What's the story behind Aureko, and how did you turn everything you'd learnt in the field into a practical system?
Aureko started from a simple observation. Finance trains a lot of experts, but not many good salespeople. In the field, what makes the difference is not talent, it's structure. So we spent time observing what the best were doing, breaking down what worked and what didn't, and testing. Little by little, a framework took shape, and a central question emerged. Why do some conversations move forward and others stop? But even with a clear framework, something kept getting in the way. Interested prospects weren't going through with the decision.
So we added another dimension, that of psychology and coaching. This helped us to see what was really blocking us, on both sides. The biases, the unseen resistance, the blind spots, on both the customer and the sales person.
When you observe EAMs in the field, what strikes you most about their approach to sales?
The gap between their investment expertise, which is often very solid, and their sales approach, which remains unstructured. Many of them think that sales are based above all on the relationship or the quality of the product. They pitch, explain and argue, but they rarely take the time to understand what is really bothering the person they are talking to. A pitch is useless if the attention isn't there. And even a really good product is useless if the prospect can't see how it solves their current problem.
The classic mistake is to think that you know what they need better than they do. Until the need has been formulated, validated and shared, no sale is possible. Finally, in a world as rational as finance, we tend to forget the emotional side of things, even though this is often where decisions are made.
Between lead generation, pipeline management and closing, where is the most frequent problem?
The question assumes that we can isolate a problem. We don't see it that way. Sales works like a system. When one element isn't working, it's felt everywhere. Leads, pipeline and closing are not independent stages, they are linked. A third-party manager may think he's good at generating leads and not so good at closing, but getting an appointment is already a form of closing. He has succeeded in selling interest.
So we always look at the sales package as a whole before focusing on a specific point. There are three things that count. The sales process, the objectives, the person's constraints and their psychology. For example, a third-party manager who only performs when he's motivated is a problem.
If performance depends on the mood of the day, it's no longer sales, it's chance. Conversely, someone who is structured, committed and at ease in the relationship, but who blocks at the first objection, will fail to convert.
A framework is necessary, but not sufficient. You have to build your own system and identify where things are going wrong in practice.
What can a participant do differently the morning after the workshop you are organising?
There's no magic formula. Results come from consistency and attitude. The very next day, participants leave with a training programme, a different way of looking at sales and, we hope, the idea that they can make real progress.
We insist on two things. Regular training with concrete tools, and work on the mindset, blockages and objectives. What makes the difference between someone making progress and someone stagnating is regular practice and feedback. Criticism, whether it comes from yourself or others, helps you to progress, but it requires you to look at yourself clearly and accept that you are not yet up to scratch. In finance, this is particularly difficult. You're in an environment where you're expected to know, to be clear, to be sure of yourself. It's by letting go of this idea that you have to master everything that you really start to progress.
Sales is not really a question of talent or motivation. It's mainly a question of system and training.