At the beginning of the year,  I consciously removed three words from my vocabulary– sales, training, coaching.  Aside from anything “social media” these are likely the most generic, overly functional, and misused words in business today.  And, there are so many stereotypical applications for these words that it is nearly impossible to differentiate value if you include one of them in any type of business description.

I replaced those words with–growth professional or growth programs, and  employee development and education.  These words can be used to describe programs, activities, strategy, and formulation without getting caught up in the minutiae of the functionally generic or historically traditional.

What prompted this whole move was the constant chatter around increasing sales in this down economy.  And the numerous business owners recycling their salespeople through the same old training programs and routines.  Sales down? Hire a coach or send the team to sales school.  What makes anyone believe that while the economy is going through a massive metamorphosis that the same old habits, processes and programs will work.

It won’t.  It hasn’t.  It can’t.  Your market has shifted, so too should your behaviors.

You want your business to grow, recover, or get back to the revenues of the good old days?  Great!  One thing I can guarantee, is the only way it will happen is if your processes, programs, and resources catch up to the new habits and behaviors of your customers.  That information is not embedded in your traditionally, stereotypical sales coaching and training programs.

Change it up.  Try something new, different, refreshing and, most importantly, productive.  I am here to help!

Dave Cooke has recently launched his program the Sustainable Revenue Formula™ (SuRF), which provides businesses a comprehensive formula for effective and sustainable revenue growth.  To learn more and receive your complimentary copy, “SuRFing the Wave: Navigating the Rough Waters with Innovation and Growth”, please contact me: dave@salescooke.com.