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Start Managing Using Your Sales Team’s Talents & Stop Focusing on Their Weaknesses
| Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith |
Article Overview: From you role in sales management, do you manage from a perspective focusing on existing talents or from a weakness one? If you truthfully answered from a more negative than positive focus, then can you answer this question?: Why do winning teams win because of their strengths or their weaknesses? Now is the team to change your management style especially if you wish to increase sales and have a high performance sales team.
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Free Download - How to Craft an Engaging Message That Highlights What You Do to Increase Sales By Leanne Hoagland-Smith |
Start Managing Using Your Sales Team’s Talents & Stop Focusing on Their Weaknesses
From you role in sales management, do you manage from a perspective focusing on existing talents (strengths) or from non-talents (weaknesses)? If you truthfully answered from a more negative than positive perspective, then can you answer this question: Why do winning teams win because of their strengths or their weaknesses? Possibly, now is the time to change your management style especially if you wish to increase sales and have a high performance sales team.
To be an effective sales manager means you must know the talents of your team and each team member must know his or her talent as well. Unfortunately, because most human beings are negatively conditioned from the No’s to the Don’t to the Cant’s. This previous negative conditioning reaches far into future behaviors. Until awareness is achieved regarding these negative almost self-fulfilling prophetic behaviors, any attempts to improve results will probably not be as successful as they could be.
One way to know the talents of your people is to engage in performance appraisals using proven assessment instruments. With technology being what it is, many of this performance appraisals can be delivered online. Sales Coaching Tip: The assessment instrument to be 100% effective must be accompanied by a detailed debriefing allowing the participant to take the information and begin to immediately apply it. There should be some additional sales coaching beyond the initial debriefing.
A performance appraisal tool that focuses on talents has an additional benefit understanding what talents are necessary for sales success. With all the negative conditioning, people are more inclined to look at what they do not do well than what they do well. In many cases, non talents are perceived as weaknesses and this is where the person focuses. If the non-talent is not necessary in the current sales role, why be concerned about it? Sales Coaching Tip: Focus on what you can control and not what is beyond your control.
Another proactive management strategy is to have all team members create both their own personal sales and life action plans. Sales is very much a contact sport in that your force is out there every day talking to meeting with potential customers (a.k.a. prospects). To stay fully engaged, everyone needs to be healthy. Unfortunately, given all the research, many people fail to focus on their health causing additional cost to their employers as well as to their own personal finances. Poor health also leads to additional stress and this in turn affects the entire team from reduced productivity to toxic cultural environment.
When sales management begins to focus on the talents of their sales team and not the non-talents or perceived weaknesses, the results will quickly multiply. The goals to increase sales and to have a high performance culture will quickly be achieved.
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About the Author: Leanne Hoagland-Smith RSS for Leanne's articles - Visit Leanne's website Her book, Be the Red Jacket is a no-nonsense and quick read to help discover potential gaps that may be keeping you from your goal to increase sales. The forward is by Evan Carmichael of EvanCarmichael.com Remember if you think you cannot or you think you can either way you are right. (Henry Ford). Sales Coaching Tip: Change your thoughts; improve your results. Click here to visit Leanne's website   Leadership Audit For Business Leadership Assessment Business Building Check List |
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Re: Great start, but no finish
- My advise is FOCUS on your business.
Focusing is the main factor to succeed on business. If you have a great idea, then follow it only, don't look anywhere else. It is especially essential in an online business. Because there are a lot of mind blowing sales letters promising millions dolllars or overnight success, people find it difficult to concentrate on one business and they lose their energy.
Concept is simple.
1- Have a good idea;
2- Build your business on it;
3- Monetize your business;
4- Promote it;
5- Build list of responsive customers;
6- Maintain You Business.
Focusing and not fearing from competition (instead you can learn from competitiors) are main tips of billionaires ,BTW.
Orxan
Re: Fill in the blank: The best decision I ever made with my bus
- Focusing on my Internet Marketing Business
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today?
- Focusing... and finding time to focus! Maybe they are related!
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today?
- [quote="GT Bulmer":10b1rb6o]sounds like keeping one foot on the dock and one in the boat, doesn't it?) I've had suggestions of interest from other high profile potential clients but I have chosen not to pursue them at this time.[/quote:10b1rb6o]
Hi GT,
Who knows, perhaps you'll need to take that leap of faith and "burn your bridges" (of escape/going back) like Dale Carnegie suggests in "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" to get to the next level and reach your income goal.
Complacency and comfort can be death.
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