Jaquennette Harris

When faced with a difficult boss-employee relationship, it is best to manage the expectations of the pairing. Many times the gap between expectation and reality can cause disappointment. Managing this gap is the best way to have a pleasant relationship. The only way to manage the gap is to communicate the expectations and connect on ways to achieve the desired goals.

My favorite thing about improv is that your mind is stretched to find unique solutions to common problems. I enjoy the quick-witted nature of the responses during improv. It translates to building business, making connections, and moving outside of the traditional "lines," of business.

As a sales professional, there are many factors that affect your confidence. The top three ways to maintain confidence are know the product, learn the prospect, and practice your sales process consistently. Product knowledge builds confidence with the belief that you understand what you sell. Listen with intent and ask uncovering questions to learn the prospect. Lastly, practice the sales process to maintain confidence as a sales professional and overcome challenges. By focusing on these three key areas—product knowledge, prospect understanding, and consistent practice—you can significantly enhance your confidence as a sales professional. This, in turn, will help you overcome challenges and achieve greater success in your sales endeavors.

From my experience a lost sale can come from several different causes. Many times the reasons are known and easy to pinpoint-sometimes the reason for loss are not as straight forward. In the event of a lost sale, it is important to seek the feedback and scope of the client's needs. To foster stronger client relationships, it is essential to seek honest feedback and accept it without taking the loss personal. From there, I have worked to set future business opportunities and worked towards mutually beneficial solutions.

As a self-employed professional, I leverage technology to help with retention. My CRM(Customer Relationship Management)software allows birthdays, anniversaries, and special notes to be recognized with each client contact. This level of personalization increases connection and also builds retention.

Sales failure can take on many forms. It can look like missing your sales target or it can look like spending too much time finding the stakeholders and not pursuing proposals and solutions to buyers. When faced with failure the first thing to remember is that a no is not personal and you can pout for 3 minutes, and then reset. The other way to get to the stakeholders and find the clients-always chase the 'no.' Many times if you are looking for the yes, you are full of anxiety and dread. Chase the 'no' with high volume and change the outcome of your sales activities.