I made that up, Sinking Stock Syndrome, from some interactions I have had recently with a couple of small business owners. Both owners suffered from this syndrome which had disastrously negative effects on their company, both in revenue and morale. Here is how I define my newly-minted syndrome – an irrational hope that a grossly underperforming salesperson will miraculously turn things around and become a sales superstar. It rarely happens. The problem stems from the business owner who has invested in this failing salesperson. Notice I used “business owners” – I do believe this syndrome is more prevalent among this group as they are closely tied to the business (i.e.… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Departure Time
I do think there is an impending, colossal jump of sales talent in the very near future. The Herman Trend Alert speaks to this potential in their latest report: According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than one-quarter (28 percent) of sales employers are concerned about losing their high performing workers in the second quarter, while more than one-third (35 percent) of sales workers said it is likely they will start looking for a new job when the economy picks up. And here is why: Increased workloads, longer hours and fewer resources related to the recession may be contributing to job dissatisfaction. Looking at key factors that influence job satisfaction… Read More
Continue ReadingBattle Lines
I’ve been busy over the past week or two handling a myriad of business topics and tasks which has decreased my blogging time dramatically. One item has come up during this time at one of our customers – a battle of wills amongst managers. This is no small battle, it has turned into an ongoing war for which I am now in the midst of the battlefield. Without going into specifics, I can tell you where we start in these situations – motivations. The first place to look when there is interpersonal conflict within an office team is the motivation pattern for each individual. In the instance with our customer,… Read More
Continue ReadingElectronic Layoff
The news stories are flowing about layoffs, downsizing and closing in this brutal economy. One such story from abcnews.com shares stories from readers regarding extreme situations for being let go. This one was amusing: After a traditional face to face layoff session, my company tried a new kinder gentler approach. They called a big meeting and announced that every employee had e-mail back on their computer that would tell them if they still had a job. I didn’t! I’ve been let go during layoffs before and there isn’t any easy way to do it. However, it seems to me that if your communication strategy is to use some form of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Key To Sales Retention
Listen, according to this Selling Power article: “One of the mistakes companies have made in the past is that they make decisions without real input from the people who are most affected by the hiring decisions,” says Opton. “Companies need to realize that they always have two sets of customers – internal and external. The minute that someone comes to work for them, that person becomes an internal customer to the organization. The organization needs to listen to what their needs are and act on those needs.” The article references a survey regarding executives’ wants, but it is representative of employees also. The interesting stat that always seems to come… 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 ReadingDon’t Drink The Kool-Aid
The doom-and-gloom economic reporting continues and as a sales manager it is important to keep a pulse on your team. More articles are being released on the topic of employees getting skittish about their future with the company. Bob Rosner offers some good advice for these employees in his Working Wounded blog: Be careful to not drink the Kool-Aid with coworkers by being hyper-critical about your company’s future. Get an outside opinion. If you work for a public company, talk to a stock broker. A search in our city listed 391 brokers who offer a free consultation. If you work for a smaller company, check with vendors to see if… Read More
Continue ReadingA Tourniquet For Talent Bleed
Last week, Lee posted about a company that terminated a salesperson via voicemail while he was at home sick. That’s low, but this company is one that has a long-standing problem regarding turnover. We know this salesperson fairly well and we know he has significant sales talent. Yet he is one of many strong salespeople who have left this company or been terminated by them. It is almost part of their culture (that’s not hyperbole). This CareerJournal.com article – Best Way to Save: Analyze Why Talent Is Going Out the Door – addresses this very issue. Rather than deny a talent bleed, executives should carefully analyze why it is happening.… Read More
Continue ReadingDefining Experience
Quick hitter – say a candidate has worked at a particular company for 5 years. When phone screening and interviewing them about that experience, it is important to determine if they have 5 years of unique experience or 5 years of the first year over and over. That is a twisted sentence, but I hope you get my point. We’ve run into this issue with salespeople in previous positions. Did the salesperson grow in the position over their tenure or did they simply perform the same tasks repeatedly over their tenure. Don’t underestimate the importance of this distinction. We’ve seen decent salespeople go “stale” over time and, in most instances, it… Read More
Continue ReadingYou Need To Know Skills
The resume discussion rages on. Today’s ERE article by Dr. Williams is an excellent discussion about why skills are important in hiring. Resumes cannot clearly display a candidate’s skills so you have to do more digging. Here are a couple of excellent excerpts from the article (emphasis mine): Once you get past an executive’s glowing resume, dig for details. Most important, try to understand the skills and motivations he or she will bring to the job. Often these will not be evident in the resume, nor will they be evident in the interview. Both usually address results, but “results” are often not the same as skills. Think of results as… Read More
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