Sometimes there are things in your personal and professional life that you just don’t want to talk about to family or friends.
“And you wouldn’t want to go to your boss,” adds Keith Strauss, president of Sales Concepts, a sales training and mentoring company in Westlake.
That’s why Sales Concepts, an affiliate of Sandler Training since 1987, offers MyCrosschecks, a weekly, customized one-on-one coaching service that boasts great success for its participants.
Strauss says a majority of his business is with client companies, although individuals also seek help and often sign up for other Sales Concepts coursework. The 15-minute weekly sessions via a phone call are private.
“It works really well. I never see the clients, and they don’t see me unless they come to a workshop I taught or am teaching,” says Rose Vinci, director of the MyCrosschecks program and one of Sales Concepts’ two business and life coaches. “It’s a safe place to be vulnerable and to be able to grow.”
Vinci often begins coaching new clients by showing them a triangle that represents the three equal components of the Sandler sales methodology — behavior, attitude and technique. Together, Vinci and the client talk about goal setting, accountability, self-awareness, keeping focused and overcoming fears. She encourages clients to examine the big picture, work/life balance and motivation. Strauss says the conversations can also include health and fitness, as well as mental health concerns.
“No topic is off limits — I have yet to come across one,” says Vinci. “But it does not mean we are qualified for everything. If it is something beyond what we can do, we are more than happy to connect someone with the right people.”
Most of the time, it is amazing what just 15 minutes a week can do for someone, according to Vinci. Strauss says his coaches are very good at asking questions and getting people to open up.
Topics of MyCrosschecks conversations cross all industries, says Vinci. It doesn’t matter if someone is selling cars, medical supplies, houses, insurance, cleaning materials, information or widgets. Sales professionals can share the same obstacles, from fear of speaking in public to self-doubts.
“We had a longtime client who really didn’t take on our methodology,” recalls Vinci. “He had one foot in and one foot out. It was like he only wanted to learn just enough to get by, and he didn’t know what to do with that. And then he got to a point where there was huge decline in his career, financial world and even his personal life.
“It can be tough to stand in a space with someone and watch their world fall apart. But when it did for this client, he really took to the whole methodology. He started a new career that flourished financially and had a great relationship with his children. Sometimes I think people have to get to a place where they feel cramped or pinched before they make any changes. MyCrosschecks can help with those transitions.”