The economy is foremost on almost every business leader’s mind right now, and rightly so. Many leaders look to entrench their company in a full defensive posture. This approach has to be incorporated, to some extent, during these economies. However, this is an excellent time to be aggressive in the market and to cut against the grain of conventional wisdom. BusinessWeek.com offers up specifics of this approach in their article Managing Employees in a Downturn: For many managers, recessions prompt a near-autonomic reflex: Hunker down, reduce head count, and cut every cost you can. While a certain dose of those bitter pills is unavoidable, smart leaders see downturns as having… Read More
Continue ReadingPrep vs. Admin Time
Oh does this Selling Power article hit close to home – In 2009, Increase Sales Prep Time. I have seen numerous companies place onerous admin tasks on their salespeople to the point where there is a real loss in revenue. Inefficiency is the main culprit, but department structure, sales tools and antiquated technology are typically the pieces of the inefficiency. Here’s the pull quote from the article: Prep Time: The number one complaint among tech buyers is that sales reps are coming in unprepared. They don’t know the account, don’t have an agenda, and do not have good product knowledge. To combat this problem and move more sales beyond that… Read More
Continue ReadingAsk The Tough Questions
In talking with sales managers over the past month or so there is one reoccurring statement that I am hearing – their sales cycle has been extended in this economy. It isn’t that they are not closing sales, it is just taking a bit longer. Buyers are certainly more deliberate, but as we discussed some of their opportunities, it was clear that their sales people are not asking the difficult questions that lead to a qualified deal. I came across this article from Kelley Robertson quite some time ago and passed it on to one of these sales managers – it is worth bringing it up again. The article provides a… Read More
Continue Reading6 Tips For Sales Managers
Sometimes these quick tip articles provide little usable information. This article at Eyes on Sales is not one of those articles – there are excellent suggestions within the 6 tips (pay special attention to number 1): Lack of Process – The cure for this problem is to take your time to document the processes associated with finding, acquiring and retaining customers. Don’t make the mistake of focusing only on sales processes, as there are sales support, customer service, operations and many other processes that need to be examined through this exercise. Lack of Proactive Funnel Management – The number one problem facing many sales managers in this area is the… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Onramping: Pay Now Or Later
It has been a few weeks since we have touched on the subject of onramping of salespeople so it is time to return to this topic. All too often we see management waste an opportunity to set the proper tone with their new hire. They then spend months, even years, trying to correct bad behaviors they allowed in the first place. If you do a search on onramping or onboarding on the web, you will find many articles and all of them at some point will discuss the fact that setting the tone early is very important. So why is this a reoccurring issue for so many new hires? In my reading the… Read More
Continue ReadingMistake-Prone Inspiration
We often tell sales managers to allow salespeople to make mistakes, to stumble through a low value opportunity. These “bloody nose” lessons (as my father calls them) are just as valuable as huge successes. I often learn more from mistakes than successes. In that spirit, I stumbled across this article thanks to the JustSell.com guys. The article details different products that literally came about via mistakes. Some examples – Coca-Cola, Scotchgard, Silly Putty, car tires and many more. This one caught my attention: Yellow sticky notes, officially known as Post-it Notes, got their start in 1968 when a 3M researcher tried to improve adhesive tape. What he got was a… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Managers In Over Their Head
Dave Stein has a provocative post regarding some recent poll data about sales executives. This is excellent: Top Five Reasons Executives Are Unhappy At Work Limited advancement opportunities (12.8%) Lack of challenge/personal growth (12.3%) Compensation (11.7%) Stress Level (7.7%) Job Security (7.7%) For sales executives, I believe there is another reason for unhappiness in their jobs: many don’t have the capabilities to perform successfully. It’s too much of a challenge rather than lack of a challenge (indicated in number 2 above). Here are two indicators that this is true: First, tenure of sales executives is getting shorter year after year. These sales executives aren’t leaving their jobs in less than… Read More
Continue ReadingA Dumb Time-Management Tip
This week Salesopedia is highlighting time-management with multiple authors providing articles. This one by Mike Brooks provides a couple of truly elementary, overly-simple suggestions: Key #1 – Begin each day with a written list of three to five priorities. Ask yourself: “What are the five things that are crucial for me to accomplish today?” (Hint: ask yourself what five things you can do today that will most affect your bottom line, i.e., dollars in your pocket?) Write them down — in order of importance and then…. Key #2 – Start each day with your top three to five priorities and work each one through until it’s done. Then cross it… Read More
Continue ReadingOnboarding, Onramping
We call it onramping because that is truly what occurs with new sales hires. This area is often overlooked or under-served by sales managers. They often hire new salespeople, offer some product/service training and then turn them loose in the field. It is the sink or swim approach that leads to turnover. SellingPower.com reports on this fact in On-Boarding: The Most Overlooked Part of Hiring. Here is why this topic is so important: Unfortunately, great sales on-boarding programs are still the exception, rather than the norm, says Stakenas. He says that most companies are missing an opportunity in the first three to six months of a new hire’s time to… Read More
Continue Reading2 Jobs In 1
The Wall Street Journal offers an article about companies combining 2 jobs into 1 and then hiring based on the lower level job. The author explains it better than me: Some job hunters have been encountering a new kind of downsizing: companies that aren’t eliminating positions entirely, but are combining a mid-level position with a more junior one — then advertising it as a junior slot and offering a lower salary. I’m not sure this is the best approach to hiring in that you often get what you pay for. One of my suggestions would be to assess the candidates if you go this route. There are many talented, young… Read More
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