Over the course of the semester I have become very familiar with a dashboard and customer relationship management system. The system that DI uses is called Salesforce. Salesforce is a program used to build more meaningful and lasting relationships and connect with your customers across sales, customer service, marketing, communities, apps, analytics, and more. With this I have helped to keep the company updated on the many projects that DI is working on. The achievement that I have made is logging a change order for the work we are doing at Temple University. The project involves rebranding and designing the athletic administration building on campus. This is just one of many updates/CO’s that I have done for the company this semester. The ability to navigate and use a CRM dashboard like this is incredible valuable and something that I have not been exposed to in my course at KU. For my future development, this familiarity with Salesforce will be extremely useful as I pursue a career in Sales. Many, if not all, sales companies will use a program like this to log phone calls, stay up to date with revenue streams, and use analytics for a more efficient and effective salesforce. This is something I will be sure to mention in many of the interviews I have planned before graduation. (Due to the nature of the contents in Salesforce I am unable to show the change order but have included some of the design work we did for the project).
Demonstrated Achievement #2
Dimensional Innovations is currently undergoing some brand identity and brand positioning changes. DI has positioned itself in the industry as a “Design + Tech + Build” firm. The reason for some of the positioning changes is because the market has actually changed in DI’s favor. Rather than traditionally going to a marketing agency or architecture firms, clients are actually shifting to desire a whole in-house product. The skills that I have gained through observing this process are intangible. However, as a marketing major, it has been very interesting and valuable to see that what I have learned in my marketing courses at KU can be applied to a real business situation. The observation of a repositioning will help me further my skill set as a marketer. This will be valuable to developing my career in a sales and marketing position. From this experience, I can take the things DI has done right, the things they have done wrong, and apply this knowledge to my career in the future when conversations of brand identity come up.
Demonstrated Achievement #3
Last week the sales team brought in a consultant for improving their selling approach as well as selling efficiency. The training program that the consultant teaches is known as the Sandler Selling System. This training was developed by David Sandler and is used to train salespeople at small, medium, and Fortune-sized businesses. For the majority of the meeting the consultant went around to each sales person individually. First, the salesperson would share their personal goals and metrics. If they were under performing the consultant would discuss ways to improve. When the employee was exceeding their goals, the consultant would discuss ways to be more efficient or maybe set higher goals. The main takeaway that I had from this meeting is that in sales (and in life) you should always strive to better yourself. To always be cognitive of the things that you do well and the areas where you can improve. Moving forward, I plan to start researching more in-depth the Sandler Selling Style. This will help me in my job search and I will have a leg up on my peers when I have my first sales job.
demonstrated achievement #4
Throughout this internship I have become a much better communicator. At Dimensional Innovations there are a lot of opportunities to hear how salesman and women communicate with clients. From the countless meetings that I have attended I have taken notes on not only what is being talked about but also, how it is conveyed. To be more specific, I feel that I have improved and adapted my written communication and over the phone communication. I have improved my written communication through being attached on email threads with clients as well as sending a couple of my own. There is also communication internally at DI where the same business writing rules apply. My over-the-phone communication has begun to improve. However, I have not been able to test some of the techniques I have picked up on. These skills will help me for the rest of my life. But the reason I am excited about this improvement is because these communication skills have already helped me find a job! My internship has expedited the process, but I will continue to improve and develop this skill set.
Demonstrated Achievement #5
At Dimensional Innovations they have a code or maybe a creed for the sales team. They call this, "TheDISeventy-Five" and in this mantra it outlines seventy-five different rules for success in sales. These have been explained to me many times and have been used as a teaching tool for me throughout the semester. Over the course of this internship I have carried around a notebook with all seventy-five rules on the cover and back. Some examples of these rules are,
"Empower, trust, then get out of the way. But always verify."
"Return all calls or e-mails within 24 hours (even if to say you need more time)."
"CLIENTS not projects"
"Find opportunities to expand your capabilities and incubate them."
"Make money or it's just a hobby."
These are just a few of my favorites from the list. At first, I didn't really even notice what the writing on the notebook said. At first glance you wouldn't. However, I noticed it two weeks ago and have begun memorizing and internalizing it. The overarching theme is that a salesperson must be dependable, available, driven, and always evolving/improving. These rules are something that all salespeople must learn at DI. Some of these rules are very self explanatory. However, unless you consciously take note of them it is easy to slip back into complacency and comfort. I have fully internalized them and will implement these rules into my sales process at my first job, a sales recruiter at Insight Global.