From Zorro to Columbus - Becoming Sales Heroes - Esselte sales Conference

( Outside shot of the Cathedral at Seville. Just 15 mins walk from the conference centre where Esselte's sales Conference is taking place)

Nigel Gunn, Senior Vice president - Sales Group of Esselte used the heroic character of Zorro as a metaphor for his conference address. He used use Zorro to illustrate the aspects and attributes of a sales hero.

Fitness – mental and physical
Well trained – knowledgeable and skilled both technically and commercially ( the sales equivalent of skilled swordsmanship)
Passionate
Agile and Nimble – this meant applying the company’s ‘lean’ philosophy into the sales arena not just the province of the Esselte’s manufacturing and operations.
Developing to be a master tactician- beating the competition by being SMART.
Growth being the main thrust of this year’s conference Nigel stressed that such growth had to be

“...both significant and quality growth but above all profitable growth.”

He laid down the gauntlet as a challenge to the Esselte team – All the Esselte team “ Everyone is a salesperson”

Were they armed and ready?

They have the products, the campaigns, the team plus the strategy and tactics.
The success of Esselte had a key. That key is those in the room- the people.

The conference was shown many new products and other innovations set to excite the market over the coming year.





And so to the afternoon’s work with TACK. The conference was split up into groups with assigned TACK trainers.
The team took on a Spanish flavour such as The Flamenco, The Rioja, The Conquistadors, the Bulls and the Matadors.

The team worked on their Preparation, planning and objective setting skills. They had assignments on investigative skills, handling and overcoming objections and a session on Relationship Management from a psychological and behavioural perspective.
The work finished by 6p.m. after an 8.00 a.m. start.

Despite a long day Esselte delegates were still full of energy ready to go out on the town.

Accompanied by special guides they were taken around the magnificent cathedral of Seville. We saw many treasures and the tomb of a real hero -The great explorer Christopher Columbus.

Our visit was rounded off with a short recital on the amazing Church Organ of the cathedral especially for Esselte. We sat in the beautiful Choir Stalls and marvelled at the skilled playing, the variety of sounds from the pipes of the Cathedral organ played by a maestro of the instrument Fr. Jose Enrique Ayarra and bathe in the wonders of the building and its rich art.

It was amazing to view the cathedral - a cultural gem- at this exclusive event.

Now it was time for a beer and hit the Tapas bars.

( Below are some of the great flipcharts that Simon Broom ( TACK's own Pablo Picasso!) produced to welcome delegates to their team rooms.
























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