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… Read More
Continue ReadingPeople Need More Feedback
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… Read More
Continue ReadingThe 7:1 Rule
An interesting article here from CNNMoney.com titled 8 ways to be a better boss. The article focuses on coaching which is a task that many sales managers avoid to their own detriment. There are some excellent points in the article and this tidbit of which I was not familiar: 2. Always follow the 7:1 rule. “You must give seven pieces of positive feedback for every one piece of developmental feedback if you don’t want to be perceived as overly critical,” Frankel says. “Catch people in the act of doing things right and reinforce it with praise” – even if they’re just doing the job they get paid for. Seems like… Read More
Continue ReadingWhy Communication Matters
I’m presently working on some leadership projects with our customers so these topics are probably on my mind more than usual. ManageSmarter.com presents an article Communication for Managers 101 that provides 5 steps for better communication between managers and employees. Some of the suggestions are rudimentary, but we encounter many managers who simply do not follow these basic tenets. The reason why good communication is important, in case you had to ask (emphasis mine): Harvard Business Publications recently confirmed what many have always known: effective communication is the number one skill for executives to develop. … A Gallup poll of more than 1 million U.S. workers concluded that the No.… Read More
Continue Reading10 Management Lessons
There might be nothing more important to a business’ success than strong management. When management struggles, the entire company pays a price no matter how large. ManageSmarter.com offers an article with 10 excellent tips for leadership. Here’s a taste: • Have a vision and communicate it. Make sure you clearly communicate your vision for the company. No one follows a leader who cannot communicate the way in which the company will succeed. The future of all your employees is tied closely to the success of your company. Make sure they believe in your company, what it stands for, and its products and services, and make sure they know that the… Read More
Continue ReadingReasons You Are Not Selling
This article is from the Salesopedia website. The article is excellent and rather amusing to read (probably since I am guilty of many of the author’s items). For instance: If you’re a professional salesperson and you’re not selling, it could be because: • You are boring. Do customers cut you off in mid-sentence, or jump in when you pause for breath? Chances are, you’re boring them. Paint a vivid picture and put them in it; use an example or interesting case history to illustrate your point. Whip out some visuals to show them how much they will save. I love it. When is the last time your read something that… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Cost Of Underperforming Salespeople
Here’s an interesting little article I stumbled across this morning from Seacoastonline.com titled Get the most out of your sales team. The premise is simple and accurate – nonproductive salespeople are the bane of any small (or large) business. A nonproductive sales team is among the top common dangers that cause many small businesses to fail. Analyzed studies reveal that a large percentage of small businesses are unsuccessful because of underperforming sales people who bring in, at a minimum, 50 percent less revenue than top performers, according to researcher Dr. John Sullivan, professor of Economics at San Francisco State University. … Studies indicate that a common reason for poor performance… Read More
Continue ReadingTrends Salespeople Must Know
Here is an interesting article from our friends to the north (Canada is the only thing north of us here in Minnesota) titled Six Business Trends Every Salesperson Must Know. All 6 of the trends are interesting and worth the read, but this one caught my attention: Trend #4: We are shifting from the Information Age to the Communication Age. (Communicating is more valuable than informing.) Many salespeople rely on such marketing tools as a company web site, flyers, and sales letters. But all these things are static, meaning they are merely informing people. You hope your sales messages will entice the prospect to call, but it’s still a one-way… Read More
Continue ReadingWhy Do Salespeople Quit?
I’ve read in many articles, blog posts and white papers that people take a job because of the company and quit because of a manager. I have talked to many salespeople about why they are looking for a new opportunity and the vast majority do come down to their manager. But there is an specific reason that we have been encountering of late when it comes to salespeople. Companies desire to seek out and hire strong salespeople and expect that these new salespeople will be strong for them without extensive direction or guidance from them. This lack of involvement is a pet peeve of mine. Do the salespeople want to be hand held? No, but… Read More
Continue ReadingFast Facts About Telecommuting
Seems like our small-sized companies are catching on to the telecommuting option this year which is a bit of a change. I think a good post would be one that lays out a salesperson’s tools of the trade for today. Included in that list would be a web-based CRM and a VPN connection for telecommuting. No? Check these stats out from a recent Wall Street Journal article (h/t to Lee): Seventy percent of Cisco Systems employees regularly work from home at least 20% of the time. So do 34% of workers at Booz Allen Hamilton and 32% at S.C. Johnson & Sons. Those stats, from a recent Fortune companies survey… Read More
Continue Reading