Be Adaptable With Your Sales Team to Achieve Peak Performance
Be Adaptable With Your Sales Team to Achieve Peak Performance
To allow for effective coaching bring stability to the team by creating consistency in the following areas.
Compensation: I am a big fan of keeping compensation plans the same when building a sales team for longevity. Not saying everyone is paid the same salary, but the earning scales and bonuses should be the same. Use salary as a differentiator justified by experience or results. Commissions should reward the higher performers with higher percentages or bonuses. What does not work is setting up different sliding commission scales, pricing or ways to earn commission among different team members.
Support: Don't play favorites; offer the same support to all salespeople from manager to support staff. The same support has nothing to do with the amount. That is dictated by sales volume. What I am saying is don't make someone earn support, they need it to get their job done.
Processes and Systems: These are in place to support the company and the customer. Everyone needs to get their portion done. Don’t let higher performers get away with not doing their work. If their volume is high enough to warrant hiring additional support do it overtly so all can see what more profit can buy.
Expectations: If you expect less from one sales person you will no doubt receive your lower expectations. Keep quotas and goals consistent. Use your commission incentives to drive the higher performers. The time to increase a sales quota for one would be to justify a higher salary.
Tools: If one can benefit from a laptop or cell phone make sure they all have the same tools. Exceptions could be due to territory or market differences.
If you create a consistent playing field it makes coaching more effective and fun. Adapting and working with each person’s personality and motivations is what separates the great sales managers from the average. Here are examples of three different sales people and how you might approach each to improve sales.
Salesperson #1 is already very successful and producing very high. Don’t come in and push their activity up, ask them how you can help them do more of what they are doing. What road blocks can you remove for them to keep them running fast.
Salesperson #2 is a consistent producer but under achieves. He/She probably needs some positive reinforcement, some personal attention and a diagnostic on where they are losing most deals.
Salesperson #3 is a person who has a bunch of good ideas but can't get their sales going. They probably need more structure and strict accountability at working the right activity to produce results. Give them clear direction in the morning and check on how things went at night.
Peak sales performance will not happen by approaching these three sales people the same way. It is the personal touch and savvy approach that will get the job done.
Be Adaptable With Your Sales Team to Achieve Peak Performance - To learn more about this author, visit Rene Zamora's Website.
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To achieve peak performance with your sales team you need to be consistent with team systems and process and unique regarding individual relationships. All sales people are not the same but most sales people can perform above average with a manager that applies both team consistency and a unique individual approach.
To allow for effective coaching bring stability to the team by creating consistency in the following areas.
Compensation: I am a big fan of keeping compensation plans the same when building a sales team for longevity. Not saying everyone is paid the same salary, but the earning scales and bonuses should be the same. Use salary as a differentiator justified by experience or results. Commissions should reward the higher performers with higher percentages or bonuses. What does not work is setting up different sliding commission scales, pricing or ways to earn commission among different team members.
Support: Don't play favorites; offer the same support to all salespeople from manager to support staff. The same support has nothing to do with the amount. That is dictated by sales volume. What I am saying is don't make someone earn support, they need it to get their job done.
Processes and Systems: These are in place to support the company and the customer. Everyone needs to get their portion done. Don’t let higher performers get away with not doing their work. If their volume is high enough to warrant hiring additional support do it overtly so all can see what more profit can buy.
Expectations: If you expect less from one sales person you will no doubt receive your lower expectations. Keep quotas and goals consistent. Use your commission incentives to drive the higher performers. The time to increase a sales quota for one would be to justify a higher salary.
Tools: If one can benefit from a laptop or cell phone make sure they all have the same tools. Exceptions could be due to territory or market differences.
If you create a consistent playing field it makes coaching more effective and fun. Adapting and working with each person’s personality and motivations is what separates the great sales managers from the average. Here are examples of three different sales people and how you might approach each to improve sales.
Salesperson #1 is already very successful and producing very high. Don’t come in and push their activity up, ask them how you can help them do more of what they are doing. What road blocks can you remove for them to keep them running fast.
Salesperson #2 is a consistent producer but under achieves. He/She probably needs some positive reinforcement, some personal attention and a diagnostic on where they are losing most deals.
Salesperson #3 is a person who has a bunch of good ideas but can't get their sales going. They probably need more structure and strict accountability at working the right activity to produce results. Give them clear direction in the morning and check on how things went at night.
Peak sales performance will not happen by approaching these three sales people the same way. It is the personal touch and savvy approach that will get the job done.
Be Adaptable With Your Sales Team to Achieve Peak Performance - To learn more about this author, visit Rene Zamora'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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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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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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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton'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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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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