Nice title, huh? This article, although the title may suggest otherwise, is presented in a positive tone. There are actually more than 10 common practices that Sales Managers use that do more to frustrate their teams. Avoiding these practices takes planning and a strategic approach to sales management which is often lacking. Across the board organizations spend way more teaching their salespeople process and strategy than they do for their sales managers. Sales managers are really left to figure it out on their own. So, after polling many salespeople and using my own experience as a salesperson and a sales manager (not that I ever did any of these things!), I thought I would share a list of 10 Ways for Sales Managers to Ruin their Reputations and Lose their Team’s Respect.
1. Hold boring, unproductive or negative sales team meetings. I own Meeting to Win - clearly I’m passionate about this one. It’s a reputation killer!
2. Keep introducting the ”flavors of the month”. A Sales Manager gets an idea from a book, a colleague or divine inspiration. They march in Monday morning with “we are going to start….”. It usually comes with a new report, a task force or, at the very least, additional meetings. It dies in a week with no acknowledgment. It just quits coming up and salespeople learn to stop taking this stuff seriously.
3. Don’t protect selling time. Sales Managers who blindly ablige senior management emergency reports and other fire drills without ever putting up resistance in the protection of selling time are not helping their salespeople succeed. Salespeople begin to see them as the enemy working against their progress.
4. Hire bad team members. The team knows it and it affects the team’s performance and culture immediately.
5. Don’t address disruptive or underperforming reps in a timely manner. The team is watching how the managers address or put up with these things. Managers who address these things early and positively create a culture of performance. The opposite does, well, the opposite.
6. Don’t stand up for the team members. Sales Managers are a bit like parents. Discipline in private, praise in public. Salespeople need an ally, it should be their Sales Manager.
7. Take the credit for the team’s successes. Sales Managers who have successful teams do get the credit, they don’t need to give it to themselves.
8. Pass the blame for the team’s failures. This is an ugly one. Again, Sales Managers are getting the blame even if they try to pass it elsewhere. They just need to own it and fix it.
9. Forget what it’s like to be on the front lines. Sales Managers too often lose the feel for the field. They get too busy to get in the field, too. Sales Managers need to spend 3 days a week in the field with their reps and not lose the feel.
10. Mess up on a customer meeting. Sales Managers should enhance a customer meeting, not ruin hard work. Enough said.
BONUS: A rep just shared this great one with me! Schedule one-on-ones or meetings and then continually cancel and postpone them. The team members are planning around and preparing for these and emailing them to postpone the meeting for an hour or even 10 minutes is disrespectful and rude.
If you are guilty of any of these, now is the time to address it. Your reputation depends on it.
Who is on your “team”? By team I mean everyone that helps take care of the customer from suspect stage to account management stage. This could be your proposal people, your billing dept, your sales engineers, your operations team, your customer service representatives and the list goes on. It typically takes many people working together to win, keep and grow customer accounts. How well your team works together is being observed and judged by customers and is a big factor in their decision to work with you or not.
There are many challenges facing your extended team. Everyone has different bosses, people are spread all over the country, they leave the company and have conflicting priorities. How do you pull the team together for the good of the customer?
Start by identifying the team. Make a list of everyone who touches every stage of the sales cycle. List these people or functions by sales cycle stage. Include the role they play in that stage.
Now that you have this chart, figure out how to improve your team work. To get started, list 5 areas of breakdown in your team work. Are proposals often late, do customers have billing issues, is Customer Service unresponsive, are orders delivered late? Take each breakdown one by one and figure out how to address it so customers have a better experience.
Some solutions may include:
Involving an extended team member earlier in the sales cycle.
Making an effort to get to know each other outside a sales cycle.
Including the extended team on sales team meetings occasionally.
Making sure everyone is clear on their role in the customer account.
Creating a customer-focused culture where everyone sells.
Encouraging team leaders to focus on working together.
Creating a communication system across departments.
Work together as a team to win as a team.You’ll enjoy these internal relationships and your customers will be the big winners.
(Meeting to Win provides new sales team meeting agendas every week for Sales Managers who subscribe to the sales meeting agenda service. This Friday, the sales team meeting agenda Work as a Team to Win as a Team will be delivered to our subscribers. Join us and start having better sales team meetings this week.)
Top performers take risks. They risk losing deals or entire accounts by speaking up when clients are making bad decisions. They hold their ground during negotiations. They challenge a competitor’s offering. They demonstrate their value and then demand the right price. They walk away from bad deals. They get to decision makers. They risk offending gatekeepers. They ask their referral network to make introductions. They challenge strategy. They point out problems. They share solutions. They say no to non-selling activities. They care more about results than padded activity reports and inflated pipelines. They call higher in organizations.
Fortune favors the bold. Take a risk today – and tomorrow – and the next day. Play with passion.
(Meeting to Win provides weekly sales team meeting agendas for Sales Managers who want to lead inspiring sales team meetings. Join us by subscribing today. Upcoming agendas include Playing to Win or Playing to NOT Lose, Work as a Team to Win as a Team, Lost in Translation, System Based Selling and Create Better Buying Experiences.)
I am getting ready to play my first tennis match in over a year and a half. As I look forward to the match, I am reminded of something my father said to me during one of our matches years ago. Something that I have thought about during every match since when I feel like I am on defense more than I’d like to be. He looked frustrated and said “You’re not playing to win. You’re playing to NOT lose.” He described exactly what I was doing. I was back running down shots, going right where he wanted me to go, just getting the ball in play to live for another point. He was in charge, setting the pace and … having more fun than me. During that match and countless others since then, I have had to change my mindset mid-match and play to win instead of play to NOT lose. For me that means, charge the net, put some shots away, get on the offense, control the pace of the game and, in many of those cases (still not against my Dad…), win. Even when I didn’t win, I walked away knowing I did everything I could and was proud of my game, effort and attitude. There was no risk I hadn’t taken and, therefore, no “what ifs”.
I took my Dad’s insightful observation into my sales life, too, and, man, did life get more fun. Instead of sitting back following the process, chasing the RFP, settling for meeting with non-decision makers, wondering what the competitors were doing, giving discounts and sounding like 80% of other reps out there, I made a clear effort to “charge the net”.
How do you know if you are playing to win or playing to not lose?
Are you:
Following the buying process blindly without challenging steps that don’t help your cusotmers make good decisions?
Meeting with people who can’t make decisions?
More worried about your activity report volume than the quality of your activities?
Spending time on RFPs that restrict your ability to sell by limiting your ability to diagnose and share solutions?
Constantly running off to fetch the next thing your prospective customer needs with no commitments from them (”send me a proposal”, “do an assessment”, “send me a brochure”, “come do a demo”, etc)?
Coming in second or third place?
Getting surprised late in sales cycles?
Or are you:
Creating opportunities by shining light on problems prospective customers didn’t know they had?
Challenging dysfunctional buying processes that hinder your customer from getting the best possible solution?
Sharing solutions your clients didn’t know existed to problems they didn’t know they had?
Bringing new ideas, industry expertise and innovative solutions to the table?
Getting full price for the value of service you provide?
Getting creative on negotiations?
Risking offending non-decision makers to get to the actual decision makers?
Addressing sales cycle slow downs head-on and honestly?
Not afraid to walk away?
Not afraid to say and do the right thing no matter the outcome?
It is so much more exciting to play to win. It takes more energy and guts, but it is so worth it. Charge the net this week!
Sales team meeting idea:
At your next sales team meeting, ask each team member to bring their current pipeline.
Ask each person to examine their pipeline for opportunities to “charge the net”.
Each rep should pick one deal and take a well-planned risk. Get to decision makers, challenge a bad decision, ask about the competition, exit an RFP opportunity, etc. As long as the risk will ultimately help you help your customer make a better decision (even if it’s not you), then take the risk.
Each rep should walk away with one risk to take within the next week.
Plan to report back on the outcomes of the team’s risk-taking. Not all will go well – that’s why we call it a “risk”. So be it…
Play to win. Charge the net. Have more fun.
(Post brought to you by Jill Myrick of Meeting to Win. Meeting to Win provides sales team meeting agendas for Sales Managers who want to take their team to the next level. Play to Win, Not to NOT Lose is the April 2, 2010 Agenda Topic. To get a new sales team meeting topic each week, visit us at http://www.meetingtowin.com/ to subscribe.)
I’ve had many conversations lately about movement in the marketplace. Personally, I’ve been taking calls all week from business leaders moving forward on initiatives they’ve been sitting on for months. Customers are making moves, looking for solutions and ready to move forward. I love it! I can feel it in the air.
This week our focus has been on treating our existing customers like the gold that they are. Salespeople need to be proactive to ensure they stay part of the customer team as they forge ahead. One way to do that is to be visibly accountable. This means that salespeople need to proactively manage themselves so the client doesn’t have to. There are a few ways to do this.
First of all, set up a process for regular business reviews. I believe these should be conducted quarterly and formally. This means there should be a formal agenda that covers:
A review of the original scope of work.
The actual scope of work – what’s changed (something always does!) and what adjustments have been made. This topic ensures everyone is on the same page with the way the partnership has evolved.
The successes and shortfalls. How to make the most of the successes and how to adjust to fix the shortfalls.
An updated Needs Analysis. Find out what has changed in their business, priorities, etc. Uncover new opportunities.
Next steps/Action Items
Customers should leave these business reviews feeling great about their investment with you. They don’t need to micromanage the partnership, you are doing that for them.
Secondly, get to know new people in the account regularly. Ask to speak to people who are impacted by or work with your solutions. Find out what they like, what they don’t, etc. Make sure they have your contact information. You are probably the only one talking to all involved! You will have an amazing perspective and be able to bring useful ideas to the table based on these relationships. Not to mention, your name will be mentioned in many conversations as if you are part of the team!
Then, provide regular emailed updates to senior decision makers. Often, once an account is won, the more senior decision makers move on to the next priority leaving functional people to manage the relationship. Often, the salesperson’s relationship with the real decision makers is harder to maintain and grow. To keep developing that relationship, send an update once a month or every 6 weeks hitting the highlights of recent events and successes. (You may be amazed at the places these emails will get forwarded.) They will appreciate it, feel informed and see you as a true partner and you’ll keep developing this important relationship.
Another way to stay visibly accountable is to put your bosses in front of the client regularly. Bring them to quarterly business reviews or other meetings. Make sure the client sees that your senior leadership team is aware of the work your companies do together. They will feel supported and important when they see the team behind you.
Demonstrate to your clients how important they are by holding yourself accountable in plain sight. They will see you as a valuable team member who takes initiative and ownership of results. You’ll be a dream employee they won’t want to see go.
To get sales team meeting agendas designed to develop your sales team and accelerate sales performance, visit Meeting to Win (http://www.meetingtowin.com/) and subscribe for weekly agendas. We love to work with Sales Managers who see the value of investing in their teams!
(This Friday the Meeting to Win Sales Team Meeting Agenda, 10 Things You Don’t Know, will be delivered to all our subscribers. We are focused on treating prospective customers AND existing customers like prospective customers. Get a new Sales Team Meeting Agenda EVERY Friday by subscribing to Meeting to Win Sales Team Meeting Agendas today.)
Most sales reps get to enjoy some long-term customer relationships. Too often sales reps take these customers for granted and settle into an account management mode. Account management can mean many positive things, but in this case, we’ll call it account maintenance. It is not enough to just maintain an account. Your customer signed on for more than that. This week’s Meeting to Win theme is treating existing customers like prospective customers by helping them identify and secure solutions to their problems and tools to get them results.
In our 10 Things You Don’t Knowarticle, we suggested several ways to treat these existing customers like hot prospects. Here is another way.
Get a Fresh Set of Eyes on an Existing Account
Ask a team mate to coffee. Ask them to review your clients’ website before meeting with you. Ask them to pretend this client was a target account that they were trying to acquire as a client. Then get together with them for coffee and ask their initial ideas for pursuing this client. Then, tell them everything you know about the account, who you know at the account, your theories on what you don’t know and your history with them. Now, ask them what you are missing. Find out how they would move forward to help this client.
Guaranteed you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective on an old account. You and your client win when you take a fresh look at their business.
Sales Team Meeting Idea:
In your next sales team meeting, choose 1 existing account on the team that could use a fresh perspective. (Send an email to the team and ask them to nomimate their own accounts.)
Choose one and let the team know the account name.
Ask the team to research the account before the meeting.
Ask the account owner to send a one-page overview of the account – what they know, who they know, history, etc.
During the meeting, ask the Account Owner to share a 5 minute overview of the account that was not included in the pre-work.
Ask the team to be the “fresh eyes” and share new ideas and perspective on the account.
At the end of the hour, get a list of all the new ideas for the Account Owner.
Account Owner should share what they will try from the list of new ideas.
Fieldwork Idea:
Choose teams of 3 and, over the course of the next 3 weeks, each team should spend one hour per rep on one account per rep doing the same thing.
Choose one rep’s account each week and get together for coffee, if possible. If not, do this on the phone.
Each person on the team should end up with a list of fresh ideas and perspectives on one exisiting account.
Get back together during a sales team meeting conference call and each rep should share the outcomes of gaining a fresh perspective on their exisiting account.
What lessons did the team learn?
Enjoy the Fresh Eyes exercise. Join Meeting to Win to get interactive sales team meeting agendas for your sales team every week. We’d love to work with you!
(This week’s Meeting to Win sales team meeting agenda is called 10 Things You Don’t Know. To join us and get new sales team meeting agendas weekly, visit us at Meeting to Win.)
Salespeople are wise to focus on their existing customer base to impact success during economic recovery. Competitors are getting creative and aggressive and existing relationships could be up for grabs … unless…you treat your existing clients like new customers. Think about how you treat new customers.
During economic recovery, treat your customers like new customers by trying the following things:
Conduct a thorough needs-analysis with them to make sure your solutions still are solutions. Their business has likely changed like the rest of the world.
Find out where they need help and deliver.
Figure out how your company can better service them – clear billing, better response on customer service issues, etc.
Bring senior leaders to face-to-face meetings to thank them for their business and show how valuable they are to your company.
Sincerely thank them for their business.
Share new ways to solve old and new problems.
Share industry expertise. Help them be innovative.
Help them help their customers succeed.
Learn everything you can about their business – you’ll recognize ways to help them the more you know their business.
Be attentive, present and part of the team.
Commit to quarterly business reviews to hold yourself accountable to the results you promised.
Make sure they know all that you can do for them. (Exercise: Think of 10 things your top customers may not know about your offering that may help them.) Figure out how to share all your services without giving a sales pitch. Your competitors are sharing this information. It’s best to share this information in response to a business need they have.
Be someone they can’t live without.
Competitors are gunning for your clients. Treat your existing customers like the gold that they are.
(To get sales team meeting agendas with exercises and role plays on topics like 10 Things You Don’t Know and other great selling topics, join the Meeting to Win community by subscribing today.)
“Micromanagement” is a 4-letter word to most sales professionals. Most sales reps strive to get to the point where their bosses “leave them alone as long as they get the job done”. There are times when micromanagement is actually helpful. Two of those times are (1) during the first month on the job or (2) when a sales rep is underperforming.
During these two time periods, Sales Managers have the responsibility to help their team members succeed. One “micromanagement” activity that I have seen work over and over during these two time periods in a sales career is the AM/PM Check-In Meeting.
Each morning and afternoon for one month at the beginning of the sales day and at the end of the sales day, set a time for the sales rep to call the sales manager. This should a 5-10 minute call with a set agenda. This is less than an hour a week a Sales Manager and sales rep can invest in the success of a territory. The AM Agenda should include the rep’s plan for the day and the PM Agenda should include an update on the activity they planned and executed. This AM/PM Meeting provides needed, regular guidance and accountability as a rep is building their business.
Invest in success with the AM/PM Check-In Meeting and watch the territory grow!
Post brought to you by Jill Myrick, Owner of Meeting to Win. Subscribe and get a new sales team meeting agenda packed with skill-building, sales-producing topics every week.
This is Part 3 in our Maximize Customer Meetings Series. This Friday, March 19th, the third agenda in the series goes out to subscribers. The 3 part series will soon be available on our store, also. To get weekly sales team meeting exercises that cover this and many more selling topics, subscribe to Meeting to Win today.
You’ve followed the steps to prepare and execute a productive customer meeting. You’re not done yet! To maximize the work done on this customer meeting so far, it is helpful to send comprehensive and organized Meeting Notes after the meeting. This is where many sales professionals quit. Following up thoroughly is a great way to gain a competitive edge in a sales cycle.
Get started the day of your customer meeting.
Typically, sales representatives will send a quick thank you note via email to the customer.
In that short thank you e-mail, let the customer know you will send them more comprehensive Meeting Notes to outline everything discussed and agreed upon along with a timeline of next steps.
This action gives the customer some ownership in this process immediately following the meeting and sets you both up to accomplish something, therefore, maximizing your meeting.
Within 48 hours send your Meeting Notes. Meeting Notes should include:
A bulleted list of the information the sales representative learned about the customer’s needs.
A list of action items for both the sales rep and the customer along with time lines.
A couple of bullets with high-level ideas on possible solutions you discussed while meeting.
Possible pricing scenarios (if discussed in meeting).
Call to action. At this point, let the customer know what to expect next. For example, “we will contact your administrative assistant to set up a time for you to tour our plant”.
Benefits of using Meeting Notes after a customer meeting:
By outlining this in writing post-meeting the customer has the opportunity to correct any wrong or missing information. This is critically important for the sales representative who is formulating a solution.
This demonstrates to the customer that the sales representative has a clear understanding of the needs which builds confidence and trust and ultimately rapport.
Customer is agreeing to next steps and is sharing in the ownership of finding a solution.
Often customers use these Meeting Notes internally to share progress on finding a solution or to report to senior leaders. This builds your good reputation with more of your customer’s leadership, saves them work and demonstrates that you have their best interests in mind.
Clear communication along the way is critically important when problems or misunderstandings arise in sales cycles. The relationship built along the way can make or break a sales as it gets closer to closing.
Sales Team Meeting Idea:
Ask the team to come prepared to discuss a recent customer meeting that resulted in next steps.
As a team, write your Meeting Notes and share them with the group.
Provide feedback for each other on appearance, communication style and ease of use.
To get more in depth sales training exercises and practice on this topic, subscribe for Meeting to Win sales team meeting agendas here.
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