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 ReadingWhat Does Job Vacancy Cost?
Interesting article here from RecruitingTrends.com that highlights a speech given recently by Dan Hanyzewski, staffing director from Nike. There is one piece of data that caught my attention immediately: “This is the first time in American history that we’ve had four generations at work at the same time,” Hanyzewski says. How do you communicate an employer brand that will attract such a broad audience? Quite a dilemma, isn’t it? The task of branding your company effectively for 4 different generations is a tremendous undertaking. But the discussion then turns to a critical point (my editing): “One of the most powerful metrics is time,” Hanyzewski says. But, what’s does it mean?… Read More
Continue ReadingTop Reasons People Change Jobs
These lists seem to come out on a regular basis with different results. Yet, I’m a sucker for a list so I read them. The one consistent piece of information I read is that compensation is often overrated. People may say they changed jobs for a better compensation package, but usually it is some other factor driving them out of their current job. I’m not sure that holds up well in sales. The top reasons people have changed jobs: Downsizing or restructuring (54 percent); Sought new challenges or opportunities (30 percent); Ineffective leadership (25 percent); Poor relationship with manager (22 percent); To improve work/life balance (21 percent); Contributions to the… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Gen Y Workplace
From CollegeRecruiter.com: Generation Y a/k/a Millennials promise to: Hold only productive meetings. Hallelujah! Shorten the workday by focusing on productivity. Bring back administrative assistants — even if Gen Y pays for them out-of-pocket and even if they’re virtual. Redefine retirement by taking multiple mini-retirements. They’ll find real mentors by teaching older workers about technology and in return be guided through office politics. Put human back into human resources. Promote people to management based on their managerial skills, not their seniority. Continue to value what their parents have to offer because Gen Y respects their parents and their parents respect their Gen Y children. Trade off potential raises and promotions for… Read More
Continue ReadingLeadership Requires Resilience
BusinessWeek.com has an intriguing article titled Why Failures Can Be Such Success Stories. I have an appreciation for these discussions because I can relate to many of these topics. My career has had many ups and downs and certainly does not look like a textbook example of how to build a career. In business—as in sports, politics, and the arts—many of the greatest and most influential leaders share a history of failure. Automaker Henry Ford and animator Walt Disney both stumbled badly with early business ventures. Early in his career with General Electric (GE), Jack Welch caused an explosion that blew the roof off a building. Not long after taking… Read More
Continue ReadingBe Conservative On The Compensation
I read this line in a sales employment ad this past weekend: Actual Year 1 average earnings – $100,000 – $200,000 ++ REALISTIC A $100K spread? You know, this type of line is an immediate red flag for a jobseeker. It may be true, but most salespeople will be skeptical. They will put a multiplier of <1.0 on the number. The sad part of this ad is that it was posted by a sales recruiting company. The best bet in these ads is to be somewhat conservative on the compensation and keep a tight range on the potential.
Continue ReadingThe Gasoline Tipping Point
$4.50 here in the Twin Cities. According to this Pioneer Press story: And if the price hits $4.50 per gallon, more than half of the commuters in the Twin Cities said they’ll be looking at changes in their daily commute. The survey found commuters are most aggressive about looking for options in Atlanta, Dallas and the Twin Cities. They are slowest in San Francisco. The gas price is a strong lever in sales recruiting right now, but you have to be prepared to discuss the reimbursement side of the equation. We have noticed a definitive upclick in the discussion of mileage reimbursement/car allowance. In fact, this topic is coming up… Read More
Continue ReadingMarketing In A Tough Economy
The Wall Street Journal pens an article about Coach purses and what they are doing to expand their brand. Clearly it is a strong brand today, but they play at the upper end of the price curve. Inside the article is a poignant comment from their CEO regarding marketing: We want to be transformative in the way we look. You can’t be iterative when the economy is tough. Simple, sound point he makes, isn’t it? If you continue down a repetitive path, you are going to run into revenue shortfalls in this slow economy. You have to change something up, refocus it, introduce something new, etc. Some of the most… Read More
Continue ReadingAlways Be Interviewing Salespeople
From Inc.com’s Sold! blog (my highlighting): The number one mistake in building and maintaining an effective sales team is a flawed hiring process. While there are many elements to consider, my first concern has always been to interview constantly. Always look for exceptional people in and out of your industry. Here are some of my other suggestions for hiring: • Pass on experience and look for people who show some element of emotional intelligence and personal magnetism. • Interview each person at least three times before you send them to another team member. • Prepare questions that take the applicant past normal responses. Get them to solve a sample problem,… 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
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