A Leap in Sales Performance

Do you want to make a quantum leap in sales performance?  Of course you do.  However, many people use words like ‘quantum leap’ as a cliché - as an empty promise.  And, there are lots of clichés.  Let’s go to the next level!  ... to the next generation! 

How do you increase performance beyond the past?  Are you ready?  Do you want the answer? 

It’s simple.  Increase face-to-face sales time.  Yes! - that’s it.  Just increase face-to-face sales time - the amount of time spent face-to-face “with the right prospects” each week.

In one Fortune 500 corporation’s study, salespeople spent 8% of their time each week in front of prospective new customers, or 3 to 4 hours.

What a staggering discovery!  The rest of the week this sales force worked to complete administrative tasks, customer service tasks, and lead generation tasks.  They handled customer problems, returned calls from previous buyers, finished and distributed paperwork (paper or Internet), and networked to uncover new leads.  And, Murphy’s Law applied - “Work expanded to fill the time available,” and sales performance decreased.

Count them.  How many hours a week do you spend face-to-face with prospective customers?  2, 6, 10, 20??? In high activity selling, as the number increases from 10 to 20 hours+ per week, the quantum leap takes place and sales performance radically improves.

What would have to change for you to spend more time in front of the right prospective customers?  Answer the question and then go and make things better.  Lance.

Standards build Traditions - Traditions build Legacies

Legacies are the impact of traditions on today’s world ... left behind by people who struggled to meet standards for the benefit of others.

Sometimes people lower their standards without a fight ... and, they build new traditions that leave a poor legacy for those who follow.

Leaders often set the standards for future traditons before the future fight makes them a reality.  They decide NOW what they will stand for in the days to come. 

So, let’s stand for those things that help our country, company, associates, customers, and families - great things, excellent things.  Let’s teach our children to build a wonderful legacy for future generations.  Lance.

(Note:  What are YOUR sales team standards.  What are YOUR minimum standards, average standards, GREATness standards?)

What are YOUR STANDARDS?

Great coaches and teams of people put their very best into what they do.  Standards, performance norms or accepted levels of behaviors emerge out of their fight for greatness. The emerging standards, produced from great thought and toil, define the limits of minimal and great performance.  For sales teams, these standards include:

Where to Set Standards - Minimum, Average, Great
• Appointments and quotes by person and period
• Closed sales per every ten (10) quotes
• Sales results by a sales person, team, or area
• Income levels per salesperson

Do not confuse standards with goals.  Standards are accepted and measurable levels of belief about what’s right.  For example, think about your favorite college football team - one that has a great tradition.  At a certain number of wins each season, the fans feel either terrible, OK, or great.  And, somewhere between terrible and great, they fire a coach.  That’s because they believe their team ought to win ‘x’ amount of games every season, win the conference once every so many years, and occasionally compete for a national championship.  It’s just apart of the standards in their tradition.

So, what are the minimum expected standards for your sales team?  For a salesperson?  What’s average?  What’s GREAT?  What will you tell new salespeople?  What do you stand for?  What will you not stand for?  When will you feel terrible, OK, or great? 

Knowing these things is vitally important.  Otherwise, what’s the point?  Go and make things better.  Lance

How Do Salespeople Remain Relevant?

Salespeople remain relevant to a buyer depending upon how well they practice the consultative sales process.  In theory, a sales conversation “can be” 100% relevant if the steps below are practiced perfectly.

But, tada!  That’s why we practice in sports and in sales ... to keep striving for greatness. 



First, how does a salesperson remain relevant? By ... 

Adaptation 

1. Adapting to a person’s buying style ... socialite, dynamo, or thinker. 



Listening

2. Asking great questions to understand a person’s situation: their needs and problems relevant to our product or service. 
3. Paraphrasing understanding, taking notes, and summarizing as we “sincerely” listen. 
4. Getting the customer to describe the impact of needs and problems - financially and/or emotionally. 



Presenting 

5. Showing only those products or services that fulfill customer described wants or needs. 
6. Showing only those features and benefits that fulfill customer described wants or needs. 
7. Explaining how the negative impact will be replaced by a positive impact: the new emotions or better financial numbers. 

8. Checking for feedback as we advise - answering questions, or providing solutions to fears or concerns about our advice. 



Finishing and Following Up

9. Helping them make a decision and “opening up a long term customer relationship.” 

10. Following up to make sure that the new customer is satisfied or to help with the use of the product(s) or service(s). 



These steps and others help the salesperson remain relevant during and after the sale.

The sales teams, that great managers coach, fight to get better at making the buying process comfortable for the buyer.

It’s a guess, but I would say that less than 1/2 of most sales experiences are relevant to the buyer in today’s marketplace.  The buyer fights to be adapted to, listened to, and cared about during and after the sale. 

But, you’re different.  You want to learn, use, and even coach sales skills and attitudes that make things better.  You want to build lasting relationships and repeat business.  So, go do it.  Make a difference.  You can.  Many of you are.  Lance.

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck …

... if they were on straight commission without incentives, goals, or directions?

Three Answers
1. “As much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.” 

2. “A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
3. “A woodchuck would chuck all the wood, if a woodchuck only could.” 



This means that a woodchuck salesperson would chuck all the wood available to chuck. He’ll do it to survive. In the present, that will be the incentive. 

And, he’ll look for the wood. Most woodchucks are solitary independent critters. They do not rely on other woodchucks except for alerts to danger. They take care of themselves. That’s their character and personality. 

Of course with incentives (wood) and direction (location), woodchucks would chuck as much as they could chuck - perhaps even all of it.

from another perspective ...


“As much wood as a woodchuck would ...”

We need to make sure that we’ve got the right woodchucks - ones that ‘would’ chuck wood.

Some woodchucks are lazy while others are unreliable or without a sense of personal responsibility. Some of them might sleep all day or just sit by the hole, and when you ask them about it, they’ll just act like they couldn’t find any wood. 

"If they only could” might refer to their upbringing and the leadership they get - especially from older and wiser woodchucks. I know some woodchucks who often wander away from the hole in any ole direction. With direction and an internal motivation to provide for themselves and their family, OUR woodchuck(s) can receive what they need, knowledge, direction, and skills, to develop into industrious and dependable producers and providers. 

So, in summary, let’s strive to find the right woodchucks, ones that want to learn and and then let’s give them direction, coaching, and a reason to do what it takes.  Lance.

Coaching MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY

Ah ... maximum productivity and results???  The driven question.

Results come from activities.  Activities leading to results are steps in a system.  A system contains a person working a process with its tools and skills. 

And, the system is driven by beliefs and attitudes.  Do we want something?  Do we value excellence?  Do we see something in danger?  Are we personally responsible for someone?  Is it a competition?  What motivates us toward maximum productivity? ... an end result.

The firemen in New York were very motivated.  They sacrificed themselves, their sleep, and their lives for the lives of others during 9/11.

Coach Walton never talked about winning and hardly ever about the end result.  He coached his players toward weightier matters - learning to give their best for the benefit of teammates, fans, the university - and striving to get better each day.  In the long run, this internal motivating clock works better that pounding on oneself or other for RESULTS.  Maximum productivity happens when IT matters.

[1st - Start with the goal.]
Are your salespeople emotionally connected to IT?  Does IT NEED to be done in a certain time frame?  Why?  What’s the impact of not reaching the goal?  What’s the impact of reaching the goal?

[2nd - What’s the plan?] Have they planned out the way, the actions and strategies, and the achievement of their sales goals?  Have they established, with your help, a step-by-step process?  Have they sought counsel (advice)?  Do they know how they will measure progress?  What will they delegate?  How will they prepare each day?  What training will they need?  What new skills will they develop as habits?

[3rd - Do the plan.] Get them to work on focus, perseverance, work ethic, and other character traits that will help them accelerate their progress.  Build new skills’ muscles into habits.

[4th - Monitor and Measure.] Measure progress.  Keep track of productivity.  Know the score, sales-to-date, profit, etc.

[5th - Adjust.] When appropriate, coach them to change the goal’s time frame.  Change what they measure.  Together, make changes to the plan, and, if IT loses IT’s meaning, change the goal.

[6th - Celebrate.] Celebrate all along the way - when a person emotionally connects to a responsibility (goal), gains confidence from a plan, improve their work ethic (or some other part of themselves), makes progress, or when a person makes corrective changes.  Hi five. Keep looking forward.  Forget about the strikeouts.  Teach them to learn from the swings they take, and to strive to get better each day.  And, if you care, push them to their limits.  Lance.

The Makeup of Great Sales Trainers

“What makes a GREAT sales trainer? Ah ... the makeup ... personality? character? talent? skills? knowledge? attitudes and beliefs!!!!

Attitudes and beliefs make up the most important part of a great sales trainer’s makeup. They frame what a sales trainer decides to learn, how the trainer applies knowledge, and what results the trainer strives to accomplish. 


I’m going to put these attitudes and beliefs in yes or no question form to simulate a picture of a great sales trainer. And, I’m going to put the questions in order of importance. 



Does the trainer: 

1. ”Care about the needs of those being trained?” 
[If so, they will be discovered and acted upon prior to, during, and after training.] 



2. “Believe that people can get better?"(that the participants have what it takes.) 
[If so, that belief will be transferred during and after training. People will be inspired.] 



3. “Believe that people motivate themselves?” 
[Trainers put together an environment in which people want to get better.] 



4. “Believe that failure is an ingredient in giving your best as people strive to grow?” 
[If so, the trainer will present with humility and people will pursue getting better with less fear.] 



5. “Believe that teams are more important than individuals?” 
[Great trainers will get people working together on sales issues and team goal achievement. They will model respect for the individual and respect for the team. They will teach salespeople to learn from each other and to help each other - especially in the training room.] 



6. “Believe that processes lead to goal achievement?” 
[If so, the great sales trainer will cover the three most important process areas for great salespeople ... (1) Goal Achievement Planning; (2) Activity Management; (3) Face-to-Face Skills. The tools and skills of these process areas will be customized to the company.] 



7. “Believe in following up training for the purpose of goal achievement and skill building. 

[The great trainer designs reinforcement sessions and on-the-field coaching by sales managers to make sure new habits form which lead to sales goal achievement.] 



Note: Bad trainers care about themselves before others - how they look and how they sound. They don’t care if people get better. They just want to get paid for the training. They seek to manipulate the emotions of people for their own gain. And, they do not care about teamwork. Followup is nonexistent and that’s what they are after the training.  Nonexistent.  Lance.

The Impact of a Product Knowledge Focus

Can product knowledge get in the way?  YES! 



A friend and past mentor, Ron Willingham, once told me that all salespeople sell with some type of focus.  That focus can be one of these ...

- Product focus
- Quota focus 

- Ego focus 

- Value focus 



A “product focus” causes a salesperson to wax on eloquently about product features and perhaps benefits that have no bearing on the needs of the person being sold. Oftentimes, sales training is really product training.  The trainer teaches product information and does not teach salespeople how to identify needs, problems, or wants filled for new customers.  As a result, sales trainees do not develop good questions to use during a face-to-face meeting that bring these out. 



A “quota focus” causes a salesperson to see the prospect as no. 4, or no. 8, or no. etc… or as some amount of sales dollars. This focus keeps the salesperson from understanding needs or even knowing the prospect’s name. It also causes the veins to bulge out in his neck as he attempts to close the sale under a quota pressure. 



An “ego focus” causes the salesperson to be preoccupied with looks, or pride, or what others think. As a result, this focus hinders a salesperson from caring about the prospect - their satisfaction or their needs.



Finally, the best focus is a “value focus,” through which the salesperson wants to exchange value in the transaction. The salesperson seeks to understand a prospect’s situation, needs, and problems relative to the prospect’s product or service purchase. The salesperson wants a fair exchange of value and wants the new customer to be delighted with a solved problem, filled need, or satisfied want. 



Let’s coach salespeople to sell with a value focus and not a product, quota, ego, or PRICE focus.  Lance.

The Challenge of Door to Door

What a great training ground for a sales professional ... Door-to-door sales will stretch your sensitivity to rapport building in many ways, and it will require you to learn to make compelling presentations, while captivating your audience in a variety of situations less than ideal.

I remember those days in the home - a few years of them.  As you drive up to the home, you look for the personality of the homeowners in the property’s appearance (you may find conversation openers there as well) ... is it messy, is it extremely neat, are their flowers, color, special features (swimming pool, deck) etc?  Also, when you knock on the door, you stand back away from it and turn your side to it - looking away, until they open the door. This lessens the fear they have of you, a stranger, standing very close to the door, facing it, and looking at them.

Rapport building will begin from the time the door opens until you leave the property. Door-to-door sales will help you learn to speed up for dynamos, slow down for thinkers, and to chat and talk with socialites. And, when it’s a couple, you learn to develop rapport with two people at the same time. 

You also learn to center your presentation on their needs, while learning to ask great questions prior to the presentation. Also, you learn to control the presentation setting - perhaps at the dining room table or in an area most conducive to your product demonstration or the advice you give.

I remember the Southwest Bible salespeople - young college kids selling door-to-door during the summer ... learning to ask for referrals to other neighborhood doors.  Through the door-to-door experience they became good.  Many went on to great careers as salespeople.  The challenge of door-to-door sales makes a terrific proving ground.  It builds heart and mind muscle for those who learn from it.  Always respect those who go door-to-door.  Lance [Note: An absolutely great movie to watch is William H. Macy’s performance in Door to Door (2002) ... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274468/ or, ]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274468/]

Stimulating Competition or Pursuing Greatness?

The following may be a little controversial. However I do not intend to be divisive… just a little weird or unusual about the subject of competition. Alfie Kohn wrote a book several years ago. I believe it was called, “No Contest: the Case Against Competition.” His heavily researched work concluded that competition was unhealthy no matter how many sales managers decry the thought. (By the way, I love to WIN with the best of them. L.)

In my studies of all coaches with three (3) national championships or more ... very few focused on creating a healthy competitive climate within the team ... so few in fact, at present, I cannot remember one who did. Instead they worked to form incredibly strong bonds between the players in the struggle to give their best, on the field or on the floor, for the benefit of others ... while striving to get better each day.

In the last twenty (20) plus years, I discovered that I can inspire others and I cannot motivate them. I can create a ‘climate’ in which people release their own achievement drive for the benefit of others.

I’ve also discovered that competition lies naturally in the hearts of salespeople, but teamwork doesn’t. And, I’ve learned that teamwork focused on excellence is in the long-term more productive than competition flamed within the ranks. So, I’ve been able to lead sales teams in breaking records with a mature focus on personal goals and team goals. I’ve done this by building emotional meaning into those goals for themselves, their families, and their companies. And, if I’ve recruited well, each of the teams I’ve led have formed strong bonds very much like that of a family. I’ve also learned to teach salespeople to cheer for other salespeople, to encourage them, and share celebrations at team meetings.

Eleven companies, out of 1400, made the cut in “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. In each, a disciplined and relationship-centered company of people focused on striving for excellence - without finger pointing or dancing in the end zone. These companies quietly and incrementally improved for years without flaming out or having mass exits and without depending upon charismatic leaders or lesser motivational forces.

I believe a competitive nature exists. It exists as a spiritual energy - to be harnessed for men and women to fight TOGETHER against the forces of mediocrity and those issues that impede personal and team goal achievement.

Some Sales Planning Basics

Some Basics ... Sales blocking and tackling stuff (use anything that will help you or your people) ...

The following information contains questions and comments that will help your salespeople develop new business.  They will also help create a value-focused attitude and sales tools for what you provide ... 


Ask these questions ...

1st - “Do you believe in your ability to deliver value to customers or clients?” Yes or No. 
(If you get past this one, continue. If not, do something else.) 

2nd - “Do you believe that people exist who need what you have?” 
(If you get past this one, continue. If not, do something else.) 


3rd - “What typical situations do these people face?” 

4th - “What needs and problems do they have as they face their situation?” 

5th - “What do needs/problems cost people in terms of $$ or emotional impact?” 

6th - “What typical solutions do you provide?” 

7th - “What will $$ or emotional impact will your solution bring?” 

Now, answer all of these questions on a piece of paper. 


Then, have your people do these exercises:

Help them develop three (3) tools from these questions. 

- Tool #1 ... a 30 sec. statement about what you do, who you do it for, and what typical benefits you provide. 

- Tool #2 ... an approach letter that they can mail out that asks for an appointment and explains what’s in Tool #1. 

- Tool #3 ... a set of open-ended questions that start with: who, what, where, when, why, how, describe, tell, or explain ... that when asked of prospects gets them talking about the typical situation, needs, and problems you listed in #4 above. You will use these questions when in front of prospects and you may use one or two of them when at networking events. 



Next, decide what people, vertical markets, or companies you will put on a prospecting list. List all the companies on a sheet of paper and get any information you can about who makes decisions about what you sell.  Or, when you call, simply ask the question, “Who makes decisions about ‘x.’”


Suggestions:

Now ... 

1. Join a Business Networking International group to exchange leads for prospecting. 

2. Join the Chamber of Commerce and get to know people who can give you leads to prospect. You will also meet small business owners there. 

3. Mail out ten (10) approach letters (tool #2 above) each week and call these people each week for an appointment. Read Bill Goods, “Prospecting Your Way to Sales Success” to learn what to say when you call - use a script as a basic building block to work from. 

4. Also, mail out the approach letter to referrals you receive when networking (mentioning the name of the person who gave you the referral).
5. Cold call (telephone: see Bill Good’s book above) or cross residential or company thresholds cold if you have to in the early part of your career.  

6. When you go on appointments, ask permission to ask your questions (tool #3 above).  Tell the prospect that you want to understand their present situation to see if there are need and problems you can help. Ask your questions, take notes, paraphrase your understanding and, if they have needs and problems you can help, ask to set a 2nd appointment to get back to them with a customized proposal.  If the solution is complex, and other buying influencers are present, then set appointments with them and ask them questions as well.

7. Set an appointment to present your solution and its investment. 

8. Count on doing 3 presentations to get one sale when thinking about your income. 



These basic exercises and suggestions will remove salespeople from the role of “snake-oil salesperson.” They help people work with high integrity and on the needs and problems of others. They’re just basic.  (Also read: Ron Willingham’s “Integrity Selling.” It’s one of those ‘basically“ good sales books.) Any of the above can be expanded and made better.  Do it.  Great selling. Lance.

Sales Ratios: Areas to Measure?

When the sales cycle is greater than ninety (90) days and begins to move toward six (6) months or greater, the closing rate is an unimportant way to manage sales performance. In these longer sales cycles, it is more important to manage the funnel size and to focus on strategies not activities (please reference Neil Rackman’s research in his book “Managing Major Account Sales"). 

For shorter sales cycles, ninety (90) days or less, activity ratios become very important and should be focused on for sales goal achievement. And, in these high activity sales teams, the following ratios are: 



1st Appointments to Quotes (or presentations) 
- This is the Opportunity Ratio and tells a person how qualified are their prospects. A higher rate means a pool of more highly qualified prospects who have needs and problems that the salesperson can help with their service or product. This measures the effectiveness of a salesperson converting 1st appointments into presentations (quotes), and is generally affected by the quality of the prospect and a salesperson’s ability to get the prospect to agree to a presentation based on existing needs and problems. 



Quotes (or presentations) to Sales 
- This is the traditional Closing Ratio, and measures the effectiveness of a salesperson’s face-to-face skills at the end of the sales cycle. In Major Account selling, the sales manager is not effective being thrown in toward the end of the sales cycle. In High Activity selling, i.e. short sales cycles, the sales manager is effective at the end of the cycle. He can help the salesperson with closing sales. (Note: If the sales cycle averages several days and can be as long as ninety (90) days, then one must look at these ratios over a year’s period of time to truly understand what they are.)

How do you track these?  Better still ... how to your salespeople track these?  And, remember, in Major Account Sales, manage the funnel size and the sales strategies for movement in the funnel.  Celebrate the advances.  Now, go and make things better.  You can.  Lance.

Coaching Value of Personality Assessments for Sales

Great coaching involves three (3) stages of progress. The first one, “Knowing People” begins in the recruiting phase as you compile information about each candidate. Behavior-based, personality assessments, and aptitude testing provide as much as 20-50% of validated input toward predicting which candidate will do best. 

And, they provide a wealth of information about the candidate if hired. This information combined with in-depth recruiting interviews and on-the-job foundational interviews tell a sales manager the likely strengths and weaknesses of a new salesperson? Is their goal-orientation high or are they process-focused? Is their social drive high leading to prospecting strength, or will they need to network through a few people they get to know well? Are they optimistic? Are they detail-oriented or big picture? Will they listen well? What will their time management be like? How strong will they close? How fast will they learn? What will motivate them - demotivate them?

Assessments are invaluable to sales managers who coach their people.

(Note:  Many profiles like the Myers-Briggs and others were not made with a sales manager in mind. They require a lot of indepth knowledge about the psychology of the assessment parameters to understand what “sales” coaching will be required. They do not tell you the number of coaching hours required per month and which specific ‘sales’ traits must be coached. They also do not specifically tell you what sales management coaching to do with ideas and suggestions.) 



The other two (2) stages of great coaching include: activity management and face-to-face (or phoning) skills. And, great coaching will mean coaching unique individuals differently to successfully follow your sales processes in those areas. Again, knowing the individual will allow you to tailor your training approach to each person. (Even baseball coaches must do this as they work with young players over a baseball tee - each one learning differently.) Personality profiles specifically designed for sales coaches will provide great help. 

Now, know your people well and use personality assessments as tools that help coach them to greatness. Lance.

Is it Motivation or Inspiration?

People read more about motivation in management schools than inspiration.  Many sales managers strive to learn how to motivate salespeople.  They sincerely want to learn how to motivate them to reach sales goals, to fill out paperwork, to follow a sales process, etc. Good managers spend much of their time on motivational actions.  Often, they do not learn how to inspire.

From 5th century BC until now, many teachers have provided instructions for the motivation of people.  In the twentieth century, these theories swept around people like B.F. Skinner and Pavlov’s dog.  Remember, ring a bell and the person salivates, if they have been conditioned to do so.  The dog did and so will a person.

Motivation often involves thinking about incentives.  Or, it means striving to stimulate others into wanting to do something.  It eventually turns into control - how to control another person.

We need to understand motivation for one very important reason only - and it’s not to control another person.  It is to set up environments in which people can learn, grow, and thrive.  We need to understand different types of personalities so that we coach and teach in a manner in which others learn best.  For example, children learn new information differently - so do adults.

We need to communicate with people in a manner in which they trust us and hear us - really hear us.  Usually, that involves listening to their needs and acting on what we hear.  We need to know the blockades and barriers that demotivate sales performance and develop action plans to remove them.

But there’s a higher need as well.  For greatest long-term impact upon a sales team, we need to inspire the people we lead.  When we do this, we encourage others to greater efforts, greater enthusiasm, and greater creativity.  We help others find the purpose in what they do - how what they do makes things better.  We define the war we are in - the adventure we are on, the battles we fight, and who we strive to rescue.  We help salespeople understand the valuable role they play in the health of the company and their family.  Then, goals take on a significance greater than the person.  And, people are inspired.

Coaching Highly-Spirited Teams

Coaching highly spirited teams requires three well-developed areas of action, thought, and attitude.  First, fathers, sales managers, CEOs, and other leaders communicate compelling reasons to reach important GOALS.  These goals, when communicated, create an emotionally charged atmosphere for the people they lead.  They inspire.  And, they provide direction, purpose, and value.  They tell us the dragon we must slay.

The second area contains PASSION and energy applied to step-by-step processes that help us win.  When one views the leaders of highly spirited teams, they see them focus work, time, and effort at activity or strategic action that impacts goal-achievement.  Team members direct their passion and apply their energy in the right areas to achieve goals.  In smoothly running sales teams, it’s clear to everyone what the manager wants, measures, and works to achieve.  And, it’s the same in highly spirited families, churches, and scout troops.

A manager or leader also pays attention to a third dimension – an area of HOPE and encouragement.  A business venture always contains battles.  Battles always contain wounded soldiers.  On the battlefield and in the tents, great leaders encourage others and sustain an attitude of hope by their presence, actions, and words.

Great sales managers establish challenging goals.  They work with an intense effort and passion in the direction of their goals.

Where great leaders build winning traditions, we find a model of commitment, passion, and hope.  You see this greatness emerge in governments, businesses, sporting teams, and other groups.  Yet, Hitler embraced all of these.  He gave his people a vision of a supreme and radically superior Aryan race – one that brought them death and loss.  He encouraged the elimination of millions of people, and in this he embodied the same passion and energy of many great leaders.  But, he lacked the fourth and centermost dimension – concern for others.  All of his efforts were self-focused and detrimental to all nations – even his own people.

That’s why great people do everything for the benefit of other people.

Great sales managers establish challenging goals.  They work with an intense effort and passion in the direction of their goals.  And, they encourage their teams and bring them hope – even amidst heavy opposition.  They do this with a concern for the customer and for each individual they manage.  They want to make those around them better – safer – happier.

Great salespeople do sales activities in a way that doesn’t run roughshod over other company employees.  They work to help the team and the company win.  When the team does not reach its goal, it’s a bad day.  When the company’s margins are affected, it’s also a bad day.  When others win, they win.  Concern for others takes precedence in every decision.  Do I stay late at the office?  What’s the family doing?  Do I cut margins on this deal?  What’s the gross margin target?  Where are we?  If we do this, how will this affect others?  How will it affect installation, operations, or customer service?  What will others have to sacrifice? 

Do you want to lead a highly spirited and successful team?  Say, Yes!  And, then embrace and communicate important goals.  Encourage your team members.  Put passion and energy into step-by-step processes that win … and do everything with a concern for others.