I currently reading Jason Seiden’s new book How To Self-Destruct Making The Least Of What’s Left Of Your Career. You may have guessed from the title that part of the book is written tongue-in-cheek. In fact, it is quite entertaining and a fast read. I’ll provide a full review once I complete the book, but I had to share this insightful commentary for all sales managers. When it comes to excuse-making, one of the favorite topics is time. “I didn’t have time.” “I ran out of time.” “There wasn’t time to ask that question.” These are excuses that need to be corrected. I realize time constraints do occur, but I… Read More
Continue Reading7 Sales De-Motivators
This list comes from Brian Tracy via the SellingPower.com Incentives newsletter. If you have ever managed salespeople, you know how important proper motivation is. Some days salespeople just don’t have it so you have to step in as their manager and give them that push they need. The problems start when you find yourself stepping in daily. At this point, you clearly have a de-motivated salesperson. If you are at this point, here are some topics to consider: 1. Where am I going? Salespeople lose their sense of direction when they are unclear on precisely what is expected of them on a daily basis, what their goals and quotas are,… Read More
Continue ReadingDrucker On Mistakes
Peter Drucker is always an interesting read and clearly was way before his time. BusinessWeek.com provides an article titled Drucker’s Take on Making Mistakes. The article is filled with many great points so it is difficult to highlight just a handful. Here is the gist of the article (emphasis mine): A batting-average mentality, he added, allows for companies to accommodate different kinds of talent. “One man will consistently do well, rarely falling far below a respectable standard, but also rarely excel through brilliance or virtuosity,” Drucker wrote. “Another man will perform only adequately under normal circumstances but will rise to the demands of a crisis or a major challenge and… Read More
Continue ReadingAccountability Is The Key
In recent weeks we have been dealing with a handful of sales managers who all have a different approach to the position. They are all in different industries, but their sales all have many similarities. One of the sales managers has progressed the best so far with his new salesperson during the onramping time. One sales manager has had to fire his salesperson (yes, one we placed) due to many reasons – many of which were the salesperson’s fault. The third sales manager has been tentative with his salesperson, but she is progressing well. The one variable that has had the biggest impact on success has been accountability. The sales… Read More
Continue ReadingSubtle Hiring Tells
I’m thinking of the poker colloquialism “tell.” From Wikipedia: A tell in poker is a detectable change in a player’s behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player’s assessment of his hand. A player gains an advantage if he observes and understands the meaning of another player’s tell, particularly if the tell is unconscious and reliable. Our experiences have provided us with the ability to read certain sales manager behaviors during the hiring process. Typically, we notice the red flags first since they are most dangerous. Here is a sample: Tell: Hiring For Experience Sales managers who pass on strongly-skilled salespeople in favor of salespeople with industry experience. This… Read More
Continue ReadingFatal Assumptions Of Sales Managers
Good article here from ManageSmarter.com titled Can Training Fix Manager Transition Troubles? The primary topic is transitioning sales managers from sales rep roles. This is now small task and we have seen many crash and burn. The author provides some insightful commentary into this common problem. This section truly stands out. The topic is that there are some fatal assumptions new sales managers often make that derail their success. The “fatal assumptions” identified were: 1. My individual contributor success will translate into management success; 2. It’s out of my control—someone else can and should fix this; 3. Being the expert is the most important factor for my credibility; 4. It’s… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging Through Distractions
Dave Kurlan has a post that struck a chord with me. The topic is distractions and how they affect salespeople (my editing): Distractions can take many forms, from the call that takes them off their game, to the illness or death of a loved one that stops their game cold. Distractions can last a few minutes or they can linger for months. You can even understand why some, especially the really bad distractions, can interfere for so long. You know they’ll have distractions so it’s your job to know your salespeople well enough to recognize when they are being affected. Helpd (sic) help them cope, focus and work through them… Read More
Continue ReadingSecret Traits Of Top Salespeople
SalesHQ.com offers up an article that discusses the “secrets” of top sales achievers. A couple of the secrets: • Position themselves with the real decision-makers and avoid those without ‘approval power’. They are able to first identify and then access the formal decision making unit. • Recognize when to treat an old account as a new prospect and keep the relationship fresh, alive and maintain profitability And then there is the most important one: • Never entertain business they do not want because they recognize that it takes just as long to work an unprofitable opportunity through the sales funnel, only to lose it at the death, as it does… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging The Bottom 20%
As a sales manager, it is easy to get caught up encouraging the top 20% and accepting the mediocre performance of the middle 60%. But what to do with the bottom 20%? At a minimum, the sales manager should be riding herd on the bottom 20%. This is a group that can drag a sales department down faster than a boat anchor. If their performance does not improve, they need to be let go. I know that can be difficult for some managers, but that is the reality of running a productive sales department. Selling Power’s Incentives newsletter offers an article addressing this bottom 20%. Fair enough – they should… Read More
Continue Reading5 Questions For Every Sales Manager
A good article here from Selling Power titled Five Questions Every Sales Manager Should Be Able to Answer. The questions are spot on, but pay special attention to number 3 (my editing): Which lead sources result in the highest percentage of closed deals? Do you know where your best leads come from and what those leads look like? When you do, you can better direct your marketing efforts and dollars while boosting your conversion rate. Are your reps selling the most profitable products? Often, reps will sell the products that are easiest to sell rather than the ones that provide the highest margin for the company. Face it: they’re going… Read More
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