1. Take a second look at the big picture. What are your goals for the year? Understood. Increase sales. Do you know where those increases will come from? Will you sell more of the same to current accounts? New products to current accounts? Or will the increases come from new accounts? And what will you sell them? Current products or new products? “All of the above” is not the right answer. The essence of strategy is denial.
2. Put the right people in the right roles. The Publisher of a large newspaper once said to me that he wanted his sales managers to question everything, including the structure of their teams. He did not want them to uncritically accept the structure and the people that came with the promotion. If the goal is to open new accounts do you have the sales people who like to prospect? If the goal is to get more money from existing accounts do you have the sales people who can sell strategically? That team that helped make you a winner last year might not be the same team you need to accomplish this year’s goals.
3. Determine the profile of the ideal rep for each sales goal. I know you have done that exercise before. Do it again. You must be absolutely crystal clear about the competencies required to be successful. The competencies are determined by your sales goals. The attitudes and skills required to excel at prospecting are not the same as those required to excel at account development. If you are not sure about what you need, take a look at some of the sales assessment tools that are available in the marketplace. (Start at www.interpersonaldevelopment.com/assessment.asp).
4. Do a thorough assessment of each sales person. There are two major dimensions you should look at. Skill and Will. Mary likes prospecting but is not good at it. Enrique is good at it but hates it. If in doubt if a rep has a skill or will deficiency ask yourself “ If I put a gun to his head could he do it?” If your reps object to you waving a gun around then use a sales assessment test. The pen is mightier than the sword anyway. Personally I favor a combination of tests, track record, my own in-field observations, and the individual’s stated preferences. Assessment is a process, not an event. The very act of assessment begins to change behavior, too. And the best assessments are jointly owned by the manager and the rep. It’s not something that the manager does to the rep. It is not like measuring shoe sizes.
5. Rank your reps against the benchmarks, not just against each other. If you rank them only against each other, you typically end up with a third who are outstanding, a third who are average and a third who are weak. However, it is still possible that none of them could do the job, and ranking doesn’t help you coach them. (Remember how you felt when your mother told you to be more like your older brother or sister? You ended up resenting your mom and your sibling and still not knowing what you were supposed to do). You have to measure them against the benchmarks. You have to explain clearly what they must be able to do and say precisely, in order to be successful in their particular sales role. A good competency assessment gives each rep a detailed inventory of the competencies they must posses, and a clear indication of where they stand against each. Only then can you expect them to be open to your sharing of your infinite wisdom and experience as a sales coach.
6. Train them. Tailor the training to their sales role. Don’t expect your prospectors to sit through a training module on account strategy. Don’t expect your sales masters - the ones that scored off the sales competency chart – to sit through any training at all. In fact, get them to co-facilitate the training with you or your trainer. They’ll get the recognition they crave, they’ll contribute to the development of the others, and yes they will learn something. You don’t really know what you think you know until, you try to teach someone.
7. Coach them. Guided by your competency assessment, and keeping in mind that it is a process, not an event, and trying to be as humble as you possibly can, offer your reps your experience, observations and enthusiasm. Notice I didn’t mention advice. In sales coaching, as in life, offer your advice only when it’s asked for. That’s not to say you shouldn’t ask if your rep would like some advice. But ask only when they appear truly baffled, and respect their answer if it is “No, thanks”.
Seven Ways to Improve Sales Results Without Hiring New People - To learn more about this author, visit John Brennan's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland Smith's Website |
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John Brennan
(Visit John's Website)
John 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 office.microsoft.com/e
n-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.
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