Earlier this week, I shared some ideas and insights about ways of preparing for the upcoming big sales meeting. That blog post generated lots of interest and many questions in my inbox.

As a follow-up, and to present some additional ideas, I am pleased to share a specific application of an immersive simulation-centric meeting experience.

What is a “Walk in the Mile in the Shoes of Your Customer” Business Simulation?

Imagine for a moment you are a sales professional selling superior quality consumer products to a retail store buyer. The buyer is responsible for generating revenue, driving profit, and satisfying the needs of their consumers. They are under tremendous pressure daily to make the right choices in terms of the vendors they work with and the products they buy. One mistake could be catastrophic. By understanding the strategic and financial metrics of the customer, the sales professional can engage in a different conversation. A conversation that avoids talking about the features of the product they are selling and focuses on how much revenue and profit our product can add to the customer’s P&L.

As the calendar turns to August and the dog days of summer are upon us, the last thing many Sales leaders are thinking about is that big Q1 2025 Sales Meeting. But you know it will be here sooner than you think and the last thing you want to do is scramble to throw something together at the last minute that doesn’t excite, motivate, or train your team to sell more.

The reason I am writing this blog is that we have several innovative and thoughtful clients who are already planning their January and February 2025 national sales meetings and have asked us to develop business simulation workshops to be integrated into their agendas.

Like blood that flows through our human bodies to keep us alive, cash flows through a business to keep it alive. Cash Flow and having cash to run continued operations is one of the most important parts of the business. Managing cash flow is one of the most critical skills within the business acumen portfolio.

As I continue my life’s journey of helping our client organizations build their business acumen skills, it has become more apparent than ever that we have a lot of work to do in this area.

Most of our learners “get” the Income Statement and Balance Sheet pretty easily. The Cash Flow Statement is a different story. The Cash Flow Statement, which helps us understand the sources and usages of cash from an operations perspective, investing perspective and financing perspective can be challenging because of its complexities and nuances. However, without a foundational understanding of how it works, senior leaders down to first-time supervisors can make huge, game-changing mistakes.

To help provide some insight and clarity, I am borrowing some of our very own business acumen content to share some ideas and information about the criticality of cash flow.

One of the biggest projects we are working on in July is a new business simulation that helps companies implement their sustainability strategies. As I was designing the new curriculum, I came across a concept I wasn’t very familiar with: “The Circular Economy.”

A circular economy is an economic system focused on eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. One of the best-known examples of the circular economy is recycling plastic. Instead of throwing away bottles, packaging, and other plastic products after use, they can be collected and processed to convert them into raw materials to manufacture new products, such as clothes, furniture, and even other packaging.

From a business perspective, the circular economy contrasts with a traditional linear economy, which has a “take, make, dispose” model of production. The circular economy employs principles of designing out waste, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems for the long-term of the planet.

As I further researched the topic for the simulation, I discovered a set of principles that support a circular economy. Pretty interesting stuff and certainly blog-worthy:

When I speak with senior-level business leaders and listen to their biggest challenges, one of the most common sources of frustration they share is that their organizations have lost the art of prioritization.

“It’s not that people aren’t trying, but when I look at the things people in my company are working on, it seems like deciding where to order pizza from on Pizza Friday is more important than the consistent complaints of a key customer account about the communications about their delivery dates…I don’t understand where their priorities are” was the quote from one leader I spoke to recently about a business leadership simulation project.

In a hybrid business environment where many times you are working with people who are remote, they are motivated by getting things done, but not necessarily done right because they don’t have the context and there is not always a good conversation about prioritization.

Prioritizing effectively in a business environment is crucial for productivity and achieving strategic goals. But it’s not happening.