The Allegories Blog

In a previous post we took a closer look at thinking holistically about employee development and embracing the informal learning activities people not only prefer but seek out on their own. Any strategy that ignores this 90% of professional learning already taking place outside the confines of structured learning programs is missing a tremendous opportunity to elevate sales rep performance across the most critical metrics. But change is still often scary, even when accepted as the right path forward.  So, let’s take a stab at alleviating the two most common fears. #1... Continue Reading

If the entirety of the learning which training organizations support is an iceberg drifting in the ocean, the tip of that iceberg (10%) consists of formal learning: classroom trainings, in-person sales meetings, and instructional online videos and quizzes. This is where reps spend the least amount of time learning. Instead, they spend the majority of their learning time (90%) swimming the depths on their own seeking informal learning from peers, their managers, subject matter experts, and even external information sources. This modality of learning goes mostly unseen and unsupported, despite the fact... Continue Reading

In January 2018, the Retirement Division of Ash Brokerage was facing a number of challenges. Among other things, the fast-growing division needed to develop a more consistent onboarding experience for new hires. As an insurance brokerage general agency (BGA) representing the products of 80-plus carriers, it also needed its reps to deliver more effective and consistent messaging—to be razor sharp when discussing the benefits and features of all those financial products. For Executive Vice President of Retirement Mike McGlothlin, the ultimate goal was to create a championship-level wholesaling firm to serve its... Continue Reading

This article originally appeared on hbr.org. Authors: Frank V. Cespedes and Christopher Wallace Frank V. Cespedes is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of “Aligning Strategy and Sales.” Christopher Wallace is the founder of Incite Sales and a managing director for GrowthPlay, a sales effectiveness firm. U.S. companies spend over $900 billion on their sales forces. It is, by far, the most expensive part of strategy execution for most firms. Yet, on average, companies deliver only 50% to 60% of the financial performance that their strategies and sales forecasts... Continue Reading