The Sales Archaeologist

Up to about the year 350BC the Greek Peninsula was governed by numerous "city states" and these independent communities were all very distinct. They would unite only on rare occasions when their mutual survival depended on it. They all had different personalities and skills, goals and ambitions and ways of getting things done - they were advanced and civilized in many ways but unfortunately while Egypt and Persia were ruling the world with a national government Greece lagged behind.

Does that sound like your sales team? Some bright spots, some talent, some skills but hindered by the lack of a unified system? Not working together as well as they could? Lagging behind the huge competitor with their highly trained and better compensated sales people?

Philip and Alexander of Macedon united the Greek states and maximized their strengths and went on to conquer the world and influence civilization for centuries. What did they do?

• Took what was good and refined and duplicated it (like the Phalanx)
• Got rid of top performers that didn't want to work within the system (like Sparta)
• Established a clear Goal (beat the Persians)
• Tied that Goal into a common national pride (we are all Greeks now)
• Trained his people and followed through with committed execution.

Sounds easy enough right? But it wasn't easy and turning a sales team around isn't easy either. We help companies do that and have done it countless times and even though we are experts at it we still encounter resistance and problems from time to time. If you are trying to bring a sales team together and make something extraordinary happen then don't be afraid to ask for help.