How to Shift From Fat & Nice to Lean & Mean to Increase Sales
How to Shift From Fat & Nice to Lean & Mean to Increase Sales
Productivity research suggests that 20% of your employees deliver 80% of your results. Customer service research also suggests that 20% of your clients deliver 80% of your sales or revenue results. So what is keeping you from getting rid of all of that dead weight? Maybe you are just to fat (lazy) and nice (not performance driven) and fear becoming lean (active) and mean (hold people accountable)?
With sales research revealing the following:
Almost 50% (48%) of leads are not followed up
10% of sales people make 3 contacts and stop
80% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact
Why in your right mind do you still have under performing sales professionals? Because you:
Are nice?
Do not want to hurt them?
Cannot find any other sales people?
Sales Coaching Tip: One results driven sales person is worth the salaries of at least 2 to 3 non-performing or average performing sales professionals.
Possibly your sales managers are need to be held to greater accountability. The talents that made a great salesperson are not the same that make a great sales manager. Your sales managers need far more talent management skill or people skills than your sales professionals. Sales Coaching Tip: Sales professionals are promoted for technical sales skills excellence, but terminated because they lack human capital and managerial technical skills.
The recent meltdown in the global economy will eliminate the poor performing businesses or organizations and will strengthen the outstanding ones. These successful companies are already working on streamlining their processes, eliminating wasted steps, reconnecting with loyal customers, firing high cost, low volume external customers, developing human capital talent, improving sales skills and terminating under performing sales professionals.
Difficult times demand that you as a sales professional, a sales division manager or a sales producing organization take action by stop being fat and nice and becoming lean and mean. This is a time of survival of the fittest because they have taken the necessary lean and mean actions to outlast the economy as well as the competition.
There is a story that I share with most of my sales coaching and human capital talent development clients. The story is short and goes like this:
Every day in Africa, a gazelle awakens and knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every day in Africa, a lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. So come morning, it does not matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. What only matters is that you better be running.
How to Shift From Fat Nice to Lean Mean to Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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To increase sales requires efforts be directed both externally and internally. With the current tightening of the financial industry to the future outcomes from today’s economy, firms now more than ever before need to look at their internal customers, strategies and processes with a unified goal to reduce waste and enforce accountability.
Productivity research suggests that 20% of your employees deliver 80% of your results. Customer service research also suggests that 20% of your clients deliver 80% of your sales or revenue results. So what is keeping you from getting rid of all of that dead weight? Maybe you are just to fat (lazy) and nice (not performance driven) and fear becoming lean (active) and mean (hold people accountable)?
With sales research revealing the following:
Almost 50% (48%) of leads are not followed up
10% of sales people make 3 contacts and stop
80% of sales are made on the 5th to 12th contact
Why in your right mind do you still have under performing sales professionals? Because you:
Are nice?
Do not want to hurt them?
Cannot find any other sales people?
Sales Coaching Tip: One results driven sales person is worth the salaries of at least 2 to 3 non-performing or average performing sales professionals.
Possibly your sales managers are need to be held to greater accountability. The talents that made a great salesperson are not the same that make a great sales manager. Your sales managers need far more talent management skill or people skills than your sales professionals. Sales Coaching Tip: Sales professionals are promoted for technical sales skills excellence, but terminated because they lack human capital and managerial technical skills.
The recent meltdown in the global economy will eliminate the poor performing businesses or organizations and will strengthen the outstanding ones. These successful companies are already working on streamlining their processes, eliminating wasted steps, reconnecting with loyal customers, firing high cost, low volume external customers, developing human capital talent, improving sales skills and terminating under performing sales professionals.
Difficult times demand that you as a sales professional, a sales division manager or a sales producing organization take action by stop being fat and nice and becoming lean and mean. This is a time of survival of the fittest because they have taken the necessary lean and mean actions to outlast the economy as well as the competition.
There is a story that I share with most of my sales coaching and human capital talent development clients. The story is short and goes like this:
Every day in Africa, a gazelle awakens and knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every day in Africa, a lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. So come morning, it does not matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. What only matters is that you better be running.
How to Shift From Fat Nice to Lean Mean to Increase Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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