What Makes a Great Salesperson
What Makes a Great Salesperson
Management defines the process.
Too often management expects salespeople to do the impossible. Funderburgh says, “You wouldn’t expect someone on the assembly line to figure out how to assemble a product. Why would you expect sales people to develop a sales process?” Funderburgh defined the process that he wanted his salespeople to use when they sold. The process began with outbound calling. Rather than have salespeople prospecting, Funderburgh defined the criteria for prospects and gave his staff the lists of prospects. This method produced more viable prospects. Salespeople continued the process by building the relationship with face-to-face sales calls. Generating a proposal was the next step. Following up on the proposal to close the business was the last step. Seems like simple steps. Funderburgh almost made the process infallible.
Don’t kid yourself.
Funderburgh learned that successful selling is something different than hiring an extrovert who charms customers into buying. He found that a successful salesperson was one who could work with clearly set performance goals in a defined process. Funderburgh hired new salespeople with the expectation of what their activity level would be in the first 90 days. He found that when people didn’t perform then, they never would. Finding out about poor performers early was essential. Funderburgh says, “Having poor performers demoralized the rest of the team.”
Let management measure it.
Salespeople should be doing what they do best. Record keeping isn’t their strong suit. Yet both salespeople and management need to know how many calls are turning into appointments, how many appointments are producing proposals and other results that move the sales process forward. Funderburgh’s automated systems captured the data that needs to be measured so action could be taken. The number of outbound prospecting calls was automatically captured by his system. Next, salespeople scheduled appointments that were automatically entered into a database. The system also totaled the number of proposals sent and closed. Funderburgh found measurement to be essential. He says, “You have some dials to turn to fine-tune and a yardstick to compare individuals.” He adds, “However you get your business, you need to set goals. You can’t do it informally. I worked with my sales staff on quantified performance. That was the secret of my success.”
Provide help.
Because Funderburgh knew what to measure in his process and had the data to review, he could see where his staff was having trouble. He also met daily for brief 15 to 20 minute meetings with his staff. Funderburgh found that his internal resources provided the solutions to his staff’s problems. He found that typically a salesperson had a problem in just one area— perhaps getting the appointment, and was fine in other areas. The sales manager would enlist the help of another salesperson who was strong in that area. Sometimes making joint sales calls with a sales manager provided the needed help. At other times brainstorming solved the problem.
Great management produces great selling results. Your manager may want some additional incentive to implement these ideas. Tell your manager that Funderburgh retired very successfully at 49. He works for fun now.
What Makes a Great Salesperson - To learn more about this author, visit Maura Schreier-Fleming's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Even though many salespeople sell by themselves, they are really not alone. Behind many great sales professionals are great sales managers. A sales manager is someone who can make selling much easier---or a whole lot harder. John Funderburgh (www.jrf.info), a former Accenture consultant, ran an international information technology consulting firm for 20 years. He now is a private advisor to business owners and entrepreneurs. His sales management success can contribute to your selling success.
Management defines the process.
Too often management expects salespeople to do the impossible. Funderburgh says, “You wouldn’t expect someone on the assembly line to figure out how to assemble a product. Why would you expect sales people to develop a sales process?” Funderburgh defined the process that he wanted his salespeople to use when they sold. The process began with outbound calling. Rather than have salespeople prospecting, Funderburgh defined the criteria for prospects and gave his staff the lists of prospects. This method produced more viable prospects. Salespeople continued the process by building the relationship with face-to-face sales calls. Generating a proposal was the next step. Following up on the proposal to close the business was the last step. Seems like simple steps. Funderburgh almost made the process infallible.
Don’t kid yourself.
Funderburgh learned that successful selling is something different than hiring an extrovert who charms customers into buying. He found that a successful salesperson was one who could work with clearly set performance goals in a defined process. Funderburgh hired new salespeople with the expectation of what their activity level would be in the first 90 days. He found that when people didn’t perform then, they never would. Finding out about poor performers early was essential. Funderburgh says, “Having poor performers demoralized the rest of the team.”
Let management measure it.
Salespeople should be doing what they do best. Record keeping isn’t their strong suit. Yet both salespeople and management need to know how many calls are turning into appointments, how many appointments are producing proposals and other results that move the sales process forward. Funderburgh’s automated systems captured the data that needs to be measured so action could be taken. The number of outbound prospecting calls was automatically captured by his system. Next, salespeople scheduled appointments that were automatically entered into a database. The system also totaled the number of proposals sent and closed. Funderburgh found measurement to be essential. He says, “You have some dials to turn to fine-tune and a yardstick to compare individuals.” He adds, “However you get your business, you need to set goals. You can’t do it informally. I worked with my sales staff on quantified performance. That was the secret of my success.”
Provide help.
Because Funderburgh knew what to measure in his process and had the data to review, he could see where his staff was having trouble. He also met daily for brief 15 to 20 minute meetings with his staff. Funderburgh found that his internal resources provided the solutions to his staff’s problems. He found that typically a salesperson had a problem in just one area— perhaps getting the appointment, and was fine in other areas. The sales manager would enlist the help of another salesperson who was strong in that area. Sometimes making joint sales calls with a sales manager provided the needed help. At other times brainstorming solved the problem.
Great management produces great selling results. Your manager may want some additional incentive to implement these ideas. Tell your manager that Funderburgh retired very successfully at 49. He works for fun now.
What Makes a Great Salesperson - To learn more about this author, visit Maura Schreier-Fleming's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
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 |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Maura's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Dream Boards Inspiration Business Plan Leadership Training Hospitals Women Entrepreneurs Write Marketing Plan |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009 | |
 |
Choose A PR Topic
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
