10 Steps for Your Sales Force to Survive and Thrive in the Recession
10 Steps for Your Sales Force to Survive and Thrive in the Recession
I was in the pool, playing catch with our six-year old son, when Henry began a "dialog" with me. He said, "You can't play catch in the pool. It's against the rules."
I was stunned, but apologized, said I wasn't aware of that rule and removed the football from the pool.
There was another guy in the pool and he mentioned to me that the pool rules did not include an exclusion about playing catch. I mentioned that to Henry and he became irate because he owns one of the resort's units, wrote the rules himself, and said, "It better be on that sign!"
So what's wrong with this picture?
* Doesn't "resort" make you think fun, water and sun?
* He and his friends were at the water's very edge but didn't want to get wet, so he didn't want any splashing which leads to no playing catch.
* He and his friends were at the pool but in the shade.
* It was 80 degrees but he was dressed for winter.
* He was at a resort but wanted the quiet of a senior community.
How is Henry any different from Bernie?
Bernie is the President of a company that had experienced flat sales for the three strong economic years leading up to the recession. He had been looking for a VP of sales for two years but hadn't found the right candidate or failed to pull the trigger.
He attended an event where he heard me speak and asked me to contact him. He asked for my advice and I recommended that if he was serious about finding the ideal VP, then he should:
* Evaluate his sales force to better understand its real capabilities and identify the challenges a new VP would have to deal with;
* Identify the changes that the sales force needed to make to be more effective;
* Save the new VP at least a year by providing him with a comprehensive understanding of each salesperson's strengths, weaknesses and coaching requirements.
* Identify the salespeople that could make the transition to being more aggressive at finding and closing new business;
* Identify the salespeople that could not be developed and plan to replace the under performers;
* Use this intelligence to find the ideal VP of Sales Candidate.
Once in a while, CEO's and Presidents don't take my advice and Bernie, who was comfortable (hired gun, not an owner), over confident (he thought he knew better), and not afraid of failure (sales were flat, not declining), promoted one of his existing salespeople to take the VP of Sales position.
Ordinarily, this is not a particularly smart move but in this case, it was really dumb. His new VP had never managed a sales force, had no experience selling in a recession, had never reversed a flat sales trend and had never assessed a sales force. What made Bernie think he could do all this effectively without experience? Six months later, how do you think he's doing? Last I heard from Bernie, George was "trying some things."
Bernie and Henry could be the same guy. Henry was probably an arrogant, over confident president who didn't fear failure just like Bernie. They both know better than everyone else.
Compare Bernie's story with Jack, president of another manufacturer with flat year over year sales at around the same time. Jack already had a new VP in place, knew there was complacency, knew he needed change, and despite having the expertise to do it himself, knew that it had to come from outside, not within.
Just seven months after evaluating and training, Jack's sales force is accomplishing things today that they couldn't even imagine last spring. They transitioned from account managers to hunters; they transitioned from making proposals and presentations to conducting quality sales calls where they do nothing except ask great questions; they've gone from selling on price to selling value; they've moved from believing they had to have the best price to selling at their price; and they're closing business at a much higher rate than at this time last year - despite the economic crisis.
Which type of leader are you - Bernie or Jack?
Here are ten steps that you can take to not only survive, but thrive in this recession:
1. Size up your sales team - we have some free tools like the Sales Force Grader, the Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator and the Sales Achievement Grader; and fee based tools like our world-class Sales Force Evaluation.
2. Get the right people in the right sales/sales management roles. Our Sales Force Evaluation will provide these insights.
3. Talk honestly with your sales force about the tough times ahead. Tell them the truth!
4. Gain their commitment and buy in to work harder, be tougher and do what it takes in these more difficult times.
5. Perform a pipeline analysis and work the pipeline. My sales development firm offers EPACS - Emergency Pipeline Analysis and Coaching Strategies where we properly stage, strategize and coach on every opportunity.
6. Create the necessary infrastructure. This includes an appropriate sales process, recruiting process, sales management systems, and software.
7. Develop Sales Management on accountability, coaching, recruiting, leadership and motivation.
8. Develop the salespeople on process, skills and overcoming their weaknesses.
9. Sales Execution - just do it.
10. Sales Management Execution - make sure they do it and help them do it.
Ultimately, you must focus on the machine that generates revenue, not costs.
10 Steps for Your Sales Force to Survive and Thrive in the Recession - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Like many of you, I'm back from a much needed vacation where I met a guy who could have been one of the sorry CEO's I have met over the past several months.
I was in the pool, playing catch with our six-year old son, when Henry began a "dialog" with me. He said, "You can't play catch in the pool. It's against the rules."
I was stunned, but apologized, said I wasn't aware of that rule and removed the football from the pool.
There was another guy in the pool and he mentioned to me that the pool rules did not include an exclusion about playing catch. I mentioned that to Henry and he became irate because he owns one of the resort's units, wrote the rules himself, and said, "It better be on that sign!"
So what's wrong with this picture?
* Doesn't "resort" make you think fun, water and sun?
* He and his friends were at the water's very edge but didn't want to get wet, so he didn't want any splashing which leads to no playing catch.
* He and his friends were at the pool but in the shade.
* It was 80 degrees but he was dressed for winter.
* He was at a resort but wanted the quiet of a senior community.
How is Henry any different from Bernie?
Bernie is the President of a company that had experienced flat sales for the three strong economic years leading up to the recession. He had been looking for a VP of sales for two years but hadn't found the right candidate or failed to pull the trigger.
He attended an event where he heard me speak and asked me to contact him. He asked for my advice and I recommended that if he was serious about finding the ideal VP, then he should:
* Evaluate his sales force to better understand its real capabilities and identify the challenges a new VP would have to deal with;
* Identify the changes that the sales force needed to make to be more effective;
* Save the new VP at least a year by providing him with a comprehensive understanding of each salesperson's strengths, weaknesses and coaching requirements.
* Identify the salespeople that could make the transition to being more aggressive at finding and closing new business;
* Identify the salespeople that could not be developed and plan to replace the under performers;
* Use this intelligence to find the ideal VP of Sales Candidate.
Once in a while, CEO's and Presidents don't take my advice and Bernie, who was comfortable (hired gun, not an owner), over confident (he thought he knew better), and not afraid of failure (sales were flat, not declining), promoted one of his existing salespeople to take the VP of Sales position.
Ordinarily, this is not a particularly smart move but in this case, it was really dumb. His new VP had never managed a sales force, had no experience selling in a recession, had never reversed a flat sales trend and had never assessed a sales force. What made Bernie think he could do all this effectively without experience? Six months later, how do you think he's doing? Last I heard from Bernie, George was "trying some things."
Bernie and Henry could be the same guy. Henry was probably an arrogant, over confident president who didn't fear failure just like Bernie. They both know better than everyone else.
Compare Bernie's story with Jack, president of another manufacturer with flat year over year sales at around the same time. Jack already had a new VP in place, knew there was complacency, knew he needed change, and despite having the expertise to do it himself, knew that it had to come from outside, not within.
Just seven months after evaluating and training, Jack's sales force is accomplishing things today that they couldn't even imagine last spring. They transitioned from account managers to hunters; they transitioned from making proposals and presentations to conducting quality sales calls where they do nothing except ask great questions; they've gone from selling on price to selling value; they've moved from believing they had to have the best price to selling at their price; and they're closing business at a much higher rate than at this time last year - despite the economic crisis.
Which type of leader are you - Bernie or Jack?
Here are ten steps that you can take to not only survive, but thrive in this recession:
1. Size up your sales team - we have some free tools like the Sales Force Grader, the Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator and the Sales Achievement Grader; and fee based tools like our world-class Sales Force Evaluation.
2. Get the right people in the right sales/sales management roles. Our Sales Force Evaluation will provide these insights.
3. Talk honestly with your sales force about the tough times ahead. Tell them the truth!
4. Gain their commitment and buy in to work harder, be tougher and do what it takes in these more difficult times.
5. Perform a pipeline analysis and work the pipeline. My sales development firm offers EPACS - Emergency Pipeline Analysis and Coaching Strategies where we properly stage, strategize and coach on every opportunity.
6. Create the necessary infrastructure. This includes an appropriate sales process, recruiting process, sales management systems, and software.
7. Develop Sales Management on accountability, coaching, recruiting, leadership and motivation.
8. Develop the salespeople on process, skills and overcoming their weaknesses.
9. Sales Execution - just do it.
10. Sales Management Execution - make sure they do it and help them do it.
Ultimately, you must focus on the machine that generates revenue, not costs.
10 Steps for Your Sales Force to Survive and Thrive in the Recession - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan'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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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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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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