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How To Increase Sales Performance: Get Your People Back in the Game
| Guest post by: Susan Ireland |
Article Overview: Nothing is more perplexing to a manager than having a bright and knowledgeable sales person whose productivity level is subpar. They exist in every organization. Some managers lose sleep at night trying to figure out why they don’t produce more, take more initiative, or exhibit a greater desire to succeed. I know I have. But then one day I had a blinding flash of the obvious -- everyone’s performance is controlled not by what they know, what product they sell , the economy , or the competition, but by their internal achievement drive!!!
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Free Download - How to Get the Most from Your Key People By Susan Ireland |
How To Increase Sales Performance: Get Your People Back in the Game
Nothing is more perplexing to a manager than having a bright and
knowledgeable sales person whose productivity level is subpar. They exist in every organization. Some managers lose sleep at night trying to
figure out why they don’t produce more, take more initiative, or exhibit a
greater desire to succeed. I know I have.
But then one day I had a blinding flash of the obvious -- everyone’s performance is controlled not
by what they know, what product they sell , the economy , or the competition, but by
their internal achievement drive. Achievement drive is the foundation upon
which every CONSISTENTLY successful sales professional’s career is built. The hard part is that people with low
achievement drive can be very good at masking it. They
run in fits and starts; going along for weeks, even months selling just enough
to get by and sometimes even meeting or exceeding goals. They want us to believe they’re just days
away from hitting their stride and we WANT to believe them!
Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, “yes but there’s nothing I can do to motivate someone with low achievement drive.
“ Or, “how do I know if achievement
drive is even the problem?” I have an easy formula that addresses both
issues. Why do so many managers use
it? Because it allows people to
self-discover their strengths and weaknesses AND ENABLES THEM TO TAKE OWNERSHIP
OF THEIR OWN ACHIEVEMENT-DRIVE. Here is
the formula:
First. Have a brief one-on-one discussion
with the underperforming salesperson. Keep it focused and limited to not more than
30 minutes – that means listen more than you talk! Praise them for the talents and skills you
see in them (regardless of how insignificant they may seem). Ask them, “what have you done during your life, specifically,
to enrich that talent or build that skill?”
In other words, ask them to reflect on their strengths. Listen to their answers. Next,
share with them the vision and goals of the team/office/department or
organization and ask them to tell you what NEW action they could take to
help be a part of it? Keep the
discussion positive . . . don’t allow it
to wander, become a complaint session or a time to place blame. Ask, “if you could make progress on any one
goal that would improve your own success and support the organization’s vision, what would that be?” Ask, “what additional tools, skills, or
resources do you need in order to make progress on the action?” Ask them to make a commitment to looking
within to discover strengths that will help them and areas they may need to
develop. Before you end the session:
Second. Introduce
a powerful discovery tool: The Achievement
Drive Self Assessment. (Note: There are a number of good assessments out there on the net . . .be sure you use one that helps your sales person "self-discover" strengths and weaknesses in this area. The best ones are valuable
development tools your salespeople complete on their own and review with you
on a specific date – preferably within 3 days of the first session. Don’t
forget to set the date and time for the next session and remind them to commit
to completing the Assessment before they arrive.
Third. Conduct
the next session – again keeping it focused and limited to about 30 minutes. Briefly review the results of the Achievement
Drive Self Assessment. Ask the person to
tell you what they discovered. Pay particular attention to how they answered
the last two questions. Ask them to expand
upon their answers. Ask them to tell you
how they could use the results of the Assessment to achieve their goals . . .
and this is key . . .ask them to commit to taking the step(s) necessary to
achieve their goals. Praise them
for taking the time for look inward and discover areas where they could
increase their effectiveness. Believe in them and see more potential in them
than they see in themselves. Challenge
them! Say, “I know you will do whatever
it takes to accomplish your goal – and I’m counting on you!”
Is that it? Almost. For ongoing success, I’ve found that today’s
manager needs to continuously coach their people. That’s what these 30 – minute sessions are
all about. Coaching people to higher
success.
So, make a commitment to coaching your people
on a regular basis. Consistent coaching,
using the same process I’ve outlined above, will get your people back in the
game.
Sales Scoreboard
How should I reward employee performance?
Getting the Back 9 to Count in Increasing Your Sales: It’s All About Process
Changing the Game
Developing Winners
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About the Author: Susan Ireland RSS for Susan's articles - Visit Susan's website Click here to visit Susan's website   Having Trouble Motivating or Instilling Loyalty in Your People The Sales Managers Magic Seven The Two Most Effective Ways to Increase Employee Productivity Customer Loyalty Profitability How to Get the Most from Your Key People Do you Suffer from Sand Castle Management Take this Litmus test |
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