Clayton Shold over at Saleopedia offers up some stunning survey results from a recent SalesDog.com survey. Check this out (my emphasis): Despite the job pressure, 70 percent of respondents reported being happy with their management, while 64 percent of those taking the survey said they felt adequately recognized for their achievements. A surprising 75 percent of respondents believe their management’s sales expectations or quotas are realistic. I’m sitting here cruising at 70mph in Northern Minnesota as I write. I should clarify that Lee is driving, I am geeking it up in the passenger seat. We have been talking about these results for miles. We often hear of how discontented workers… Read More
Continue Reading6 Sales Myths
This article is from ManageSmarter.com and it debunks 6 very common sales myths. My absolute favorite from the short article: Myth: If sales understood the product better, sales would increase. Reality: Actually, if everyone in the company—e.g., marketing, product developers, IT, and fulfillment, to name a few—understood sales better, sales would increase. That reality is perfectly stated and true. Successful selling, or should I say unsuccessful selling, has more to do with sales technique than it does with product knowledge. However, we have encountered many companies where the other departments felt they could direct the sales department. The common theme in those companies is that these departments believe they know… 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 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 ReadingA Lack Of Praise
This sounds almost comical, but I have seen it first-hand. BusinessWeek.com’s article – Is Praising Employees Counterproductive? – discusses the topic of praising employees for their good work. The gist of the article: After the meeting, James asked Tom, “What were you going to say at the meeting, and why did you stop?” Tom answered: “I was going to praise Penny on her marketing plan, but I’ve already praised her twice this week. I don’t want to go overboard.” There is a fear—an irrational one, in my experience—among certain managers of praising employees too much. It’s as though they believe that one “attaboy” or “attagirl” too many can spoil a… Read More
Continue ReadingPress Box Management
I mentioned a certain manager last week in a post and his desire to be an “observational manager” of a new sales hire instead of a hands-on manager. The problem is compounding itself this week as he contemplates firing the salesperson who started 1 week ago today. These are the headaches we have to deal with in the sales hiring arena. The new salesperson has already had one face-to-face meeting with a small prospect he located and is on the trail of 5 other companies…IN THE FIRST WEEK. He has even accomplished this using his own computer, cell phone and resources. He has also been afforded only 1 or 2… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring By Gut
Imagine a salesperson who comes to a forecast meeting and puts down a huge forecast. The savvy sales manager naturally starts asking a few questions of the salesperson regarding each forecasted account. What is driving them to look for a new solution? What is their decision process? When do they want to have a solution in place? Who else are they looking at for this project? Now imagine the salesperson’s responses involve statements like this: I know we are the best solution for them. I have a good feeling about this one. They will make a decision shortly, they have to think it over. If you have been in sales… Read More
Continue ReadingObservational Management
I kid you not, this approach comes from a manager of a small company that recently hired a new salesperson. The salesperson traveled to the company for a couple days of training before his official start date. He did this on his own dime so he could accelerate his ramp-up time. The manager of the company was involved in the training since this salesperson would report directly to him (remember-small company). During the training days, there was some confusion about when the salesperson should arrive in the morning. No specific time was set, but a general schedule starting around 9am was the target. The salesperson arrived around 9:20am. A stack… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging A Remote Salesforce
We talk about this topic at length because it is more than a trend. ManageSmarter.com’s Long-Distance Teambuilding addresses this topic in a real-world manner: “Sellers by nature like to be in a team environment—they want a high-five and a talk around the water cooler,” says Cowitt, vice president of national advertising sales for Freedom Interactive, the Internet division of Freedom Communications, a media company in Irvine, Calif. So Cowitt implemented a daily phone call, which lasts about 15 minutes, to allow salespeople to exchange ideas, successes and challenges. That is the right approach. We initiated a weekly conference call earlier this year with one of our customers with whom we… Read More
Continue ReadingBusting A Sales Slump
In all honesty, I am a streaky salesperson (at best). I have always been prone to peaks and valleys in my sales which speaks more to my abilities. Nonetheless, this ManageSmarter.com article addresses this problem with tips for breaking out of a slump. First, a great point: Besides, prospects can smell desperation in sales people. If you panic, your prospects will sense that you’re desperate, and they’ll avoid you. Oh that is so true. Prospects have an innate ability to detect a salesperson working a deal out of desperation. And, of course, that desperation typically plays out as a sizeable discount in the sale price. Then there is this: Third,… Read More
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