all the rest of our existing and prospective clients was significantly lower. It was clear that to surpass our challenging targets we had to focus on that client while making sure to convert every other sales opportunity to existing revenue.
The argument
I was convinced that additional head count was perhaps not the most efficient way to deliver our target. Naturally, I looked for ways to find more appropriate solution. It was not easy as targets were demanding and time was ticking. One of my team members suggested that spending more time preparing our meetings can lead to better results. The team agreed that we should give it a try.
The method
The challenge than became finding a method that could be applicable across the board. Eventually, I was reading a book by Steve Peters, ” The Chimp Paradox”. We decided to give to work with some of the ideas he proposes and came up with a check list the team members would use prior to going to any meeting.
Take away
Eventually, the team i lead met its challenging target with ten people in the team instead of 11. It looks like the method we used helped in addition to our hard work, focus and dedication. Do you think the checklist can be helpful ?
Reference Shelf
Steve Peters ” The Chimp Paradox”
HBR – Meetings
About the author
Boris Grozev is a seasoned fintech executive. Moreover, he is an entrepreneur by heart. Boris has helped number of businesses. To clarify, he has created and implemented business development and product enhancement strategies. In addition, his advisory work in emerging and frontier markets has resulted in culture and technology change. Above all, it has fostered innovation and lead to tangible results. He also invests in variety of asset classes and shares his experiences from the journey to financial independence. Boris’ leadership abilities, ambition naturally spread to others. He is a fast learner. His stamina, attitude and passion to succeed help to achieve common goals.
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