Is internal competition eating away at your sales results?

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Is internal competition eating away at your sales results?

July 1, 2010 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Ethics & Values, Performance Management, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Relationships, Sales Talent, Self Development, Strategy, Success, Teamwork, Value Creation

Many sales cultures are traditionally based on respect for authority, status and success, and encouraging competitive, challenging and achievement-oriented atmospheres. Although this is not true for all businesses, especially in the 21st Century! There are a growing number of businesses adopting more collegiate, lead team approaches. However, despite different types of cultures, sales performance and results are usually derived from the efforts of individuals. Harnessing those individual efforts to achieve synergy (the sum is greater than its individual parts) is a key task of management, yet so many get it wrong. Let’s take a look at one case study and see why.

What is wrong with the following scenario?

Sales team has great products and service proposition and is part of an international business
Sales team is made up of individuals who are measured on achievement of individual sales targets
Each sales person is given a base retainer but earns the vast majority of their income on commissions made from sales converted
There are a couple of high achieving sales performers, some average performers and some new sales people yet to prove themselves
Annual staff turnover of sales staff has been about 30-40%
Average tenure is 18 months
The sales team is a state team all working in the same city
Sales performance is purely measured on sales revenue results
Sales League Tables are on public display showing who is ‘top sales dog’ each week
The sales culture is based on respect for authority, status, success and competition
The workplace atmosphere is competitive, challenging and achievement-oriented
The sales people do NOT work to specific territories/markets or customer segments to manage and grow, instead it is ‘first in best dressed’
The competitive environment encourages sales people to fight over leads that come into the business leading to ‘bullying’ tactics, attempts to ‘outdo’ each other, squabbling and fighting over who got to that client first
Sales people ‘sand bag’ lists of clients just to make sure that the other sales people do not get them even if they themselves are not working on those leads at present
Management provide no selling skills training, no sales coaching, no sales support, no CRM, no documented sales strategy nor a ‘go-to-market’ plan
There are no formal sales management practices in place except for the weekly sales meeting which deteriorates into an ‘I’m better than you are’ bun fight

This is an example of lazy and ineffectual management. Only focused on outcomes with no regard for strategy, team structure, performance quality, clear leadership, staff retention, values or culture, this sales team is not geared for high performance and continues to lag behind its true potential.

Why create competition where it doesn’t need to be?

Why make selling harder than it needs to be?

‘Old school’ sales management said that you had to have sales people competing with each other or they wouldn’t sell. You weren’t a legitimate sales team if you didn’t have league tables. They said that internal competition would motivate people to sell more. Well they are wrong. The scenario above is not uncommon. It reflects an actual real life situation – happening right now.

This archaic approach doesn’t work. It’s outdated and old fashioned. If you want to generate real sales growth, try harnessing the energy, talent and ambitions of your sales people in a constructive way where they can all achieve their individual goals along with those of the company without trying to ‘kill’ each other in the process. Remember the old saying ‘a team of champions will not beat a champion team’?

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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How do you create future sales superstars?

June 23, 2010 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Sales Assessments, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Sales Training, Strategy, Success, Value Creation

How many of us entered our sales careers with our eyes wide open? Fully aware of what it takes to be an effective sales person – ably resourced with the tools, processes, plans and support essential to our success. Knowing full well what you were getting yourself into.

For most, if not all of us, our initiation into sales was nothing like this, and was cushioned with little or none of these luxuries. Does the analogy “sink or swim” resonate with anyone?

All of this makes the story I am about to share quite unique and refreshing. Recently, some rather clever and farsighted managers gave some very fortunate young people the opportunity to get a large glimpse into the world of selling.

Here is their story: Two senior managers from one company, both whom I have known and worked with for many years, had the presence of mind and foresight to think ahead and tap into the desire of some of their younger staff to advance their careers.

Their business is in the industrial equipment market where they sell new equipment, spare parts, service and rentals. Recently, they advertised for a new service sales person and received, amongst others, applications from several of their internal service technicians.

The senior managers took these applications very seriously. However, they could not appoint any of their internal applicants because they had no experience and very little idea about what it takes to be an effective sales person. Thinking about the future of their business, staff retention and the desire of these young people to advance their careers, the senior managers took it upon themselves to give these driven and ambitious staff the opportunity to really understand what selling is all about – so that they could one day go in into a sales role with their eyes wide open.

This is where Barrett came in. In discussion with the managers, we developed a one day session where these young participants explored topics like:

Why sales matters
The changing face of customers and what they really want
Ethics in selling
Missed and lost opportunities
Critical success factors, and key qualities of the 21st century sales performers
Olympics Game – our sales fitness and simulation exercise which tests peoples’ natural sales capabilities and gives them real time feedback
The sales essentials overview:

5 step sales planning process
4 step sales prospecting process
7 step sales communication process

Skills you can apply NOW to build your steps to being a sales performer

As part of the session, we pointed out that even if they were not currently in a sales role, there were still numerous, valuable things they could take from the session and apply immediately in their current roles. Skills, knowledge and insight that would (and did) serve them, their customers and the company well right now, as well as lay the foundation for when the time comes for them to knowingly and willingly step into a sales role. Things like:

Knowing, understanding, communicating and modeling the vision, key message and promise, values and customer service ethic of the business
Knowing how to make effective phone calls to clients, etc. – being clear about the purpose of their calls and how to position themselves confidently (this relates to how to make prospecting phone calls)
Recognising and understanding different communication styles and how not to confuse different with difficult
Knowing how to ask good questions to clarify and verify their understanding.

What was most impressive was the prolific note taking, questioning and genuine interest in really getting a handle on what it takes to be a great sales person. For me it was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring days I have had in a long time. There is nothing like working with people who really want to be there and be their best.

All the people I have shared this story with in the last month have all expressed the same wish – that they had had the chance to experience such a session before they became a sales person.

All credit to Cameron and Mick for having the wisdom to provide this opportunity to their team. I am sure that the benefits will be varied, significant and long-lasting.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Culture Fit

June 16, 2010 in Attitudes & Behaviours, Culture, Ethics & Values, Sales Leadership, Strategy, Value Creation

Culture Fit was voted by you as the number 6 Sales Trend for 2010. What is Culture Fit? Well the first place you are likely to hear about Culture Fit is when you are recruiting for new staff or being recruited yourself. For instance, Culture Fit Interviews differ from Behavioural Interviews, in that the Behavioural Interview attempts to find out about the candidate’s behaviour, skills, knowledge and experience. Culture Fit Interviews generally do not try to determine the individual’s capability, but rather considers the candidate’s ‘cultural fit’ with the organisation, their values and motivators.

Values, motives, codes of conduct and organisational charters are now on the main agenda. More and more managers, sales people and the broader workforce are making value judgments and career choices based more heavily on values, ethics and work practices, rather than just the roles themselves. The phrase ‘you hire on skill and fire on fit’ has never been truer, however it’s not just the employer firing on ‘fit’. Employees and customers are doing the same. If there is misalignment around core values and codes of conduct, employees and customers are just as likely to fire the organisation and go elsewhere for a better ‘fit’.

Culture Fit is usually considered as an internal organisational matter, however I propose that Culture Fit has now migrated to the main world stage with our organisational and corporate values and conduct being scruitinised on every level by our customers, constituents, members, suppliers, employees and communities. It is now a brand, sales and customer matter with ethical and moral consequences. Many of us are asking:

•   What is our purpose for being in business?
•   What are our core values?
•   What is our promise to our customers?
•   Is our promise aligned with our core values and actions?
•   What value do we create for others beyond the product?
•   Are we proud to work here?
•   How do we behave in times of crisis?
•   What do we expect from our suppliers, partners, etc.?
•   How do we want our leaders (business, political, community, etc.) to behave?
•   Who would we be proud to be associated with?

These are just some of the questions that are likely to knock loudly on our collective doors in 2010 and beyond.

Why? Because organisations everywhere are undergoing breathtaking changes! Their products are changing. Their markets are changing. Their management philosophies are changing. Their values are changing. Their focus is changing. And most importantly, their customers’ views on what is ‘true value’ are changing.

Now, more than ever before the accepted ways of doing business are shifting. Old institutions are crashing and dying. Trusted names of yesterday will not live to see the future. Many have failed to keep pace with changing consumer and community demands, values and needs. Many business CEOs and their management teams have missed the opportunity and pressing need to account for a quadruple bottom line:

1.   Purpose
2.   People
3.   Profit
4.   Planet

Hanging onto the past, they are blinded by leadership nearsightedness — often acting wildly when their status is threatened. The current disaster that is BP’s environmental oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico is a case in point. This environmental catastrophe has now blown up beyond all proportions. Beside the communities and ecosystems severely affected by this tragedy, BP is now fighting for survival, the entire oil industry is under scrutiny for their poor safety and disaster management plans, and the credibility of big business leadership has been severely eroded as we witness blame shifting, self serving game playing, indecision, narcissism and quite frankly, gutless and pathetic attempts to distance themselves from the issue at hand. Which leadership and business management schools did these CEOs attend? If this is what they are teaching our leaders we are in big trouble.

For instance, Tony Hayward’s, the CEO of BP, response recently to the oil disaster: “We’re sorry for the massive disruption it’s caused to their lives. There’s no one who wants this thing over more than I do, I’d like my life back” just shows you how vulnerable any organization is to misaligned values, self serving motives, poor choices and weak leadership.

Just imagine saying something similar to an unhappy customer – you would be laughed off the phone. Tony, you have failed miserably in Customer Service 101 –’ handling difficult situations’ and so have most of your high powered colleagues in this instance.

No wonder these and other organisations are left wondering where their customers and profits are going. This leaves them weak and vulnerable. It begs the question ‘Did the dinosaurs hear the asteroid coming?’

One of my trusted mentors, Neville Christie, says that in the 21st Century, the role of the CEO is a dual purpose role:

1) Chief Philosopher, and
2) Chief Salesperson/Storyteller.

There is recognition that a clear promise, code of conduct or charter, and accompanying message to markets and the broader community is critical for organizations of all persuasions, and only the leaders and their employees can bring this to life. Savvy leaders and organisations will not just ‘talk the talk’; they will ‘walk the talk’ and show the way forward.

In the words of one Senior Leader, “Don’t ask me what I value and stand for; ask the people who work for me. They’ll tell you what I really stand for and then you’ll know if I am true to my word.” In fact, we can take this one step further. In this increasingly transparent world, we can witness for ourselves what the leaders of businesses, political parties, communities, and other organizations stand for – plain and simple.

Making your philosophy, values, team charter and steps for action crystal clear for everyone to witness will be key when recruiting, training, managing, and leading teams and when we engage with our customers and communities in 2010 and beyond. Being transparent, honest and engaging in real conversations will need to be top of mind. Make no bones about it, whether you know it or not and whether you like it or not, you and your organisation are on show like never before and employees, customers and communities alike are asking these questions on a daily basis. They are checking for ‘culture fit’.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Why Sales Managers need to work on the business, not just in the business

May 26, 2010 in Sales Management, Sales Planning, Strategy

Playing “catch up” is a common challenge for organisations of all sizes. Whether you have enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity, or encountered some unexpected obstacles or losses, with little warning, businesses can discover that their decision making and activity has become very reactive. Too much time is spent putting out spot fires and reacting to situations, while too little time is spent on pro-active and strategic activities.

The very real and legitimate day to day business pressures result in many (if not most) decisions being made on an ad-hoc basis, with each one disconnected from the next. The end result can be inefficiencies, unproductive sales teams, poor business performance or simply wide-spread frustration – leaders are reacting to the markets instead of acting with forethought and vision. If left unchecked, this can become a way of life with disastrous consequences.

By contrast, high performing organisations (both small and large) anchor all tactical activity, decision making and effort to carefully considered and clearly understood strategic objectives which have been underpinned by the discipline of business planning, a capability necessary for all people at managerial level. For clarity, the Encarta Dictionary defines planning as “a method of doing something that is worked out in advance”. With this in mind, what business can afford not to?

With the move to a globalised business world, decisions once made with only the local market in mind now need to take in many more variables and more complex arrangements. With this shift in market complexity we are seeing the need for Sales Managers of all levels to possess more strategic thinking and business planning capabilities if they are to lead and guide their sales teams to business success in the short and long term.

However the reality is that most Sales Managers, particularly at the state and regional level are not trained or equipped for strategic thinking and business planning. From our observations in the field and, in particular, our work in Job Profiling, too many Sales Managers are leaning towards tactical skills and behaviours rather than the strategic. They are often more comfortable working in the field sorting out products, deals and customer issues alongside their sales teams rather than stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. This suggests that the Sales Managers are spending more time working in the business, rather than on the business.

The business world has fundamentally changed and with it has come the need for more sophisticated thinking and action, especially in sales. Whether at a state, national or global level it makes perfect sense for our Sales Manager to be competent in these core capabilities for today and the future.

Dalrymple, Cron and DeCarlo, authors of ‘Sales Management’, state that the core competencies for the 21st Sales Manager are now:

Strategic Action: Understanding the industry; Understanding the organisation; Taking strategic actions
Coaching: Providing verbal feedback; Role modelling; Trust building
Team Building: Designing teams; Creating a supportive environment; Managing team dynamics
Self Management: Fostering integrity and ethical conduct; Managing and balancing personal drive ; Developing self awareness
Global Perspective: Cultural knowledge and sensitivity; Global selling program
Technology: Understanding new technology; Implementing sales force automation; Implementing customer relationship management (CRM)

How do your Sales Managers measure up?

What’s clear is that the 21st Century Sales Manager role at all levels requires an ability to plan, organise and monitor activity, projects and resources to deliver business outcomes and to support the business strategy.

With respect to the future training of all Sales Managers, we find we are encouraging the inclusion of business planning and strategic thinking as part of their training agenda, which will teach them how to plan for success both as a Business Manager and a Sales Manager.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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Is your sales effort built on a house of cards?

May 19, 2010 in Culture, Sales Leadership, Strategy

Is your sales strategy and projected sales growth built on a house of cards?

For many start-ups this is the case. Their initial sales growth often comes off the back of an entrepreneur’s ideas and the hard work of a dedicated few who pitch in, take on multiple roles and tasks all the while promoting and selling the idea to more and more people. This works well in the early days where the team is small, communication channels are direct, everyone knows what is going on and is committed to the fledgling business’ success.

There’s lots of activity, lots of fun, lots of sleepless nights and a growing sales pipeline. The business has a life of its own until one day the owners/ directors realise that if they are to grow further they need more people, except no one in the business was charged with keeping track of, introducing or mapping the business’ processes, systems and frameworks so that they can be transferred and taught to others. There comes a point in time when the fun of running a business turns into frustration.

In our haste to ‘make it’ the early pioneers of many new businesses often do not know they need to introduce articulated processes, frameworks and systems to leverage their future growth on stable foundations. These processes, systems and frameworks, including clearly articulated job roles, like the foundations of a house, are necessary if you want to build and grow sustainable business. If businesses try to grow beyond this point without the foundations in place one of two things will happen: 1) the business will remain static at its current level of turnover or 2) come crashing down like a house of cards.

Recognising when you arrive at this cross road is critical and doing the work yourself is not always easy. More often than not you are likely to need the services of an independent person(s) who can help you see the wood for the trees. Selecting the right person(s) to help you replace your house of cards for a more robust structure is key. Following is a case study which outlines one such situation and how this company was able to get the right kind of support to move forward in a planned and purposeful manner.

Case Study

Over the last eight months I have had the opportunity to work with an emerging and highly successful business to review and develop its sales capability. The business is profitable, wants to continue to grow and expand, and really make its mark in this evolving marketplace. The parent company is made up of four separate businesses. It has so much potential and is lead by a very clever entrepreneur and talented young general manager. As I entered the business I soon came to realise that despite its sales and financial success there was no clear strategy for any of the businesses moving forward, no clear delineation between roles, everyone was busy with lots of duplication of effort. Everything seemed to merge into each other creating confusion and stifling future growth. In its current format it was like a knotty ball of wool that needed unraveling and was not offering a stable platform on which to grow and expand sales.

This is when I introduced a colleague of mine who specialises in strategic alignment. Achieving strategic alignment means that all the correct frameworks, systems and processes support the vision, mission, values and strategic direction of the business. My client’s business was lacking of strategic alignment.

What are the signs of strategic misalignment?

No company is perfect, but as misalignment increases, motivation, productivity and employee satisfaction “gaps“ begin to appear. Customer response and experience is varied. Pronounced symptoms could be lack of team focus, unresponsiveness to management direction, ”them and us” attitudes, diversions, frustration, complaints about salaries, high staff turnover, empire building, higher than acceptable absenteeism and turnover, and management not receiving the feedback it needs. From top management’s perspective, as misalignment increases, the company can become harder to run and it becomes more of a struggle to achieve sustained results.

Not all of these issues were relevant to my client’s business however a few were. These were fleshed out in a methodical, evidenced based manner culminating in stepped out plan which has identified key areas which need to be addressed. It shows them what they need to do and how to do it. It has given my client a stable platform on which to operate and a clear pathway to the future to grow sales.

Replacing your house of cards for a more robust structure is key. Recognising when you arrive at this cross road is critical, however being able to articulate what you need may not be easy. More often than not you are likely to need the services of an independent person(s) who can help you see the wood for the trees. Selecting the right person(s) to help you can also be a challenge.

Word of caution when relying on ‘experts’

Make sure you use people who are truly experts in their field is key and know how their expertise fits in with and supports all the key components of running a business. Make sure they can back up their expertise with relevant research, data, and facts including reliable processes, systems and frameworks. You may be surprised at how many ‘expert’ consultants do not know how their piece integrates with the whole and how many try to pretend they can do things they can’t do just to hold onto you as a client. This usually leads to disaster for all concerned. Instead find those experts who are connected to other specialist i.e. Strategy, PR, Branding, Marketing, Procurement, Finance, Production, HR, Sales, etc. In short, each of us should bring in the processes, frameworks and systems needed for future success in our area of expertise and we should know how they link together to make a better whole. Like building a house, you do not rely on one person to have all the skills needed to run a business. As experts consultants we should all know where we fit and how we support our clients in concert with their needs. As stated my colleague specialises in strategic alignment and I specialise in sales culture and performance, w e can’t work without the other.

In summary, high performing organisations, small or large, anchor all tactical activity, decision making and effort to carefully considered and clearly understood strategic objectives which include clearly articulated processes, frameworks, systems, and job roles. Whether done in-house or with the support of consultants, achieving strategic alignment is the aim and this occurs when management, staff and customers are all operating in resonance supported by a stable foundation and not a house of cards.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

Author: Sue Barrett, www.barrett.com.au

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