Fishy Salespeople? How to Finally Stop Handing Out FREE Fish to Your Sales People

Do you remember the good ole days when sales managers used to just sit back and wait for their salespeople to come into their offices and ask for help? Maybe they needed the old veteran to come in and nail down the close. Well, we all know you just can't do that any more. Sure, that would put a few more sales in the win column (in the short term). But in the long term what are you creating? Nothing but needy, dependent salespeople without an ounce of personal selling confidence. Show your sales people HOW to prospect, HOW to set appointments and HOW to close sales makes your job easier and everybody's paycheck fatter.

Keywords:

sales leadership,sales training,sales performance,sales management training,corporate sales training

Article Body:

Do you remember the good ole days when sales managers used to just sit back and wait for their salespeople to come into their offices and ask for help?

Maybe they needed the old veteran to come in and nail down the close. Well, we all know you just can't do that any more. Sure, that would put a few more sales in the win column (in the short term). But in the long term what are you creating? Nothing but needy, dependent salespeople without an ounce of personal selling confidence.

Showing your people HOW to prospect, HOW to set appointments and HOW to close sales makes your job easier and everybody's paycheck fatter.

If that's the kind of vision you have for your sales team, then it's time to close down the all-you-can-eat fish-fry and open up the all-you-can-catch fishing school.

Wouldn't that be nice? You bet it would. AND profitable, too.

And so we've come to the reason for this article. You see, Self-Sustaining Salespeople are not found; they are developed. Sure, it still takes a certain style of person to succeed in this business, but once you find them, everything else can (and should) be taught. And it's all been broken down into an easy to follow step-by-step system.

But before we teach our future sales stars the secrets to prospecting and closing, we have to help them. HOW? We show them how to make the shift from just hitting their revenue goals to (with our inspiration) becoming Self-Sustained Business Professionals.

Did you notice I used the phrase "business" professional, not just "sales" professional?

That's because to be a superstar in sales, you have possess the proper insight and mindset about business.

That means having a keen insight into the details of your own business cycle, from pre-contact to revenue receipt, as well as an understanding of your prospect's world, and how it relates to their business objectives and what is important to them. Not you, but to them. You must understand how your prospects measure success.

Let me put that another way:

Sales Superstars must understand the business they are in. They must respect the business the prospect is in and they must recognize what the prospect values in that business.

To do that, Sales Professionals MUST become Business Professionals.

I've interviewed hundreds of sales people for every type of position. I found it funny that most candidates were quick to put down a "higher" level of achievement on their resume compared to their peers and the quota objective from prior sales positions.

However, when I asked them what their system and process are to achieve such "superior" results, most (amazingly) could not explain their results from a "business" level.

So, how do you do it? Inspire self-sustain business professionals?

I can tell you that just affirming the objective of executing to revenue is not enough to make it happen. Eavesdrop on any Monday morning sales meeting, and you will see that just about every Sales Manager has the same intention. They may not be "achieving" it, but is always their marching orders.

What those of us in Sales management really need to do is develop a customized Masters level curriculum in "Executing to Revenue" and "Becoming a Self-Sustained Business Professional."

To achieve that ideal, you need to indoctrinate every new sales employee to a system that develops a result-oriented plan, executes to proven tactics and manages the everyday conditions that tend to throw us off track.

Sound good. But can it really be done? And done quickly?

Well, the first step to becoming a self-sustained professional is running your business with critical metrics, processes and systems. Sounds a lot like the way an entrepreneurial business owner runs their enterprise, right?

In the Business of Core Competencies, I help sales individuals and management identify their essential components, and the performance metrics necessary for successful results.

We classify those metrics and discover how they are inter-related with each other and dynamic to preferred results. And by training specifically to these core competencies one at a time, we can control our destinies and routinely achieve our desired results.

You see, there are basically two kinds of people when it comes to results.

Those who point their index finger outward say it's not their fault things didn't turn out well. There were "conditional" reasons for their poor results. But, those who point their index finger inward evaluate what they could have done differently to avoid the negative outcome.

They know the difference between factors, which they can control and conditions, which are outside of their control. They seek out and modify routines and behaviors that are within their control, to improve efficiencies in gaining the required results.

So, ask yourself: Are you inspiring self-sustained professionals or management-sustained individuals?

Interesting question, isn't it?

Self sustained business professionals identify the essential elements and components that comprise your selling process. They realize how they affect your desired result dynamically, and make adjustments in routines and tactics to assure consistent results. No matter what month it is!

Now, here's a sure-fire method to identify self-sustained business professionals in your sales organization.

Evaluate the sales results for the month of December. Who was at or above quota? Realistically, December has only 13-15 selling days versus the normal 20-23 selling days in the rest of the calendar year.

December brings with it holidays, personal vacations, and general mental re-grouping for the new year. For most B-to-B selling individuals, if you don't have your number by mid-month or so, you might as well forget it.

But, if you understand your essential core competencies and performance metrics that lead you to desired results, you will customize a plan to achieve those results. You will start to execute to the plan prior to the holiday month, and your December revenue goal can be routinely met. And the same goes for a personal vacation month.

Makes sense doesn't it? Great! So, what are you waiting for? Go inspire those Self-Sustained business professionals on your team!

Come on salespeople ... 11% just isn't good enough!

The actual time spent selling averages 11 per cent. I was blown away when I read this statistic.

Keywords:

time management, selling, success, discipline, mindset

Article Body:

"Salespeople spend 79 percent of their time doing things other than selling or prospecting. The actual time spent selling averages 11 per cent." Source: Sales and Marketing Management

I was blown away when I read this statistic. I love that saying and get to use it so infrequently.

How many people today, regardless of profession, can use 11 per cent of their capacity and survive? Perhaps this explains the high mortality rate in the sale arena where we do battle every day. This number screams complacency to me. Actually, I might give complacency higher credit, maybe 20 percent.

Anyone who has worked in a sales environment knows the challenges one faces in keeping the shoulder to the grindstone. Sales is a very tough profession, especially a commissioned environment. You don't produce you don't get paid. It is a black and white scorecard. You can not bank talk or laziness, and you certainly can't buy groceries with either.

So how is it salespeople are spending only 11 per cent of their time on the tasks critical to their success? Some will be quick to say the remaining 79 per cent is taken up with administrative tasks, paper work, chasing down orders, providing customer service, and the list goes on and on. If you can hear yourself saying this, my suggestion is for you to get in front of a mirror and look in it. Ask yourself, "Is my workday appropriately filled with tasks that will provide the income and recognition I seek?" My guess is if you look yourself in the eye, the true answer is no. Time mysteriously is filled doing other "stuff".

So what does this other stuff look like? Is it having a coffee with other 11 per centers? Is it sneaking in that "last" game of free cell? Is it worrying about what the sales quota is looking like for the month? Is it comparing excuses for why the business is not there? If so, then snap out of it.

Only you can control your actions. The first thing you need to do is to get in the game mentally. Are you telling yourself you can be more successful or are you wallowing in self-doubt? Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in your product? Do you believe in your customers?

Have you created a plan, one that sets a goal with supporting objectives that are measurable and realistic? Have you the discipline to ensure you are doing the necessary activities that will ensure your success? The prospecting, networking, relationship building that top performing salespeople do consistently.

Have you identified where your time is going? If not, create a time log for a week or two and keep track of what you are doing by the half hour throughout the day. You might surprise yourself when you find the time spent on selling and prospecting is only 11 per cent.

Once you have analysed the problem you are well on your way to finding a solution. Imagine if you could increase your productivity two fold. What impact would that have on your income? What if you could increase four fold, and don't think you can't! When you begin to think success, your actions will support you on the path to success.

Before discounting this article or the 11 per cent number, take a good look at the top sales professionals in your company. What percentage of their time is spent selling and prospecting? What are they doing different from you? What can you learn from them? Where is their mindset? Are they positive, optimistic and disciplined in how they approach their day?

Make the effort to get a fix on where you are spending your time. Ask yourself, "Is what I am doing right now, the best use of my time?" Then you need to be honest with yourself when you answer. Good luck and good selling!