Are You Agile or Fragile?

Agility is the ability to move quickly and easily. We can’t think of a better word to describe a sales trait that is required in today’s ever-changing world. Those who are agile anticipate, adapt, understand and find new ways of responding to new customer expectations. Those who are not agile become fragile and in danger of losing business or worse, their careers.

In a recent blog by the Brooks Group, they share the results of a partnership with Tom O’Shea of Agility Consulting and Training. O’Shea shares the 10 attributes needed for sales agility. We’ll share five here, you can click on the links for the full article:

1. Rampant communications: Reach out to buyers early and often.

2. Virtual sales training: Find customizable, flexible training that reflects the new world.

3. Frequent strategy review sessions: Make sure your sales skills are still effective and your value proposition still resonates.

4. Embrace Change – future focus: Look out in front of the bus and not the rear-view mirror as the pace of innovation is coming quickly and resides in the road not yet traveled.

5. Read everything you can to help: Be a voracious consumer of news and information about your marketplace, industry trends and competition.

If you’ve participated in any RAB training, you can understand why those are the five attributes we felt might resonate most. The common theme is staying on top of current and future trends, and being in regular and consistent communication with your clients.

In your next sales meeting, you might consider a discussion evaluating your team on those five attributes of agility to see where adjustments may be needed so you can continue to be agile, instead of fragile.

Jeff Schmidt is SVP-Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can reach Jeff at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. or follow him on social media: Twitter and LinkedIn.