By: Davies Hood, Induron President
Last week I had the opportunity to host a small group of Induron’s Sales Team at our corporate Headquarters here in Birmingham, AL. What started out as an opportunity for a couple of our sales team members to attend the Sales Bootcamp at Samford University’s Brock School of Business evolved into a two-day meeting complete with product application demonstrations, new Market Presentations (including one by a key customer!), good southern BBQ, a Sales Team Strategy meeting that included a SWOT analysis and a homemade dinner on the back porch of our EVP’s house. I considered the entire meeting a 10 out of 10 in terms of quality of time spent between sales training, hands-on product demonstration, long-term strategy and good ol’ fashioned fun (team building). I wasn’t the only one who thought the meeting was a success and time well spent. Our key customer who presented to the team even asked for some of the Saw’s BBQ Sauce to be included with his next paint shipment! See a few other comments below from some of the attendees:
Strategy
“Strategic planning can be an intimidating undertaking. As we dove into the details, it was a fantastic feeling to sit in a room with my teammates and hear great ideas flow. It’s really energizing when you understand the strength of the people and company around you.” –Andy Odorzynski (Louisville, KY)
Sales Training
“It is so important to ask questions and then LISTEN to your customer answers. Listen to what your customers are WANTING not what you’re wanting. If you ask the right questions and respond to your customers wants and needs, you can eliminate obstacles and push-back. Keep verifying your customer’s needs.” – Kent Kuehl (Omaha, NE)
Team Building
“Participating in Thursday night’s stimulating, professional and optimistic dinner conversation was truly a privilege. These people represent the very bright future of our company!” -David Hood (Birmingham, AL)
Culture
“The fact of the matter is, we’re a 70-year-old paint manufacturing company that has been through several iterations. Over my decade with the company, we’ve seen consistent and steady growth. As we embark on “leveling up” once again, it still feels like a start up with boundless opportunities. Once individuals become a part of this team, it’s amazing how quickly they assimilate and become vested in its culture and growth. Why? Because it’s how businesses of our size SHOULD be run, and like-minded people recognize it almost immediately and want to be involved in its growth.” -Ben Rowland (Jasper, AL)