The 7 Reasons Why Sales Managers Fail
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Over the next month we will be sharing articles by a number of authors…..enjoy
Have you been scratching your head wondering why your sales team is not hitting revenue goals? Do you feel like you’re doing everything you can and giving it your all a manager but are not getting consistent results? Read on to determine if you are a product of these 7 reasons sales managers fail:
1. Inability to Transfer Skills
Sales managers often move into a sales management role because of their ability to identify and win business. Unfortunately, your great selling skills are of no use or value to the organization if you can’t transfer these selling skills to your team.
In the words of Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, “When you take on a leadership role, it’s no longer about you, it’s about them.” In other words, it doesn’t matter how good you are, it only matters how good you can make the individuals on your sales team.
2. White House Syndrome
It’s easy for sales managers to catch this disease and lose touch with reality. (How much is a carton of milk?) Sales managers start camping out in the “white house” (the corporate office), getting caught up in the minutia of reports, meetings and firefighting. They forget the real reason they were hired as a sales manager: to train and coach their sales team to the highest level of performance. This isn’t accomplished in the “white house.”
Training and coaching are accomplished by riding with your sales team and calling on the real world – your prospects and clients. The cushy chair in corporate is more comfortable; the car seat is always more profitable.
3. Field manager, Corporate Manager, All-Around Manager
In my former corporate world, I had seven sales managers reporting to me and quickly figured out there were three types: field manager, corporate manager and all-around manager.
Field managers stand staunchly by their team, defend all actions and refuse to understand or endorse corporate objectives. The corporate manager is interested only in moving up the corporate ladder, leaving their sales team without a voice in the corporation. The all-around manager gets it. They achieve the hard balance of presenting the sales team’s issues to senior management while communicating and enforcing corporate objectives to their sales team.
The field manager enjoys a lot of love and limited growth, the corporate manager builds a sales culture of distrust, and the all-around manager grows leaders, profits and companies.
4. No Tough Love
When you accept the role of sales manager, you accept the responsibility of growing people as well as profits. A great sales manager is similar to a great parent. Good parents set expectations of behavior and character for their children, and hold their kids accountable to those expectations. They understand they’re not in a popularity contest and refuse to accept excuses or cave in to comments such as, “none of the other kids’ moms expect them to…..”
Great sales managers set clear expectations for their sales team and don’t cave when the sales team pushes back on standards of excellence. They put aside their need to be liked for the need to be respected. They understand that tough love creates high-performance sales cultures.
5. No Duplicable Sales Process
The example I use is of an athletic coach and their playbook. An NFL coach always has a playbook and requires each player to study, learn and execute the plays.
The professional football player isn’t allowed to run their own playbook, regardless of the number of years they’ve been playing ball. Sales managers, on the other hand, often lack a playbook and give the excuse, “Well, I hire people with sales experience.” The result is a sales manager trying to manage 20 different playbooks filled with old and ineffective plays.
6. Lack of Prospecting
Sales managers must prospect; however, the target changes. Instead of prospecting for business, sales managers must be consistently prospecting for top sales talent. A mistake often made by sales managers is looking for top talent in crisis mode, after someone on their team has been fired, resigns or moves.
The pressure of hitting a sales quota results in sales managers settling for a second-best candidate and expecting first-rate sales results. Great sales managers prospect monthly for top talent to keep their people pipeline full.
7. Sales Team is Stroke-Deprived and Fun-Deprived
High-driving types often land in the position of sales manager because of their ability to achieve goals. They don’t need a lot of strokes and are very results-oriented. The problem is that high-driving sales managers are managing salespeople who have a high need for recognition, interaction and fun.
The unsuccessful sales manager doesn’t realize their new sales activity plan includes giving strokes and pats on the back, creating recognition programs and setting up events to hit the fun quota.
Good Selling!
Colleen Stanley is the founder and president of SalesLeadership, Inc. She is a monthly columnist for national Business Journals, author of ‘Growing Great Sales Teams’ and co-author of ‘Motivational Selling.’ Prior to starting SalesLeadership, Colleen was vice president of sales and marketing for Varsity Spirit Corporation. During her 10 years at Varsity, sales increased from 8M to 90M.
She is the creator of the EI Selling System™, a unique and powerful sales program that integrates emotional intelligence skills with consultative sales skills. Training and consulting services offered are:
• Benchmarking, Selection and Hiring of Top Sales Talent
• Consultative Sales Training
• Leadership Training for Sales Managers
• Major Account Sales
• Prospecting and Referral Training
• Sales Compensation
• Territory Management
• Customer Relationship Management
http://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com, or become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/SalesLeadership.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colleen_Stanley
Popularity: 2% [?]
Want to leave a comment?Sales Managers: Watch This Video
A friend of mine sent this to me today and with the new year just unfolding I thought it was a great reminder about just getting out there and doing it!! Will could have been a sales manager.
It does not matter if you are a sales manager in boston or a sales manager in manchester. It is all about putting your all into it. Will sums this up really well.
Enjoy and have a fantastic 2010!!
Best Wishes
Denise
Popularity: 2% [?]
Want to leave a comment?Sales Force Management Tips:Identifying the Three Types of Sales People
AS a new year comes apon us this is an interesting article that will help our ongoing sales management
Sales force management is all about organization, planning, and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the individual members of your sales force. Just as there are different learning styles and personality types, there are three types of salespeople that most sales professionals identify with. This article will provide information about these four types in order to help you discover which types of sales professionals currently make up your sales force. As you read on, you will probably gain insight into which type of salesperson and sales manager you are as well.
The first and most common type of salesperson is what is known as the team player. Team players are typically top performers, and work well with others. These types of sales people are also prone to conservatism, and may be more reluctant than others to try new sales approaches and techniques if they feel like these approaches won’t be successful or if their fellow sales team members won’t like them.
The second most common type of salespeople is usually known as the performer type. At first glance, these types seem like the ideal salespeople because, as their name suggests, they consistently close deals and bring in new clients. The one downside to performers is that they don’t deal with failure well, and may require constant motivation and encouragement. When properly motivated, however, these types of people are invaluable assets to any sales team.
The third most common type of salesperson is the one who always seems to be building up and encouraging others even at the expense of their own career at times. Nurturers can be found everywhere, even in the business world. These people are great team assets, because of their desire to motivate, but need to be encouraged to stray from their comfort zones and take occasional risks.
Most salespeople fall into one of these three categories, but of course, combinations and variations are always possible. Effective sales force management requires any business owner/sales manager to identify and recognize the individual strengths and weaknesses of their sales people, and the best way to do that is to pay attention to how they relate to each other, to potential clients, to you, and to the duties of their jobs. By encouraging their strengths and helping them to improve on their weaknesses, you will be well on your way towards creating a more effective sales force.
Visit our site for sales force management tips, news, articles and other sales management software information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Tillman
Popularity: 18% [?]
1 Comment. Join the conversation?Discover 7 Secrets Savvy Sales Managers Are Using to Revitalize Their Sales Teams
1. Don’t Stay Stuck in the Recession
You might have noticed that as soon as the economy started to show the first signs of souring, it didn’t take long for the news media to jump on top of the story. You couldn’t turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without hearing about how bad the recession was, how bad it was going to be, and how the earth was generally coming apart at the seams. Of course, news makers aren’t stupid. They know that bad news draws viewers and readers, and so they did their best to make sure you heard just how ugly things could get.
Chances are you probably felt at least a little spooked, and that sentiment came through in your day-to-day selling activities. Now that there is an end in sight, you’ll need to let some of that fear and hesitation go. If you’re convinced that the economy is bad, your clients will be, too. They’ll pick up on your lack of confidence, and you can bet that won’t be good for business. The best thing about a recession is watching it end, so be mentally ready when it does.
2. Keep Your Ears to the Ground
It took several months, hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, and a major financial meltdown for most people to realize that the recession was actually happening. How quick do you think they’ll be to recognize an economic recovery?One of the best ways to take advantage of a better economy is to be out in front. As soon as your clients have money to spend, you want to be the first person they talk to about investing some of that cash into new products, services, and equipment. But to do so, you’re going to have to keep a close eye on what’s going on around you, because by the time you read about the recovery in newspaper, it’s going to be too late – your customers will already have bought from someone else.
The key, then, is to look for the news behind the news. Don’t wait for a giant headline to announce “Recession Over.” Instead, look for the small news items and quotes like a detective, searching for clues about your industry. Are local businesses hiring? Do you see press releases from firms that have been awarded new contracts? Any of these would be strong clues that things are starting to turn around, at least for some of your clients and prospects.
3. Take Things Slowly
Looking through the first two tips, you might have gotten the impression that the end of a recession means your customers will be willing to buy just as soon as you’re willing to sell. For some of them, things might be that easy. But for most, you’re going to have to work through the recession mindset for a second time.
The best advice is to be sensitive to your customer’s frame of mind. If they seem anxious or hesitant to start buying again, then ease in with some smaller sales to take some of the tension out of the relationship. It might not be as profitable at first, but you can be sure that your clients will appreciate your patience and eventually reward you with higher sales.
4. Be Ready for Competition
Sooner rather than later, companies are going to start hiring fresh salespeople. You might not think you have much to worry about from new salespeople, but you’re wrong. Some of these folks are coming into your industry with family and social connections. Others are retreads from familiar firms who are looking for a fresh start, but have one or two of your clients in their database. And, a few will be recent graduates or career changers who don’t have any experience or contacts at all, but who have the skill and desire to take some of your business away.
In order to fend off all of these competitors, you’re going to have to keep one eye in the rear view mirror. That means being smart about your business. As more money and business start to float around, then by all means do what you can to find new orders. But at the same time, make sure you are keeping in touch with your existing client base. Don’t let them think you’ve gone missing.
5. Reposition The Value of Your Products and Services
There are a lot of companies and salespeople out there who came up with incredibly creative ways to keep new orders coming in while the economy was slow. Some ran “fire sales,” while others turned to special financing and other gimmicks. A brave few even went out on a limb and hit the problem square on, referring to their deals as “recession bargains.” In each case, they recognized that their buyers were concerned about security, and used price as a way to draw people in.
But regardless of whether your department tried such a tactic, or whether it worked, now is the time to take down the banners and advertisements offering rock-bottom prices and get back to what works best in a healthy economy, selling value. Position your products and services so that your customers know they’re getting good value, and they’ll keep coming with bigger orders.
6. Start a Sales Library
Only about one out of every twenty or so salespeople makes any kind of effort to read sales books that will help them earn more money. If you were to survey all salespeople across lots of industries, you might even find it’s less than that. For that reason alone, becoming an active reader – that is, devoting a short time each day to looking over some sales educational material. This will give you a massive advantage over your competitors. Why? Because when it comes time to meet with your clients and prospects, you’ll have the advice of dozens of experts and veterans on your side.
An economic recovery brings new opportunities, but it also means increased competition for sales. Study up for it now by reading a few books and you’ll be prepared for the business when it comes.
7. Get Ready to Run
What would you do if your sales volume tripled next week? Do you have the inventory in place to cover that many orders? What about the staff, or the follow-up systems? The middle of a recession is no time to go crazy spending money, especially if sales have been slow and you don’t know when you’ll be able to recoup those investments. At the same time, you need to keep a close eye on what your prospects and customers are doing. There’s almost nothing worse than having a big sales rush and not being able to meet it. With that in mind, you will need to walk a fine line between saving money and being ready for bigger business. At the very least, you should be sure that you are personally prepared for an increase in the number of customers, phone calls, and orders that could come with a sudden change in the economic picture.
Your office should be stocked, organized, and running efficiently. If you haven’t been seeing very many prospects lately, be sure you have pressed suits, working demos, and whatever else you might need to start closing orders. If you feel like you might not be ready for an upswing, take care of those problems immediately.
Remember, things don’t always happen gradually. Just because things seem slow today doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be so tomorrow. This recession will end, possibly in a few months, and you’ll need to be ready to sell the moment it is.
http://www.carlhenry.com
chenry@carlhenry.com
Popularity: 55% [?]
Want to leave a comment?How Sales Managers Can Make Meetings & Sales Teams Far More Productive With This One Strategy
How Sales Managers Can Make Meetings & Sales Teams Far More Productive With This One Strategy
Sales managers spend a lot of time in meetings and attempting to motivate their sales teams. Much of this time is truly wasted and not invested because the focus is on existing problems such as failure to increase sales, declining customer loyalty, etc instead of focusing on solutions.
Problems in any organization are far easier to identify and in many cases re-identify. However, determining solutions and then executing those solutions is far more difficult. Possibly that is why there are endless meetings and far fewer results happening in many businesses. Sales Coaching Tip: Problem re-identification is another word for insanity – doing the same thing over and over again hoping for different results.
If you are facing the endless meeting behaviors as a sales manager, have you considered this one simple strategy to reverse those non-productive problem identification meetings – a proven goal achievement process reinforced with a proven goal setting tool.
For example, the weekly sales meeting discusses the ongoing problem of inability to increase revenue. Instead of beating this dead horse, write a goal statement that the sales team will increase sales by 2% during the next week. Sales Coaching Tip: Break large goals into smaller ones. Remember to eat the elephant one bite at a time instead of attempting to eat the entire elephant at one setting.
Before you jump into the action steps, invest the time to build the emotional buy in from each team member. List all the gains for achieving this objective as well as all the pains associated with failure.
Next work through all the known and unknown (potential) obstacles preventing that goal from being achieved. This is the time for active brainstorming. If your selling team is large, break them up into smaller groups.
Now bring the sales team back together and list all the possible obstacles on a white board or flip chart. Either collectively or again in teams start thinking about possible solutions for each obstacle. Then as a group determine the best solution for each obstacle.
Finally, identify time frames (dates) and delegation if necessary. At your next meeting, track your progress and make any course corrections. If the sales goal is achieved, set another. Use this goal achievement process to provide solutions and make those sales meetings truly valuable to everyone.
http://www.processspecialist.com/sales-skill-assessment.htm
Popularity: 52% [?]
2 Comments. Join the conversation?Micro Managing Sales People Is a Big Mistake!
Let’s face it every company must sell their products and services and thus, sales are essential to having a successful and viable business for-profit enterprise. What did Zig Zigglar say; “Nothing happens until someone sells something,” indeed. Still, we must face up to the fact that sales people are often a different breed, and if you wish to control this high-strung animal, you should realize that micro-managing them is one mistake you should never make. Well then, how do you control them you ask?
First, you give them the tools they need to do their job, next you give them goals that your company must maintain if they are to remain gainfully employed with your. After you give them those minimum standards, you raise the bar by providing financial incentive for reaching greater levels of performance. Additionally, you create a competitive environment, which is where sales people excel. But what you don’t do is micro-manage them or bombard them with incessant paperwork.
Let the salesmen do what they are best at, and as the perform, figure out how you can assist them in doing their job better, but never put up the barriers or bureaucracy or make a ton of rules and then punish them for non-compliance. For if you do these things, you will watch your top salespeople one by one quit, worse, they may soon be working for your competition and hitting all their quarterly objectives and sales goals. Micro Managing Sales People is a Big Mistake, so please consider all this.
Lance Winslow is a retired franchisor – Lance Winslow’s Bio. Lance Winslow is formerly the CEO of WashGuys family of franchises for instance one of Lance Winslow’s favorite companies on the team; http://www.windowwashguys.com/links.shtml.
Popularity: 52% [?]
Want to leave a comment?How To Hire Top Performers
In a discussion with the head of sales of a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, he wanted to know why some front-line sales managers are much better than others at hiring top performers.
Before answering, I asked if he had a systematic hiring process. The reason I asked that is when there is no process in place the ability to select top-performing reps is dependent on the skills of the sales manager. Anytime you create a systematic process you tend be better at predicting success.
Well, he thought about the question and then responded: “You’re right. How can we create a better hiring process?”
So, with respect to that pharmaceutical exec, here are three critical steps to selecting top performing sales reps:
Step 1: Conduct a Fit Interview
As the title says, the goal of the initial interview is to assess fit. The beauty of this is that even in the absence of great interviewing skills, the sales manager reviewing a candidate’s resume can ask questions around work history, education, personal interests and accomplishments. The essential element here is to determine whether a candidate fits your culture and work environment. And if the candidate does do fit the existing sales team, would you be able to work well with him or her? Is the candidate well-suited for a career in sales? This interview should last less than 30 minutes.
Step 2: Conduct a Behavioral Interview
After you have determined whether or not the pool of potential candidates would be a good fit for you and your organization, you bring back the best candidates for a behavioural interview. This is a more formal interview with structured questions. The key here is a pre-established list of questions related to the organization’s core competencies or leadership principles. Each sales manager is expected to use the list and ask each candidate the same questions.
Many managers lack the skill to conduct effective behavioural interviews, and some training may be required to improve their ability to effectively probe the candidate to provide specific examples of behaviors they have exhibited. This involves asking open-ended questions, listening carefully and taking notes of the degree of specificity and quality of each answer.
For each question the interviewer should take notes and rate the candidate’s response. After each behavioural interview the sales manager should rate each candidate.
This interview may take an hour or more. The goal is to determine if the candidate has clearly demonstrated the competencies to function at a high level since past successes usually are considered are an indication of future success. Watch for reps that generalise answers or say “we.” What we are trying to ascertain is evidence or clear examples of successfully demonstrating the competencies you have determined are important to the position.
Once all interviews are complete the manager can reflect on each candidate’s competencies. Some companies also may conduct additional interviews by other managers and HR during this step.
Step 3: Psychometric Test
Once you have narrowed the pool down to 1-3 potential candidates the use of psychometric tests adds value to the process. There are two possible issues: 1) that top performers don’t always stand out an interview and 2) that poor performers are very adept at putting forth a favourable impression in the interview process.
Psychometric tests add a level of science into hiring process. Many psychometric tests are able to predict performance by measuring source traits associated with success in sales. They are also great in identifying potential red flags that were missed in the behavioral interviews, which in turn allows the hiring sales manager to ask more questions and dig deeper to either validate or negate the red flags. This component adds a second sober look at the candidate that complements the interview process.
Adopting and following a consistent, multi-step process will ensure that your sales managers can determine who a top performer will be prior to making a hiring decision.
Good hiring,
Steven Rosen, MBA
Sales Management Expert
If you are interested in discussing how you can improve your hiring process feel free to contact me at steven@starresults.com or visit http://www.starresults.com
Steven Rosen, MBA is the founder of STAR Results. STAR Results is a sales leadership consulting, training and coaching organization dedicated to leadership development in the Pharmaceutical industry. Steven works with sales executives to; hire top performing sales reps, develop a team of top sales managers and achieve greater personal and professional success.
http://www.starresults.com
Popularity: 56% [?]
Want to leave a comment?The Power Of A Unique Selling Proposition
What is your unique selling proposition (USP)?
It’s what makes you stand out, what makes your business different or unique. It’s the advantages a consumer has working with your business than they would working with xyz competitor. That unique service, follow up, attention to detail, or affiliation with a recognized brand etc…is the growth lifeblood of any business. A powerful USP becomes the mantra posterchild for your business, home business or service. Identifying why your company is “better, faster, more nimble, has better name recognition, solves more problems, is better funded, is partnered with more market leaders allowing for greater resources” etc… . Any of these and more will allow you to stand out from the competition.
Let’s take some real life examples. No where is it more apparent than in the competition of the home business industry and network marketing as person to person marketing requires a powerful USP if it’s going to be done successfully on a consistent basis.
The product with the powerful USP. They’re out there. Cutting edge technology, research, nutritional science, consumer services…all using their dynamic USP to create a brand that attracts customers and retains them with their brand. Often times it’s not the name of the brand, it’s the use of the technology and what it can do.
Breakthrough supplements in networking that relieve pain faster and better, new networking comanys that develop new online technologies that allow people to get their work done more efficiently or Nationally/Globally recognized leadership with has instant household recognition that people want to partner and be in business with.
It’s up to the company to develop the USP and the sales force to promote the USP. If it’s done right, it can be the single most compelling component of the marketing…but it has to be dramatic and hard hitting. It has to make people do a second take and have a “holy cow” moment. To make people to a “double take” so to speak.
There are thousands of incredible and not so good examples of USP’s in the marketplace. If you’re in sales or marketing, it’s important if you’re going to align yourself with a company or products that you know and understand the USP and you have a clear vision of how that USP can be a game changer in the market and for you and your business. It can mean the difference between building a marginal business and a global empire in a very short time. Especially if it’s promoted properly.
If you’re in the home business industry and network marketing in particular you must have a USP that gets you and others absolutely passionate about your business. Without an incredible opportunity, product, brand or leader you’re going to have a very difficult time once you’ve moved through your friends and family. Even using web 2.0 attraction marketing or other forms of marketing may fail because you have no real reason for people to join your business with the thousands of businesses out there.
When you get into business, large or small, home based or not, analyze the USP to make sure that it is substantial, dramatic, attention grabbing and difficult to duplicate. Then and only then….will you have the maximum chance to build a business that can survive even in turbulent markets.
Chris DeVincentis is a home based business entrepreneur. Was a Broker Owner of a RE/MAX franchise when there were less than 10,000 agents in the U.S. and has been in Network Marketing since 1987. Currently he’s emphasizing the power of the Unique Selling Propositon through his new global business venture: http://www.Partner-With-The-Donald.com by partnering with Donald Trump in the Trump Organizations new Network Marketing Company Called the Trump Network. Partnering with Donald Trump is a Unique Selling Proposition that is explosive and is turning heads all across America and Globally
Popularity: 60% [?]
Want to leave a comment?Metrics For Sales People
One way to look at the performance of sales personnel particularly those on the road is to establish a series of metrics that give the manager a good idea of what and how they are doing BEFORE the results come in. Typically a sales manager on seeing below target results will exhort his teams to ‘get out there and redouble your efforts’ as if doing more of the same thing will improve results.
Typically the metrics for sales people involve three main areas:
The quality of what they are doing.
This comes down to their skill levels and understanding of what is expected of them. Have the team been adequately trained and are they putting into practice regularly what they have been taught?
The efforts they put in.
This is the more traditional measurement of the number of sales visits they make but should also include areas such as numbers of telephone calls, emails, and mailshots and many more
Who their customers and prospects are.
Measurement of the types of prospects and customers is essential so that considerable effort is not expended on the low profitability customers or those whose long term potential to the company is small. Segmenting by size of company and potential and then providing targets for sales staff will help achieve these goals.
Other metrics to consider are the number of new customers required each period to achieve goals (consideration of average size and average order come in here.) We have already indicated that the profitability of each customer and the potential for each prospect is also a metric that can be used.
Are the team selling the right mix of products or services in order to meet the goals of the company? Some may be more profitable than others or more difficult to obtain stretching lead times which in turn may result in a poorer performance.
By setting a series of goals and devising a range of metrics or KPIs the future performance of a sales person can be accurately predicted. This feed forward approach will allow the manager to make corrections before the rot sets in and declining sales results appear 6 months or more down the line.
Bob Francis is an experienced business consultant spending most of his time helping clients with sales and marketing issues. His expertise lies primarily in strategy, sales and marketing and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is an expert at sales performance measurement and improvement.
To understand your sales team’s performance and get on the road to better results contact him at bob@abio.ltd.uk and ask about a Sales Audit (TM) for your team.
Popularity: 62% [?]
Want to leave a comment?Why Isn’t My Sales Person Selling?
Hiring salespeople is a time consuming and costly exercise, so it’s important to get it right and keep it right. Unfortunately, not all salespeople are equal and managing poor performers is a common (and stressful) problem for many businesses, no matter what their size.
There are many reasons why sales people stop selling and why some just don’t work out and it’s usually not the ones that they are telling you. Personally, I think the main reason salespeople fail to perform are due to lack of direction and little to no accountability. Salespeople, no matter how professional or how experienced need direction and need and expect accountability.
Salespeople can be your best asset or your worst asset depending on how you manage them. If you have a salesperson that is not performing, here are some reasons that might shed some light on the situation:
All care, no responsibility.
This is where you as the Manager or Business Owner don’t take responsibility for the success of your sales person and you simply dump everything into your salesperson’s lap, hoping they will miraculously turn things around. You provide no leadership or support to the salesperson – just set and forget which is an extremely risky thing to do. I see this a lot in smaller businesses where the owner has little to no interest in sales or salespeople. If you employ salespeople, you need to be ask questions, be interested and be involved.
The Business Saviour.
Many business owners secretly hope that a salesperson will be the answer to their prayers; the saviour who will quickly start generating sales and increasing profits. While a good salesperson can make an enormous difference, it won’t happen overnight. You still need to invest considerable time and resources to market your company and to manage and develop your salespeople.
Not communicating expectations.
Salespeople need direction and they need to know exactly what is expected of them. Unfortunately, many Owners and Managers fail to communicate expectations clearly to their salespeople. When that happens, it’s common for salespeople to think they’re doing fine, whilst the Manager/Owner sees them as under performing and starts to get very frustrated. Communicate expectations (also known as KPI’s, key performance indicators) in writing from day one. Setting KPI’s on sales activities, customer meetings & networking events in addition to sales revenue, will ensure that sales remain consistent month to month.
Lack of Accountability.
When you are reliant on your salespeople to generate sales, why would you risk your business by not knowing how much and when the sales will come in? Holding a weekly team meeting to discuss the sales pipeline and sales activity is a simple way to introduce accountability. If your salespeople aren’t making sales at least your aware of it and can do something about it. Don’t wait until it’s too late. At the beginning of each month, have a performance review with each individual salesperson and discuss their performance for the previous month against expectations. If you have poorly performing salespeople, ask them to achieve specific revenue targets or tasks within a specified time frame. It will help you know whether to keep them or get rid of them.
Remember, if no-one cares what the salesperson is doing or whether they are making sales, why would they?
Hiring the wrong type of salesperson
There are two types of salespeople: those who can win new business (Business Development Manager or Hunter) and those who grow existing accounts (Account Manager or Farmer).
Most businesses want to employ salespeople who can generate new business, because they’re already good at developing relationships with current clients. They want the type of salesperson who can make cold calls, build new relationships, and close a deal with a new client. This is much harder to do, requires different skills and has higher salary expectations.Be clear on what you want your salespeople to do so you can match the skills, experience and salary accordingly. If your salesperson isn’t selling, ask them what they have done in the last month to add to the sales pipeline and generate sales. This is where the majority of mistakes are made with salespeople – hiring an account manager find and close new business sales. They rarely have the desire or the skills to do so.
How much is enough?
Coming up with a fair and equitable commission scheme that works for everyone can be challenging. Giving away too much, too easily can make salespeople lazy and lose their hunger (not to mention frustrate the business owner or manager). Others can be too stingy or hard to achieve which does nothing to attract or keep the best performers. Remember, salespeople that win new business should be paid more than those who manage existing accounts. A commission scheme with an emphasis on commission rather than just a base salary will help to retain, reward and motivate ‘hunters’ whereas the security of a higher base salary will retain, reward and motivate ‘farmers’
Poor marketing and tools to support the salesperson.
Study after study shows that having a single approach to sales (such as cold-calling) won’t work on its own. Salespeople need solid marketing collateral, messages and campaigns that get prospects interested to meet with them. A well-ranked & effective website, email marketing and social media are great tools to generate leads that are completely free. They also need training and a solid understanding of the services and benefits you offer. The more time you spend training them and supporting them with marketing efforts, the quicker you will see them succeed.
Karen Andrews is a sales and business development strategist who is driven by a passion for sales and helping businesses improve their sales results. Shine Sales Solutions offers strategy development, sales management, sales coaching and training for small and medium businesses. For more information go to http://www.shinesales.com.au
Popularity: 66% [?]
Want to leave a comment?| Join our sales manager tips newsletter and get a free copy of our eBook, "The 28 Mistakes new sales mangers make and how to avoid them". | |
Discover how to:
|
|
|
|