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 ReadingSales Requires Mobility
What is your company doing to accommodate remote employees? That question is becoming more common in each subsequent interview I run with our customers. Sales has always been an “outside-the-walls” position, but now that truth is being taken to new levels. From Managesmarter.com’s Get Competitive, Get Mobile (added emphasis): The study polled more than 500 executives globally on whether or not their organizations had implemented mobility initiatives and how often those initiatives were being used. The results show that business mobility is now implemented in most companies and executives report that one fifth of their employees are mobile, spending at least one day a week working outside the office. Reasons… Read More
Continue ReadingOvercoming Objections
Objections are the common hurdle to all sales in all markets. As a sales manager, you need to be able to coach your salespeople through the common objections they will encounter. ManageSmarter.com offers this article – Sales Objections Overruled – as a quick read for handling 5 different objections. I wouldn’t characterize the solutions in the article as groundbreaking, but there is one deserving of comment: 4. Timing: “We’re fine for now.”Some folks just want to sit pat and avoid change€”or at least delay it. They eschew opportunities to grow. Nicely ask: “How has that worked for you so far?” Ask them: “Are you aware of your competitor’s recent moves?” Emphasize… Read More
Continue ReadingChange Your Sales Language
We are all familiar with common sales terms like “cold call,” “closing” and “overcoming objections.” These terms are engrained in the common sales vernacular. But think of the implications of these mechanistic terms. SellingPower.com has a most interesting article titled Watch Your Language! Here’s the hook: Who taught you to talk like you do? When it comes to your sales language; chances are good it was your sales manager€“your first one. For generations now we have been talking about selling from the viewpoint of the Industrial Era. We have seen businesses as machines and accordingly we have “re-engineered” them, “systematized” them, and more. Our premise has been that businesses are… Read More
Continue ReadingTurnover Trouble
Turnover is trouble for any company when it is not controlled. To use a timely analogy, it is similar to a forest fire. A controlled burn clears out a section allowing it to be repopulated with fresh, new trees. An out-of-control fire can destroy an entire forest in a short amount of time. Obviously, extreme turnover is typically a sign of a “churn-and-burn” organization. However, a small, controlled amount of turnover is valuable to an organization’s overall health. But what about a company with no turnover? Is it healthy? This question is difficult to answer in a vacuum. Number of employees, company revenue, market trends, etc. all play into the equation. Yet, problems will… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Can vs. Can’t Approach
One client of ours told me a sales hiring story that led them to us. The sales manager followed the conventional hiring process – post an ad, sort the resumes, interview the candidates from the “yes” resume pile. He chose a salesperson with a glowing resume who absolutely won him over in the interview. He knew he had made a mistake a couple months into her employment. It turns out that this salesperson could not handle making calls in the presence of other people. What I mean is that her phone-intensive position was located in a cube farm with her peers all around her. She was incredibly uncomfortable talking to… Read More
Continue ReadingCommunication Blindness
Anyone who has managed salespeople knows how difficult a task that can be. We see it often in companies where clouded communication occurs daily. I think most of you could name numerous situations throughout your career where management communication simply broke down or worse, did not even occur. SellingPower.com’s article – There€™s No Communication Around Here! – dives right into this topic. Clear communication covers many transgressions. We’ve posted about this topic numerous times since it is so important. In case you had doubts: The latest Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study found that companies with effective communication practices have a 19 percent higher market premium and a 57 percent higher… Read More
Continue ReadingFocus On Your Selling System
SellingPower.com offers up an interesting article in their CRM newsletter – Is CRM Really Improving Sales Productivity? The short answer is no for a handful of reasons. One item resonated with me: Mike Bosworth, author of the bestseller CustomerCentric Selling (Wiley, 2005) argues that the sales process must be adapted to customer buying processes prior to being automated. But that€™s not what€™s happening. Instead, when sales managers see sales productivity dropping, they€™re likely to turn to CRM in an attempt to make their existing, traditional process more efficient. That€™s like stepping on the accelerator when you€™re heading for a cliff. He’s right – there is no reason to automate a… Read More
Continue ReadingA Shot At Perfectionism
Since I work with perfectionists and am not one myself, I was drawn to Penelope Trunk’s latest article – Breaking the Perfection Habit. Let’s just jump into it: Here are the reasons I can’t stand perfectionists: €¢ Perfectionists procrastinate because they’re scared of not being perfect. €¢ Perfectionists are hypercritical to the point that they can’t support people around them. €¢ Perfectionists can’t finish a project because they can always think of a way to improve it. €¢ Perfectionists are phony, because no one’s perfect and they can’t handle showing that in themselves. Well, that is direct, isn’t it? I harass one of our perfectionists for always making a left… 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
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