Apricot Advancement

Summary

The script discusses the advancement process in a company that focuses on a structured training program for sales representatives. It involves individual online training, one-on-one sessions with a leader, and ongoing support. Representatives are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and are held accountable through daily tracking of activities. The APR Academy offers a four-week training program post-first sale, focusing on pitch development and script perfection. The company operates on a meritocracy, where higher sales lead to more learning opportunities and access to leads. There are tangible goals like becoming a Rockstar or Allstar based on sales achievements, and a transparent ranking system for both sales and leadership roles.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The company emphasizes advancement through leveraging appointments, leadership, and training.
• 📚 Training is divided into three components: individual, online, and ongoing, supporting independent learning and growth.
• 🤝 New hires are assigned a leader for one-on-one guidance, ensuring they are not alone in their learning process.
• 📈 The focus is on achieving the first sale and setting up the first account with the help of a leader.
• 📝 Daily communication with a leader is encouraged through texts or calls for support and updates.
• 📊 Sales reps are responsible for daily tracking of their performance metrics, including calls made, appointments set, and appointments kept.
• 🎓 APR Academy is a four-week training program for new sales reps after their first sale, focusing on developing a pitch and advanced training topics.
• 🏆 Rockstar and Allstar are sales rankings within the company, achieved by meeting specific sales targets within a set timeframe.
• 📊 There are monthly sales rankings for reps (Adviser, Pro, M2B) based on the number of sales, influencing access to learning and development opportunities.
• 🌟 The company operates as a meritocracy, where higher sales lead to more access to learning opportunities and company-generated leads.
• 👥 Leadership and managerial rankings are based on capability and desirability, not seniority, with systems in place for training and leading others.

Q & A

What are the three components of training mentioned in the script?

The three components of training mentioned are individual, online, and ongoing training.

Is the position described in the script an independent one?

Yes, the position is described as an independent one where the individual is responsible for learning and asking questions to bring themselves up to speed.

What does the sales representative do after making their first sale?

After making their first sale, the sales representative gets an invite to APR Academy for further training and development.

What is the purpose of the one-on-one conversation with a leader?

The purpose of the one-on-one conversation is to gauge the readiness of the sales representative and to help them move forward in creating their first account.

How often does the sales representative communicate with their leader?

The sales representative has daily communication with their leader through text or phone calls.

What is the significance of the daily tracking spreadsheet?

The daily tracking spreadsheet is used to record the number of phone calls made, appointments set, and appointments kept. It shows the sales representative's responsibility and coachability.

What are the benefits of being an Allstar in the company?

Being an Allstar, achieved by making six sales in the first month, provides special perks that cannot be taken away within the apricot system.

How does the company rank sales representatives monthly?

The company ranks sales representatives monthly based on their sales performance into categories such as Solar Advisor, Apricot Pro, and M2B.

What is the APR Academy and what does it offer?

The APR Academy is a four-week training program for sales representatives who have made their first sale. It includes developing a pitch, script development, and advanced training topics.

How does the company handle company-generated leads?

The company provides company-generated leads as part of a meritocracy, favoring those who sell more. However, top sales reps often prefer to control the process themselves rather than using these leads.

What is the significance of the Rockstar and Allstar titles within the company?

The Rockstar title is achieved by making two sales in the first 10 days, and the Allstar title by making six sales in the first month. These titles come with special perks and recognition within the company.

Outlines

00:00

📈 Advancement and Training in Sales

The speaker discusses the process of advancement within a company, emphasizing the importance of leveraging appointments, leadership, and training. Training is divided into three components: individual, online, and ongoing, with the speaker taking responsibility for their learning and progress. A one-on-one conversation with a leader is highlighted as a starting point, followed by the leader's guidance in creating the first account. The speaker also mentions the 'earn while you learn' program, daily communication with a leader, and the importance of daily tracking of activities such as phone calls, appointments set, and appointments made. The APR Academy is introduced as a platform for learning cold market selling, with ongoing training sessions and a focus on continuous development. The speaker also talks about sales rankings and the tangible goals of becoming a Rockstar or Allstar within the company, based on the number of sales made within a specific timeframe.

05:03

🏆 Meritocracy and Sales Performance

This paragraph delves into the meritocratic nature of the company, where sales performance directly impacts access to learning opportunities, development opportunities, and company-generated leads. The speaker notes that top sales reps often prefer to control their own sales process rather than relying on company leads. A prerequisite of having made five sales oneself is mentioned to access the company lead program. The paragraph also touches on partner rankings, emphasizing that these are based on capability and desirability rather than seniority. The company's transparency regarding these rankings is highlighted. Additionally, the speaker mentions that sales reps can earn overrides and increase their commission by training and leading others, reinforcing the idea that the company rewards performance and leadership.

Keywords

💡Advancing in the company

This concept refers to the process of moving forward or progressing within the company. It is tied to the theme of professional development and is exemplified in the script by leveraging appointments, leadership, and training to advance. The speaker mentions that to move forward, one must engage in individual online and ongoing training, as well as work with a leader to create their first account, which is a clear indicator of advancement within the company.

💡Independent position

An independent position is one where the individual is responsible for their own learning and progress. In the context of the video, the speaker acknowledges that they are in an independent position, which means they are accountable for learning, asking questions, and bringing themselves up to speed without constant supervision. This concept is crucial as it highlights the self-driven nature of the role.

💡One-on-one conversation

A one-on-one conversation is a private discussion between two individuals. In the script, the speaker mentions having a one-on-one conversation as a starting point once they are ready to start selling. This is an essential part of the training process, allowing the leader to gauge the readiness of the sales rep and provide personalized guidance to help them move forward.

💡First account

The first account refers to the initial client or business relationship that a sales representative establishes. The script emphasizes the importance of the leader's role in helping the sales rep create their first account, which is a significant milestone in their career progression within the company. It signifies the beginning of their sales journey and is a key performance indicator.

💡Success metrics

Success metrics are the quantifiable measures used to track performance and progress towards goals. In the video, the speaker discusses daily tracking of phone calls, appointments set, and appointments kept, which are all success metrics used to evaluate their performance as a sales representative. These metrics are crucial for accountability and continuous improvement.

💡Coachable

Being coachable means being open to guidance and willing to learn from others. The script mentions that the leader wants to see someone who is responsible and coachable, indicating that these traits are valued for personal and professional growth within the company. Coachability is exemplified by not missing any data points and being open to feedback and development.

💡APR Academy

APR Academy is a training program mentioned in the script that focuses on developing sales skills. After making their first sale, a sales rep is invited to participate in this four-week training, which includes developing a pitch, script development, and advanced training topics. The APR Academy is a key component of the company's progressive nature and commitment to ongoing learning and development.

💡Sales rankings

Sales rankings are the hierarchical levels within the company based on sales performance. The script outlines different rankings such as Solar Advisor, Apricot Pro, and M2B, which are determined by the number of sales made per month. These rankings are part of the company's meritocracy and provide a clear path for advancement based on performance.

💡Meritocracy

A meritocracy is a system where individuals are rewarded based on their abilities and achievements rather than factors such as seniority. The script describes the company as a meritocracy, meaning that sales reps with better performance have more access to learning opportunities, development opportunities, and company-generated leads. This system encourages high performance and rewards excellence.

💡Company-generated leads

Company-generated leads refer to potential customers or sales opportunities provided by the company. In the script, it is mentioned that sales reps with higher sales performance have more access to these leads. However, top sales reps often prefer to generate their own leads, indicating a preference for autonomy and control over the sales process.

💡Partner rankings

Partner rankings are another form of hierarchical levels within the company, but these are based on the ability to train and lead others. The script briefly mentions partner rankings, emphasizing that they are not based on seniority but on capability and desirability. Sales reps can earn overrides and increase their commission by leading and training others within the company.

Highlights

The company emphasizes leveraging appointments, leadership, and training for advancement.

Training is divided into three components: individual, online, and ongoing.

Individual responsibility is key, with a focus on self-learning and asking questions.

New hires are paired with an individual for one-on-one conversations to start selling.

Leaders help new hires gauge readiness and create their first account.

The leader-rep relationship is paced to ensure mutual growth.

The 'Earn While You Learn' program offers daily communication with a leader.

Sales reps are responsible for daily tracking of their performance statistics.

A spreadsheet is used for daily tracking, with no tolerance for missing data.

APR Academy is introduced for training on cold market selling after the first sale.

Ongoing training includes weekly top 1% calls and team-specific development strategies.

Product training is continuous to keep up with the company's progressive nature.

Sales reps are ranked monthly based on their sales performance.

Higher sales performance correlates with more learning and development opportunities.

The company operates as a meritocracy, favoring high performers with more access to leads.

Top sales reps often prefer controlling their own lead generation process.

Sales reps need to make five sales to access the company-generated leads program.

Partner rankings are transparent and based on capability and desirability, not seniority.

Sales reps can earn overrides and increase commission by training and leading others.

Transcripts

okay let's now talk about

advancement so to move forward in this

company it starts with leveraging the

appointments and the leader and the

training so there are three components

of training individual online and

ongoing yes this is an independent

position yes I'm responsible for

learning asking questions and bringing

myself up to speed but I'm not alone I

do have an individual that I that I do

get to work with and I'll have a

one-on-one

conversation as a starting point once

I'm ready to start selling I will

connect be able to connect with a leader

I'll sit down 30 minutes to an hour and

that leader will see where I'm at gauge

how ready I am and then help me move

forward creating my first account the

leader will not run faster than me but I

cannot outrun my leader and from there

the success will will be focused on

getting to that first aprea that first

event so there's a lot of things that

take place but the the leader is focused

on that first call get that first

account let me help this sales rep get

to their first a April con underneath

that I have uh the earn while you learn

program I have daily communication with

my leader which means that I can text or

phone call my leader with any questions

any updates that that are going on and

have that partner in crime that uh big

brother or big sister if you will and

then I'm also responsible for daily

tracking so at the end of each day I

have a spread sheeet that I'm

responsible for filling out that shows

how many phone calls I

made um how many appointments I

set and how many appointments I actually

did so I track these three stats every

day and I I have no blanks it's okay to

put a zero right when I'm brand new I

may not have appointments my first

couple of days that's fine put zeros in

there but the leader doesn't want to see

any blanks they want to see someone that

has responsibility and is coachable and

someone that's coachable responsible is

not missing any data

points I touched on APR Academy so once

I make my first sale and I get an invite

from my leader I can learn the C cold

Market selling through the APR Academy

Channel and then there's ongoing

training which I touched on as well so

um Thursdays from 8:30 to 9:45 top 1%

call there's a WhatsApp

Channel there each team has its own

strategy of

development and then of course product

training there's a lot of stuff that

happens within this company because this

company is Progressive so people need to

stay in tune it's it's the sales rep's

job I touched on APR Academy a little

bit but let's jump into it a little bit

more once a sales rep gets their first

sale and a manager invite they can get

invited to April Academy it's a

four-week training the first two weeks

is how to develop a pitch two hours a

day there's videos and then there's a

leader that does an overview at the

end um week

three I develop my script and I have to

kind of like get signed off so I have to

have like a a Pitch Perfection and if

it's not good enough they will not sign

off on it and then week four is Advanced

Training topics so um I'm able to

compete with others that are in APR

Academy and I'm able to come out of this

and be very confident I can onboard A A

customer from a cold approach into an

account

created Rockstar and Allstar is the

first tangible goal that a sales rep can

go for within apricot so if I go go out

in my first 10 days and I create two

sales I am going to be a rockar forever

I get special perks if I get six sales

in my first month I'm considered an

Allstar and that's something that cannot

be taken away from and within the

apricot system there are uh different

rankings sales rankings as well as

leader rankings or managerial

rankings so every single

month I am ranked as a sales rep either

an adviser a pro or

m2b and the the levels below have to do

with leading others building a team and

so uh if I'm one to two sales a month

solar advisor three to sales three to

six sales I'm apricot Pro and over eight

sales per month is m2b I would be lying

if I told you that the company doesn't

play favorites so people that sell more

have more access to learning

opportunities and development

opportunities very natural so also

people that sell more have more access

to the company generated leads it's a

meritocracy what I found though is is

the top sales reps really don't go after

many of the company generated leads

because they would rather be in control

of that whole process themselves but it

is there for sales

reps on The company generated leads I

need to have five sales myself before I

can get into that

program anybody that's wearing the black

swag we know they've created eight sales

in a month here are the partner rankings

I'm not going to spend much time on this

but I do want everybody to understand

the company is transparent about this

this is not based on seniority it's

based on capability and desirability

if I have the capability of training

others and leading others and I like to

do that and I'm good at it we have

programs and systems for that and sales

reps can get overrides on their teams

and increase their commission um as

well