The Shift Control Sales Podcast

A different episode to the usual - about going to a fundraiser for Palestine at the Dockers Club in Belfast, music supplied by Irish DJ, David Holmes, Roisin El Sherif and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey. At the age of 78, Bernadette can hold court now just as well as she did in 1969, on her maiden speech in Westminster. She read out some poetry on the evening from an Irish Poet, Dorothy Cullen from her book of poems "300 days and counting" - available on Amazon. I have posted a copy of her maiden HOC speech on my website here: https://www.shift-control.co.uk/words-maiden-speech-bernadette-devlin/

I found myself a little hypocritical in the previous episode - trying to maybe make everything sound so easy when in truth getting into good habits in any part of your life can be anything but easy. I felt it important to reframe a few things - it is a struggle for me in loads of areas and I try hard to inject some stability and form rituals where i can in order to improve myself, in the margins. Small, steady improvements might make big differences over the longer term but they 100% have greater impact over doing nothing. For me, Im cutting out media for a few days - I find watching anything about Palestine now a torture and something that Impacts my own well being. On the up side, I am happy to recommend a few apps - one is Merlin, the other Picture this - but handy for the immersion in nature experience. The other is NO THANKS - an app that tells you which companies are directly linked in supporting countries whose ethics you might find somewhat despicable.

Episode 1 of 2, were I talk about the importance of disciplined process in sales management and leadership. It's all pretty straightforward and common sense and yet many sales leaders are fixated to the outcome - the revenue target for the month, quarter or year instead of having a clearly defined sales management process that offers you every qualitative and qualitative measurement to ensure that you can respond quickly to any warning signs or potential areas of concern, in real time. It can be a tough call for business owners who have usually taken the journey of hunter, gatherer to business leader and might want everything done in the 'old way' just because it has worked in the past. Today with so much technology and software to support the sales and marketing function, the sales management role has become easier but only when built around a solid process and implemented by a highly disciplined sales, marketing and admin team. Episode 2 will focus on those processes that can help sales people navigate challenging economic times as well as the emotional highs and lows of sales.

In life, some things can be both "good" and "bad" and in the middle of the drama to get things attended to we often only see them as simply 'bad' or 'good.' It's hard to find the time to work towards a balanced opinion and so we go for the position that seems the most logical at the time and with the evidence we have. Social media and smart phones are a decent example - they can be both a curse and at the same time extremely beneficial. (Try finding a dumb alternative your smart phone and see where big tech - and clearly customers - both sit in this discussion.) A constant theme in sales teams is the failed promotion from within - the high-performing sales person, promoted to sales manager because of exceptional sales performance, only to not cut it at management level. It happens a lot. Not a great result for the new sales manager, the existing sales team and it can have a serious impact on sales performance in the short term. In sport, great footballers don't make great managers within the same season - it's just not possible and yet the burden of expectation on sales person to make that transformation quickly can kill off any ambition or possibility of success. How can this transition be made easier for everyone concerned - how can you move a mindset from 'closer' to 'coach'??

The previous episode (Nature of Man with Diarmuid Lyng) had generated more discussion and feedback than most other episodes. The feedback had been mixed in the sense that many people related to the content but as many were of the opinion that the retreat or the idea of a retreat 'wasn't for them.' The best way to continue the discussion is to literally do just that. This episode is with Michael Ryan, co-founder and facilitator of Nature of Man. A wellness and meditation expert, Michael gives his perspective on the condition of the Modern (Irish) Man and we discuss holistic benefits of the Nature of Man retreat and the value it can offer anyone and everyone. The next retreat takes place in Donegal from 6th-9th June. Details can be found at natureofman.ie We reference a number of writers / poets in this episode - David Whyte and John Moriarty. Two deadly men well able to put into words the thoughts of everyone of us (and indeed none of us)

In a number of conversations this last few weeks - on a personal and professional level - a common theme was the importance of taking time...time 'out', time to prepare, time to think and the benefits of not rushing. The control of our subconscious / unconscious in what we do and how we do things is evident but only when we stop to think. Take a breath, a moment too get some clarity and perspective. How often do you stop and think - about the unimportant stuff? about the important stuff? About the critical stuff?

The shouts from the sidelines - and the media - at Ange Postecogolou over the last few months have been pretty clear. A coach sticking to his principles, lacking as many as 8 first team players is now deemed not good enough. Unless you've played or coached at that level, then it's hard to fully appreciate what is going on. A journalist only has a perception of what is going on, not the full picture. Never the full picture - and as a result criticism can be overly harsh, directed at the wrong person, or just wide of the mark. On a personal level, I've come to learn the difference between perception and perspective and the importance of loosing the ideal that 'perception is reality'