I read this line from an sales employment ad this morning: Reps are NOT restricted by territory. The unrestricted territory seems innocuous enough…maybe even valuable. It usually isn’t. As a salesperson, I would read this ad with some skepticism in that the company may be trying to add salespeople without a cogent management plan. Back in my early years I took a job with a company that had no territories. There were approximately 15 salespeople in there serving the local market. What I learned is that the “old-timers” had effectively squatted on all of the accounts, whether they had an active relationship or not. Since there were no defined territories… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat To Do In 2009
Selling Power provides another good article – Expert Advice for 2009 – that makes 4 relevant suggestions for this year. Clearly the economy is foremost on everyone’s mind and is affecting sales in a negative way. As they say, the show must go on. You can read the article for the 4 suggestions from 4 different sales trainers, but I especially noted these two: Shift to opportunity mode. Are you in survival mode or opportunity mode? A survival response to the economy is rooted in the “we just need to stay afloat” mentality. Leaders in this mode react by reducing head count, decreasing employee development, and controlling expenses, resulting in… Read More
Continue ReadingRFI?
Unbelievable. I have been solicited in a disgusting, disturbing manner. Read this (my emphasis): This request for information (RFI) shall not be construed to be a Request For Proposal (RFP) and no agreement/contract will be entered into with/awarded to any vendor based on responses to this RFI, and it shall in no way be considered as authorization by <company> for vendors to undertake any work. Nothing in this RFI shall be construed as a commitment to issue a RFP. Response to this RFI will not create any obligation. Neither <company> nor vendors answering this RFI shall be bound by any aspect of their response to this RFI. RFI? Yes, I live… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Sales Manager’s Role
What makes a good sales manager is a question we hear all the time from CEO’s, Presidents and Owners. We have worked with hundreds of sales managers over the years and each one brings his or her own strengths and weaknesses. One variable that is oftened overlooked is whether the corporate culture allows the sales manager to do the job for which he or she is being held accountable. Jonathan Farrington has a great quote that not only answers the question of what makes a good sales manager, but is also the foundation of the sales culture of any organization (emphasis mine): The Sales Leader’s role is one of catalyst – constantly helping their team to… Read More
Continue ReadingWe’re Back…
Ok, we never really went anywhere, we just took the holidays off and enjoyed a time of relaxation. Now the new year is upon us along with what I consider the best selling time of the year. From now until Memorial Day, companies are implementing plans, purchasing equipment/services and focused on business. It is a window for any salesperson to start strong on their 2009 quota. This year definitely will challenge many salespeople as the worldwide economies have been in a funk. However, sales still occur. One thing about being a successful salesperson – you have to have passion with controlled emotions. I’ve seen salespeople allow themselves to get into… Read More
Continue ReadingRecession Retention
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 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 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
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