Posted by Victor Watts on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 @ 04:14 PM
Okay, the headline metaphor may be a bit of a Olympic-sized literary stretch...but you have to admit, the visual of a coach watching her gymnasts compete is not too dissimilar to a manager trying to coach a diverse sales team.
Let's face it, your team is made up of individuals:
- With different talents, strengths and weaknesses;
- That have divergent support needs;
- That are often in remote locations.
If that's not challenging enough for a coach, it gets considerably more difficult when the commission checks may not be quite as big as they once were. But one thing is for certain, how you manage, lead and enable your sales force today will determine what kind of issues you will be faced with tomorrow. 
Sales Is Not Always A Team Sport - But The Team Still Needs To Win!
On one level, it seems like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it? But a good coach knows that a team is made up of unique individuals. So then, why do we so often see corporate incentive and retention programs rolled out with a one-size-fits-all structure and mentality? Based on what I've seen in corporate America, it's because that's the easy way out.
What's the old management saying?
"I love a hungry sales person with two mortgages, three cars and an expensive boat and a base salary woefully inadequate to meet the need."
As a consequence of that mentality, the typical corporate retention and incentive strategy is something along the lines of establishing a performance-based bonus program. Sell more - make more. Simple. Everyone's happy - right?
Wrong. (And I won't even get into the issue of how those goals are typically set.)
While I won't disagree that I look for money motivated sales folks, have you ever seen one single survey of sales people that indicates that money is their number one concern?
Didn't think so.
Don't get me wrong, money is a key issue...it's just not the only or necessarily the top one. Let's assume that you've already got a reasonably good comp plan in place. Let's also assume that you're not currently having to... what's the corporate euphemism?...oh yeah, "right-size" the sales organization. If that premise is correct, then I'm going to suggest that it's an important time to find ways to recognize and support your key individuals. The goal is not only keeping your high performers, but also keeping them at high-performing levels!
We've Been Here Before...And If You Haven't, Pay Close Attention
So maybe you're saying,
"I don't have to worry about things like retention or recognition programs right now. These guys should feel lucky they even have jobs. And besides, there's no money for things like incentive programs or new sales enablement initiatives right now."
I hope that's not the case. It may very well be a pervasive corporate culture at the moment, but I would argue that's exactly the wrong way to look at things.
Believe it or not, we are beginning to emerge from the economic downturn. Yes, this one has been a doozy, and employment will be the lagging indicator, but economic cycles - to coin a phrase - are still cyclical. And your most valuable assets still get on the elevator every day.
When things do turn around - and they will - some of your best assets may not let the door hit them in the rear on their rush to get to their next job. It's time to pay attention. Remember, the best time to retain your best players are before you need to.
Parallel Bar Management Skills
We often talk in this blog about the emerging "sales enablement" tools and how they can help your team produce more and do so more efficiently. Not a bad thing to consider from a retention perspective either. High perfoming reps in particular will appreciate it and use them! Heck, some of the Sales 2.0 tools can even help you coach (not just manage!) your players. I applaud those companies with enough vision to recognize the significant ROI of making that kind of move now. But that's just part of the managerial picture.
As a sales executive, you are operating in critical times. A time where your best management skills need to be working in parallel with the longer-range plans and goals. Maintaining and building the morale of their sales team takes a lot of effort. And this is not news, but individuals like to be treated...well, individually.
As We Focus On The Pitch, It's Easy To Lose Focus On The Pitcher
Alright, I know. I'm mixing metaphors here. (At least it's still a sports metaphor!)
Have you found yourself so focused on the need to close the deal and hit your numbers that you've neglected what you know about Sales Management 101? If so, remind yourself of a few of the basics and pull a few of these moves out of the tried-and-true toolkit. Yes, it takes more time and energy to manage this way but, trust me, in the long run you'll be glad you did.
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Catch people doing something right! Do you remember the first time your boss pulled you aside and said "good job!" Remember when he mentioned your name at a sales meeting for something you did well or for the good idea you had? Doesn't have to be a big deal. But catching people doing something right is still one of the most powerful management tools in your management toolkit. Reach for that one as often as you can!
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Discuss career pathing. Maybe the current economic times make the idea of talking about a positive career path with your subordinate seem like a silly waste of time. Heck, you might even be worried about your own career path! Well now's the best time to talk up a positive future. Just like Vince Lombardi said, "Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence." (Oops, another sport just entered the blog building.)
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Review reporting demands. You might feel powerless in this area because of management expectations, but I encourage you to give it a go. Your sales people will certainly appreciate it. Take a look at the reporting and administrative requirements placed on the sales team. See anything that can be minimized or eliminated? Still having a weekly sales call to regurgitate what should be in the CRM? Worse yet, are your people shackled by a CRM that has been so over-engineered that you're having reps spend hours each day just trying to keep up with data input demand?
It's about productivity - not re-productivity. Find the extraneous and the duplicitous and eliminate it! To quote Yoda: "Necessary are the battle reports you need, but get the soldiers you must beyond the weeds."
Good luck...and heads up coach, there's a game on!
Photo credits:
azzurri_nr1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajacied/2772283192/
Krachel http://www.flickr.com/photos/krachel/2609725004/
Posted by Victor Watts on Fri, Aug 07, 2009 @ 10:13 AM
Managing What Can't Be Measured?
I know...I know...you can't manage what can't be measured. It simply flies in the face of the age-old axiom. But I'll bet that if you're in sales management, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
Change management is often as much art as science and is generally filled with a playground that is never lacking for diverse personalities... and this is particularly true if you're trying to effect a sales culture transformation!
As an example, let's use the almost universal bandwagon shift to a "consultative sales" or "solution selling" methodology. We've all successfully made that transformation. Right?
Okay, maybe not everybody has traversed the river yet with all boats ashore, but everyone is trying. In any case, you're tasked with making sure that your team is at least trying to row in the same general direction. Maybe you've even embraced "Telling Isn't Selling" as your new motto. So, now your sales reps are asking the client lots of questions and arriving at the perfect solution by virtue of their new consulting approach. Simple, isn't it?.
But how do you make sure it's really happening? You can't sit on every boat!
Regardless of the transformation initiative, what we hear and experience again and again is that uniformity and compliance remains a problem across the sales organization long after management embraces the need for change.
Yes, communication, training and continued education are still strategic cornerstones ensuring cultural change, but change management demands that a sales manager manage a host of variables and intangibles that often defy common metrics.
Accountability For Change Is Not Just For The Folks With Oars In Their Hands!
All too often, the metrics applied to this "sea change" remain grounded in standard CRM tools. Relationships, client data, records of calls, corresponding close ratios and revenue gain, etc. are all are good data points. They're also pretty good at helping you determine what happened after the fact.
- But how well do they measure real-time culture shift?
- And who is in charge of ensuring that it happens according to plan?
Two Keys to Success
The accountability for successful implementation of any sales culture change lies in the hands of the middle and first-line field sales management! Sales management must be held accountable for driving the transformation. No excuses. This is not a hands-off exercise.
Hold both your executive management and your field sales management accountable for sending consistent messages to the sales force. Even if you have to "manage up," nothing will sabotage a sales culture conversion quicker than incongruent messages!
So How Do You Do It?
Have you ever rolled out an initiative only to see it die on the vine? Remember the first time your company adopted a CRM application? Remember any issues with adoption? And yes, sometimes you have to be able to manage what can't be measured!
So what do you do? It all begins with a core message from executive management...then it's up to you - the sales manager. Consider leveraging some of the tools and activities you already have in place to help you:
Become a Virtual Coxswain!
Okay, the rowing analogy is probably all wet by now - sorry, couldn't resist - but the last point should be of particular interest to anyone embracing Sales 2.0. As a sales manager, you know that being with a sales rep in the field can be one of the most effective - and least efficient - ways of ensuring broad behavioral change.
Given the obvious limitations, it's time to consider how you can best leverage real-time "inter-activity" when it comes to coaching. Content management and online sales planning tools are just two of the applications out there that can help. "Sales enablement" solutions are in the emergent phase - do some checking and you'll discover that the old Web 2.0 is aggressively pushing the newer Sales 2.0.
Still not sure how to manage what can't be measured?
The next time one of your reps has a meeting with a key account and you can't attend - but you wish you could - try this:
Get the sales rep to send you a meeting plan well before the scheduled client interaction. Not just a presentation. Not just an agenda. Not just the client company information. But a well thought out pre-call plan. Make sure it includes:
- Meeting objective
- Questions to ask (remember it's "solution selling," right?)
- Anticipated questions and objections
- Planned responses or strategies to questions and objections
- Closing statement
- Fall-back plan if the client says "no!"
Do this and I'll bet you'll find some surprises. And maybe some coaching opportunities. At the very least, you get a good measure of how well the rep is negotiating your new sales culture initiative!
Giddyup!
Photo credit - Rower from Croatia
Credit and apologies go to Jim Kasper for my "leveraging" some of his insights and wisdom for this article. In his best-selling book, Creating the #1 Sales Force, Jim does a great job of detailing all the ins-and-outs of transforming sales cultures and creating dynamic sales teams. Jim is a frequent contributor to this blog and I look forward to him addressing this topic in much better fashion in the future.
Posted by Victor Watts on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 @ 01:45 PM
Corporate leadership is based on basic fundamentals...
...and it often comes down to focusing the efforts of followers on such nuts and bolts like:
A. Listening to customers;
B. Producing quality outcomes and products, and;
C. Motivating employees to do the right things.
Sales Leaders - The Same Principles Apply!
The same basic leadership objectives may be applied to sales management. But anyone who's ever been a sales manager knows that getting all their sales people to consistently do the right things is a constant and significant challenge. And I don't think any successful sales manager will disagree with the idea that planning for an important sales call is one of the keys to getting and growing the business.
But how many of you truly believe that there is consistency among the sales staff when it comes to the quality and the messaging of that planning? ...I didn't think so.
Try This...
Before your next sales conference or staff conference call: Send out an email to your team and ask them to describe how they normally prepare for a sales meeting with a key account. Ask things like:
- How long does it take you to adequately prepare for an important call?
- What are the elements of your plan?
- What is the unique selling or value proposition that you use?
- Do you plan the questions you will ask in advance or do you just "wing it?"
- Have you thought through what objections you might face and how you will handle them?
- Do you always plan a meeting objective?
And how about...
- Do you carefully consider and plan how you will close against that meeting objective?
Based on my 25+ years of sales management experience, I think I can safely say you will be surprised by the wide variance in responses you will get. Or maybe you won't be surprised. Either way, I'd love to hear back on what you learn by completing that exercise.
And unless you're already making sure that pre-call planning is a key element of your team's sales process, I'm willing to bet that a little leadership guidance along these lines - supported with some very clear management expectations - will go a long way to getting those sales numbers where you'd like them to be!
Happy hunting!
Photo credit: coloradohousechurch
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