The first two parts of our series on proactive sales management have been focused on foundation and structure. An experience about a year ago, sums up the crux of the problem – and the eventual fallout. Depending on the sales scenario, product knowledge can be a foundational item that should not be compromised. Having been in a very technical environment for most of my sales career, experience says a sound product foundation is important in the sales process. I’m not suggesting that a salesperson delve into the minutia of every last product detail. What I am suggesting is the ability to use product information and knowledge in the sales process.… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Are You Afraid Of?
The Hammer’s recent post, The Trick to Talent Upgrades, brings up a touchy subject for some sales managers. What if the talent upgrade includes people with more experience or with seemingly superior skills to those of the sales manager? If I upgrade the talent I manage, where does that leave me? Unfortunately, these types of scenarios make our role rather difficult. We have encountered more than a few instances where these situations have derailed strong candidates. This derailment has happened despite the sales manager’s stated goal of upgrading the skills and experience of the sales force. In these types of situations, I find it helpful to make myself go through… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Feathers Are Fine
Velvet Hammer’s recent post, Retention Past Retirement, did not “ruffle my feathers.” Nice try, Hammer Boy. As we read more and more about the “graying” of the workforce, it should stimulate some thoughts and conversation about experience and how to take advantage of the experienced workers wishing to remain active. Elizabeth Hocking, writing in the Small Business Times had this to say: To combat the graying of its workforce while recruiting and retaining younger employees, Cleaver Brooks started a mentoring program about two years ago. Older workers are paired with younger workers to share their experiences and mistakes, helping the younger workers move more quickly up the ladder, Pfefferkorn said.… Read More
Continue ReadingWrong Way Purchasing
Hammer’s recent post brought back the memory of a experience I had about 18 months ago. I was with a sales rep at a meeting hastily put together because a vendor’s VP of Sales was coming to town. Although we had several very good, qualified meetings on the schedule, our local rep wanted to make sure the VP was kept quite busy with appointments. So we walked into this last minute meeting not really knowing much about why we were there (man, do I hate that!!!). I asked the attendees to tell us what their role was within the organization, why they were attending the meeting and what they hoped… Read More
Continue ReadingValue – You Or Your Product?
Selling Power.com published an article entitled Six Sins of Selling that discusses modern changes in selling and sales people’s need to change and adapt to them. Certainly that statement is true, but item #2 especially caught my attention. Sales Sin #2: Selling personality rather than value Customers will buy from people they like. There is no question about it. Today€™s buyer, however, is much more sophisticated and has much more information at his or her disposal. The information revolution gives customers a global arsenal of data and an almost limitless number of options. In the past personality may have been your core value. Today it will deliver only a slight… Read More
Continue ReadingQualify or Just Bring Cookies
Through our recent assessment work, we have noticed a number of candidates with traits that are not considered desirable in a sales role. In particular, those who have high Social and low Utilitarian motivations. Often, these people have a need to be liked, accepted and helpful even to their own detriment. Those traits are desirable in many positions, but not sales. The main reason is this type of salesperson’s inability to qualify prospects by asking strong questions. A sales person that doesn’t qualify opportunities wastes valuable time, energy and company resources. They typically will take any meeting they can get, return with no particular purpose in mind and spend way… Read More
Continue ReadingCompensation Limitations Part Deux
As you would expect, my interpretations of the articles referenced by Herd Enuff’s comment are much different than the musings of the young lad known as the Velvet Hammer. I’m assuming the young lad chooses to ignore the aforementioned differences between the private and public sector for a reason. Perhaps it’s because of the harsh realities of situations like the Enron scandal. Or maybe the real need for legislation like Sarbanes Oxley, or the latest SEC disclosure rules – designed to protect the “average” investor from greedy C-level execs. Unless you’re a strict libertarian, you’ll have to admit that you enjoy the benefits of our “horrible government intervention” every day.… Read More
Continue ReadingCompensation Limitations
The illustrious Mr. Hammer has been attempting to illicit a response from me regarding Executive Compensation. His latest post Why Executive Salary Caps Don€™t Work requires a response. Maybe I missed it in his post, but, I don’t see where Mr. Hammer separates the “Public” domain from the “Private” domain. Two very different worlds. First a confession. I’ve been known to manage and exploit a compensation plan to it’s fullest. Actually, I am quite proud of the fact that I’ve made some CEO, CFO and HR types very, very unhappy. Getting the most out of a compensation plan is EXACTLY what you should expect from a top-level sales person. Exactly… Read More
Continue ReadingRetention – Bad Moves And A Good Move
If you have noticed in our posts, we are paying more and more attention to retention. (say that 10 times fast!) The employment market clearly indicates that it’s a hot topic. Over the years, two compensation moves really set off the negative alarms in my mind. They also made me, as a sales manager, more aware of how compensation impacts salesperson performance. Increased quotas. When quotas are increased (which isn’t necessarily “bad”), the first thing I always looked for was the corresponding compensation. If the message was “We need you to sell more,”that’s fine as long as everybody in the organization wins. However, trouble developed when the message came through… Read More
Continue ReadingExperience Or Age – Which Is It?
I take a fair amount of grief from the “youngsters” in our organization. Being the elder statesmen has earned me several names and acronyms not suitable for publication. A recent article in Money magazine listed the “Best Jobs” if you’re over 50 and planning a new career. What struck me most, were the following tips – regardless of age or occupation. Make age an advantage Sure, bias is out there. It’s up to you to put your age in a positive light. Talk up your experience and how it fits into what a potential employer is looking for. Is the company trying to launch a service, cut costs or find… Read More
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