It seems that when some make the transition from revenue-producing sales rep to sales leader, they forget some very important realities. They no longer want to hear about the realities of the field. They want to call those “excuses”. I admit, I like to look at everything and determine the worst case scenario. This does not bum me out, it actually makes me feel better to have a game plan should the worst case scenario play out. It never does and it still feels good to be prepared.
The reality is that things happen that are disruptive. Some of these things the reps’ own companies do to them, some are economy driven, some are customer driven. Yet, leadership still expects the reps to turn in 8% revenue growth. If you kick a marathon runner in the knee at mile 13, that runner may not beat his previous finishing time. That’s a reality. I don’t believe that sales reps like to “make excuses”. I believe they really want to explain their performance, good or bad. Being able to explain why something happens is a key ingredient in duplicating the good results and avoiding the poor results.
So, I challenge sales leaders to face reality. Among other things, the following is a list of things that ARE disruptive:
Moving territory lines.
Adding or taking away accounts.
Pulling them out of the field for training.
Asking them to complete a whole new set of reports.
Introducing a new CRM.
Giving them a new product to sell.
Reorganizing your sales team.
Changing compensation.
And the list goes on. I challenge sales leaders to face the reality of disruptions instead of pretending like they won’t be disruptions. It’s delusional to think the sales team won’t be distracted. They are human beings, not machines.
Instead, look 30-90 days out and figure out what is coming down the line that could possibly cause distraction for your sales team. Figure out the worst case scenario in terms of how this disruption may impact your sales results. You can’t see everything coming so at least get out in front of what you can see. Get your team together and face reality together. Expect to be distracted and proactively figure out how to sell through it. You’ll reduce distraction and your team will have fewer “excuses”.
Face reality and your reality will be much brighter.
For some reason, there is often a sense of comfort when a prospective client asks us to do or provide something – see a demo, send me information, etc. We believe we have a solution that may meet their needs and we take their request as a sign that they may also believe that. As sales reps, happy to stay engaged with this prospect, we march off to provide the requested information. This prospective client may very well want this information and have a real plan to evaluate our solution and actually make a go/no-go decision on purchasing from us or not.
On the other hand, they may be making this request for any number of other reasons – and we may be playing along for any number of reasons. Those reasons can include:
They are too nice to tell you that have no intention of spending a dime with you.
They are busy and the fastest way to get rid of you is to send you on an errand.
They are really good at kicking the tires, but have no history of actually buying.
They stay in the eternal sales cycle never actually moving forward on anything. Professional window shoppers exist in every company.
They are afraid if they tell you “no” that you will keep trying to sell them. No one enjoys being on the receiving end of this tactic.
Your pursuit makes them feel important (ugly truth alert!).
They think they have some power to make this decision. Meanwhile, someone else is actually making the decision at some other level.
We feel “safe” to simply stay engaged in the sales cycle. We have something to report on our activity tracker, in our pipelines and during our team meeting updates. We’ve bought another week of activity.
You look so happy when they ask you for something.
Those just a few of the reasons sales reps are asked to run these errands. How do sales reps stop being gophers? One way is to lay out the next few steps or commitments on both sides. Next time you are asked to run an errand, ask what decision they plan to make once you provide the requested information and by when. For example, if they ask to see a demo of your software. Find out what they hope to gain from the demo (the demo may not be what they even need) and what decision they plan to make upon seeing the demo (no-go, take the next step, involve other decision makers, etc) and by when they plan to make the decision (is there even a timeline?).
It feels “safe” to stay engaged and really….it’s a collosal waste of time. Stop playing it “safe” and start helping your clients make decisions that will ultimately help their businesses succeed. Get commitments before you run the errand – everyone wins when you have an efficient process.
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 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.)
(We are continuing with our Meeting to Win 3-week sales team meeting agenda series, Maxmize Customer Meetings. We invited a friend of Meeting to Win, Kathleen Steffey, CEO and Founder of Naviga Business Services to share some great advice for the before the meeting in Don’t Wing It.)
Don’t Wing It
by Kathleen Steffey, CEO/Founder of Naviga Business Services
Quiz time: What are the five biggest challenges your prospects and clients are dealing with and how does your solution address them?
If you can’t answer that question, you need to hit the books. How can you possibly position your solution as a way to relieve your prospect’s pain if you don’t understand the source of their discomfort?
A solid working knowledge of industry issues lets you anticipate the most common objections and develop standard responses that overcome them. It lets you develop a standard list of leading questions that shift the focus from the prospect’s concern about spending money to the return they will realize from their investment into your solution.
It keeps you in control of the sales process and helps you establish a rapport and build a foundation of trust.
Is your client’s industry faced with a talent shortage? If so, how does your solution help the prospect function effectively with fewer people, or raise their profile so they can better-compete for top professionals?
Is the economic downturn causing belt-tightening? If so, how does your solution help lower production costs, reduce overhead or improve productivity?
Top sales professionals make time to keep up on the industries they serve. They read the top trade journals, find the blogs and online sites that cover their business and industry. They listen to what their clients are saying.
Follow their lead. Use the information you glean from these sources to develop a library of standard responses and questions. Practice them until you know them cold.
Now you’re ready to respond to whatever objection your prospects throw at you so you can lead them down the path to a value-based sale.
(Meeting to Win thanks Kathleen for her insights in Don’t Wing It. To get weekly sales team meeting agendas on Maxmizing Customer Meetings and many other sales performance topics, subscribe to Meeting to Win weekly sales team meeting agendas today. We look forward to working with you.)
In most cases, we see an official “performance plan” as the beginning of the end for some poor sales rep. The performance plan seems to be more of a termination plan as the evidence suggests that the goal is often not better performance, but instead a way to begin documentation to justify termination. In every case where I’ve seen someone put on a performance plan, that was their cue to start a full court press job search before they were fired.
So, it’s safe to say that no sales rep wants to be put on a performance plan, right? Right!
If you are a sales rep facing underperformance, my guess is that you are worried about your job. You might be hoping no one has noticed, you might spend your time sharing the positive news while keeping everyone’s focus off the negative performance, you might be explaining away your bad sales (customer budget cuts, etc) or.. you might even be job hunting.
Here is something to try instead. Put yourself on a Performance Plan. This is a Turnaround Boot Camp style Performance Plan by the way.
We know that we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That really is the premise of a Performance Plan.
To get started:
Look at what you have been doing and critically analyze exactly how you are spending your time to determine what is producing results and what is not.
Consult with team members who are exceeding goals for advice on what you could be doing differently.
Once you determine which of your sales activities are producing positive sales results, triple your output of those activities.
Figure out where you are investing time in non-selling activities (learning a new CRM, sitting on an internal committee, etc) and eliminate those activities from your week. You can politely request to be excused – if you get fired, none of those things will really matter anyway.
Start your day earlier and end your day later.
Look the part.
Exercise, eat right and get enough sleep.
Write out your 30 day plan. This should include day by day what you will be doing and with which customers or prospects. For example, maybe every day starts with 50 cold calls, maybe Sundays are research days, Tues-Thurs is for 15 face-to-face appointments, etc.
Have an accountability plan in place – a report, updates in your CRM or something to monitor your progress.
Have a clear goal for the end of 30 days and a way to monitor progress along the way.
Now, here’s key element:
Request a meeting with your Sales Manager – NOT during selling hours (you need those). Have an early coffee or after hours meeting with your Sales Manager to let them know you have put yourself on a Performance Plan, walk them through it and get their input to fine tune it and gain agreement on your course of action.
By proactively addressing your underperformance with your Sales Manager you will open the doors of communication regarding expectations and possible outcomes of underperformance. You will show the initiative to address the problem proactively giving your Sales Manager an opportunity to help you succeed instead of look for a way to manage you out.
Too often we keep moving along hoping no one will bring up the issue everyone knows exists (we do this with customers, too). If you know you are underperforming, your sales manager knows it, too. His boss will ask him about it and it will eventually be dealt with. Wouldn’t it be great if you could change the story by being brave enough to call it out and proactively do something about it?
So, if you find yourself falling short, stop worrying and start acting. Build you plan ASAP and start executing with your Sales Manager’s support.
Put yourself on a Performance Plan today.
(Post brought to you by Jill Myrick, CEO of Meeting to Win. Meeting to Win provides sales team meeting topics for Sales Managers who want to run sales team meetings that aren’t a bore. Inspire your team with Meeting to Win. Subscribe here.)
As we continue with Pipeline Health Check week, we want to address risks in pipelines. If you know your risks, you can reduce the risks or at least manage them more effectively. As you examine your pipeline this week, check for these risks:
A large percentage of the revenue in your pipeline is from one deal.
You are not positioned with decision makers in late cycle pipeline opportunities.
Your pipeline is heavy on early or late sales cycle deals – no balance.
You have not added new “suspect” opportunities to your pipeline consistently.
In mid-cycle deals you do not have a crystal clear picture of the decision process and who is involved and in what capacity at each decision point.
You haven’t discussed money in mid and late cycle opportunities.
You don’t know the competitive landscape in most of your opportunities.
Your pipeline does not have at least 3X your sales goal in opportunities.
You have deals that have stalled out with no progress forward in a few weeks.
You are guessing at the size of opportunities instead of basing it on real diagnosis.
You are chasing deals that are not in your company’s sweet spot.
These are just a few of the risks to look for as you examine your pipeline. Know your risks and take steps to minimize them – the smallest steps can make the biggest difference when pursuing sales performance goals.
Sales Team Meeting Idea:
At your next sales team meeting,
Ask your team to bring their pipelines.
Go through each of the risks above as a group.
Add risks to the list that apply to your team.
Ask each person to honestly assess their pipeline against the final list of risks.
As a team, set one action item each person can do to minimize their most dangerous pipeline risk.
Plan to follow up as a team and do this exercise again, setting the next action item as you move toward healthier and healthier pipelines.
Meeting to Win provides in-depth sales team meeting agendas with training exercises, practice sessions, discussion topics and ideas to help your sales team sell more. This Friday’s agenda is the Pipeline Health Check and will lead your team through exercises that will lead to more balanced, healthier pipelines. Join us and get your own weekly sales team meeting agendas. Learn more here.
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Sales Team Meeting Idea: The War Room
This topic is what we call The War Room and it has been very popular this past year. Sales teams that face reality and address it rationally, strategically and head-on succeed in the long run. This means their customers are better served, also. The customers’ success is the salesperson’s goal and, therefore, the underlying goal of every Meeting to Win agenda and sales team meeting topic.
Enjoy The War Room exercise at your next sales team meeting. Get more topics by subscribing for new sales team meeting topics to be delivered to your inbox every Friday.
War Room
The War Room exercise is a time to get together as a team to address the surrounding business climate, how it is affecting the team’s selling efforts and what actions make sense to address it moving forward.
As a team, quickly list the ways the current business climate is affecting your business. What are the most recent developments in the economy, your industry, your customer base, your competitors, etc?
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Begin with one item from the list you just created and, as a group, share some ideas, best practices and strategies for handling that challenge.
Challenge: ______________________________________
Strategies:
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Continue this with each item until you run out of time.
