Clayton has a post on his Salesopedia blog that references some recent survey results from their highly-visited site.  One result jumps off the screen:

What’s the toughest objection?

Indifference …….. 64.7%
Price …………….. 26.5%
Timing …………… 8.8%

Isn’t that the truth?  We used to work for a sales trainer who always stressed that indifference is the worst outcome of a sales call.  Salespeople know what to do with a yes (after writing that, I wondered if there are salespeople who don’t know what to do with a yes…), they know what to do with a no, but no one is certain of what to do with a maybe.

As a sales manager, there is no worst qualifying outcome.  If the prospect cannot get to a yes or no at this moment in time, the sales rep on the account best be able to define what items still need to be qualified.  If the rep does not know, you have bigger problems on your hands.

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Interesting article here from BusinessWeek.com titled Talent and “Humbition” that discusses a common problem with hiring superstars - they tend to have a me-first mentality.  Part of that mentality is what makes them successful, but there are stars out there who approach their work with a humbleness that is inspiring.

Here is a good point in regards to this approach:

First, to CEOs, HR directors, and the founders of startups: The best-run companies I know are indeed obsessed with filling their companies with great people. But they also believe that recruiting stars doesn’t mean succumbing to a me-first star system. They understand that what it means to be great is as much about values as virtuosity, as much about what makes people tick as what they know. Call it the character of competition—the relationship between a company’s identity in the marketplace and the sense of identity that people bring to the workplace. Winning the war for talent doesn’t mean lavishing big stock-option packages on every self-impressed MBA or Java programmer you meet.

And now the definition of humbition:

What’s humbition? It’s a term I first heard from Jane Harper, a nearly 30-year veteran of IBM. It is, she explains, the subtle blend of humility and ambition that drives the most successful leaders—an antidote to the know-it-all hubris that affects so many business stars. “The more I know,” she says sensibly, “the more I know there is to know.”

We have seen these types of salespeople before, but they are somewhat difficult to find.  In sales, we often encounter a certain swagger amongst the highly successful salespeople.  Some swagger is ok, maybe even helpful.  ONLY some.  We have encountered salespeople who were highly successful, but their swagger had grown into arrogance.  More times than not, these salespeople crossed a line that led to their dismissal.

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I’m digging around the resume pile again and came across a title that I actually enjoyed (slightly edited by me):

Sales Pro Seeking New Dragons To Slay

I know, it is a bit quirky, but it stands out which is important in it’s own right.  I opened up the resume to look at the details inside and found this piece of information under the Education section (redacted by me):

_________ University
1986-2001
Liberal Arts

So much for the good title.

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One of the real draws of working at a smaller company is the opportunity to have direct access to management-level decisions.  As larger companies trim their payrolls, skilled employees will enter the candidate pool.  These candidates may find a smaller company provides new opportunities for their personal skill set.

The Wall Street Journal discusses this topic in Moving to a Small Company Can Lead to Big Rewards:

That close proximity to upper management often leads to quicker action. Mr. Macdonald, the former Bristol-Myers worker, says he has the power to get things done more expeditiously at his new employer, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. in Hawthorne, N.Y. “There’s less bureaucracy,” he says. “Decisions are made without having to go through a number of layers of approval.”

Being able to influence a company’s bottom line is what led Scott Ruthfield to join WhitePages.com Inc. in April as vice president of engineering and technology. “Everybody plays a core role, so if you do a good job, you are directly contributing to way the business is going to succeed,” says the former Amazon.com Inc. manager.

And here is the pull quote that gets to the alluring aspect of a small company (emphasis mine):

Small-company converts also mention the room to gain experience in new practice areas—or to return to the heart of a business—as another plus. “You get divorced from the nuts and bolts of operating a business when you work for large companies,” says Mike Barnes, a newly hired logistics executive at Halton Co., a provider of construction equipment in Portland, Ore. Mr. Barnes says the depth of involvement he has at his new firm has another upside: A level of job satisfaction he says he hasn’t felt in a long time.

We have had much success placing large-company candidates into small company positions.  A common theme amongst the candidates is a bureaucracy burnout from the larger company culture.  The opportunity to have an impact on the direction of a company provides an incentive that is less attainable at the larger company.

Granted, there are drawbacks to be addressed, mainly compensation (especially benefits) and resources.  These items have to be addressed in the early stages, but we have found the upside of our smaller customers to be of great interest to large-company candidates.

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BusinessWeek.com offers up a scathing discussion of Gen Y in Getting to Know Gen Why.  I’m no expert on Gen Y, but this article takes them out to the woodshed (had to throw in an old school saying).

What you hear is: “They don’t want to pay their dues, play by the rules, or give their best to any project unless they are sure it will get them a promotion, a raise, or some kind of recognition. And then if they aren’t totally happy, or if you look at them wrong, they’ll bolt for the next job!”

And this:

Today’s students memorize names, dates, and algebraic equations, but they graduate having no concept of the importance of showing up for work on time, dressing professionally, following instructions, bringing their best to work every day, etc.

To be fair, I truly agree with this one:

Many parents have coddled their kids, made excuses for their poor behavior and performance and focused far too much on their self-esteem. Today, every kid on a sports team gets a trophy for being on the team. They haven’t been taught how important real work is to success.

My son played soccer last year and the adults didn’t keep score (the kids did so in their heads).  No matter how lopsided the score, the adults would say it ended up tied.  I find this approach moronic.  This approach forfeits many life lessons that are much tougher to learn at an older age.  I would rather my kids learn some of these lessons during an insignificant soccer game instead of a later time - like their first job out of college.

Lastly, a good piece of advice concerning this young generation:

These kids are street smart and know they need lots of skills to impress their next employer and get to the next level, but they’re used to information being presented to them with high-speed graphics and an adrenaline rush. As you might imagine, training as it now stands must be completely reinvented.

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If you are truly looking for frustration inspiration today, check out this article from Forbes.com - How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20.  Yup, the article profiles of 5 different teenage millionaires.

I thought the second person was amazing:

Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents’ holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.

But the little guy didn’t stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.

He bought his little sister’s collection of Beanie Babies.  Now that is an entrepreneur!  There is far more to his story if you read the article, but this may sum it up best:

“I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month,” says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, “Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million.”

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This reminder is from the daily JustSell.com email:

Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Theodore Levitt once said, “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.”

The sales point: your prospect doesn’t want a product; she wants a solution. You need to listen to uncover your prospect’s hidden needs, and then sell your product as a solution. It’s not about what you’re selling - it’s about how what you’re selling can help the customer. Be valuable.

And remember - a good salesperson walks away if he cannot truly help his prospect.

That last sentence is difficult for many salespeople.

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The principle of owning vs. renting is powerful especially when it comes to an employee’s job.  Ownership of a job is a fickle thing.  Yet, I have worked for managers who assigned responsibility and provided enough autonomy to allow me to excel in my role.  The younger generations seem to relish this approach even more than my Gen X group.

ManageSmarter.com offers up an article with a clear title - Padlocking the Revolving Door on Turnover.  There are 4 good points to support the article’s title, but one stands out clearly:

• Foster a sense of ownership within employees. The old encouragement to “act like you own it” is good advice. The challenge is making the adage practical. It is difficult to build a sense of ownership when the plans, activities, and details are dictated to you. Managers need to find ways to actively engage employees in contributing ideas to plans, activities and outcomes. The more employees share in the rewards of success and are supported in turning failures into learning and growth opportunities, the more they can build a sense of ownership for their projects and become fully engaged in providing successful outcomes consistently.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this approach.  Few employees, though there are some, want to work under dictatorial management.  The key point I see in this ownership approach is that it provides a path to growth for the employee.  Gen Y craves this career track as have the generations that preceded them.  The difference is that many Gen Y employees will simply leave the company to gain more skills at a different employer.

This fact leads back to the premise that people tend to remain in place when they own while they have a tendency to move around more when they rent.  Keep that in mind as you develop your team in hopes of greater retention.

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Wall Street Journal offers Avoiding Conflicts, The Too-Nice Boss Makes Matters Worse…you can see where this is going.

“In a knowledge economy, where work is more complex and interdependent, people need feedback more — what they particularly need feedback on are on things that are difficult to give: one’s interpersonal style,” says David Bradford, a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

…

Bosses who want to avoid any discomfort, “use generalities so people really don’t know what they’re talking about,” says Laura Collins, an HR consultant. Instead, they tend toward one-size-fits-all comments: “pay a little more attention to detail” and “improve the way you communicate” and “develop better organization skills.”

These are real problems today in our non-confrontational society.  I subscribe more to the theory that if you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs.

There is a specific communication style that is highly susceptible to this approach - the High S.  They almost fear confrontation to the point where they will use generalities instead of simply being candid and honest.  To be an effective manager, you have to provide both positive and negative feedback lest bad habits develop.

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How is that for a title?  Before I get flamed on this topic, let me pull some excerpts from a Human Resource Executive Online article (emphasis mine):

A recent study conducted by DolmatConnell & Partners debunks the myth of runaway executive pay. The findings of the study tell a much different story than what the media has heralded — instead of out-of-control CEO pay, the study shows that CEO pay rises and falls with company financials.

…

The study looked at compensation of CEOs in The Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past 10 years in relation to company financials, such as revenue, market capitalization and total shareholder return.

It reveals that total CEO pay has grown at an annual compounded rate of 15.1 percent over the past 10 years, while compounded total shareholder return has grown 12.1 percent over the same period.

Individual components of CEO pay are equally as related to certain financial metrics and show the same rise and fall with financial performance.

For example, base salaries are strongly linked to revenues because base salaries are the element of CEO compensation that is paid for shouldering responsibilities that generally increase with company size, and revenues are the primary indicator of company size.

The study found that although the salaries of CEOs from the Dow companies have increased at an average annual rate of 9.6 percent over the past 10 years, revenues have increased at an average annual rate that is approximately 50 percent greater — at 14.7 percent per year.

Now how can this be when we have watched the mainstream media perform a witch hunt on CEO compensation over the past 1-2 years?  Here are the two pull quotes in my opinion:

These finding illustrates the larger trend in DJIA companies: Base salary increases have been accompanied by revenue growth, showing a pay-for-performance relationship.

and

So, instead of gratuitously handing out large equity grants to CEOs, companies are carefully assessing CEO performance as related to company performance to ensure that shareholder interests are appropriately addressed.

You can read the entire analysis in regards to short-term incentives, long-term incentives and other aspects of CEO compensation.  You are going to find the same answers as here.

In case my position on this topic isn’t clear, I’ll reference a post from 13 months ago - The Underpaid CEO.

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