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Assessing Your Sales Culture & Strategy

As 2021 heads toward the finish line and preparations for 2022 begin, hopefully you’ve taken the time to clarify the roles of your sales team and sales management. It’s a valuable exercise. Once roles have been clarified now you get to assess sales team strategy and culture. Regardless of your methodology, for many organizations, half of your sales representatives currently perform below average. Fifty percent are performing below average! Think about that. For many managers it is an indisputable fact. So why even assess the team? Simply put, to sell more.

Successful selling organizations consist of three components; investment, activity and results. The first component is the investment in the sales team. The investment is measured in compensation, benefits, computers, cars, training, hiring, meetings, sales material, phones and other related expenses.

The second element is the activity of the investment. Face-to-face meetings, travel, preparation, telephone calls and administration comprise the second element. The third, and vital, component stands alone; results. How many sales were generated? Profits? Current market share?

The glue that binds the three distinct parts includes your people, culture and customers. Is there a career path for salespeople? What is your turnover rate? Who are the sales heroes? What is driving the team to achieve?

The best sales managers and sales teams recognize four productivity drivers.

  1. Sales research-information related to market trends, target markets, customers, trends, etc.
  2. Investment and organization-size, structure and deployment of sales team allows you to get the right people at the right place at the right time.
  3. People-selection, training, managing, motivating, evaluation and termination.
  4. Sales systems and processes-compensation, incentives, benefits, internal support, etc.

Tests and surveys remain the most effective way to assess salespeople. Companies rarely assess sales management instead relying on results to determine effectiveness.

A successful selling organization operates in a progressive culture. What’s a culture? That’s best answered by the following story that is illustrative in how many cultures are established.

Six apes were placed in a room with a ladder. A bunch of bananas hung from the center of the room. One ape started to climb the ladder for the fruit and the entire room was showered with cold water. This happened a few times until any ape that wandered near the ladder was beaten by other apes in fear of another cold shower. The researchers decided to stop the cold showers should any ape approach the ladder. A new ape replaced one of the original apes. The new guy, not yet accustomed to the rules, headed for the ladder and received a thorough beating as the original apes expected cold shower. He learned not to go near the ladder. Eventually every one of the original apes that received a cold shower was replaced. The beatings continued. The replacement apes were unaware why they were prohibiting others from going near the ladder. They just knew the ladder was off limits as that is how it has always been.

That’s a culture. Are there any new apes on your team following old practices without knowing why? When processes are challenged are you hearing “because that is how we’ve always done it”? Cultures evolve over time and their origins are rarely known. Does your sales team have a culture? I bet it does. Is it a good one? Sales cultures consist of three elements:

• Norms-how individuals actually behave.
• Values-how individuals should behave.
• Work styles-diligent, tardy, professional, thorough, detailed, casual?

Changing negative cultures represents a significant challenge but is mandatory…if you want to grow as a business. People are the agents of change and must be supported by management. Who are the heroes of your sales team? How long have they been the department hero and for what reason? Knowing these answers will help you assess your culture.

You must first formulate your vision of the sales team and evaluate all key contributing factors. Great companies communicate their vision clearly and frequently with all sales related personnel. Don’t leave anyone out that comes in contact with your sales team.

Next, you must put your vision in action by rewarding individuals for acting in concordance with your vision. This is a process not a destination but as it evolves your sales will increase and profits will soar.

This takes courage. You need to ask and answer tough questions. Dedication to a better selling team is required. Don’t give up until your vision is clarified, communicated and leads to rewarding the winners.

“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”- Confucius

When Prospects Give You The “Silent Treatment”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

If you’ve been selling for a while, you’ve probably had at least one experience in which your prospect suddenly started giving you the “silent treatment.”

Anthony described this dilemma very poignantly when he called me a few weeks ago:

“I don’t know what to do when I get hit with the ‘silent treatment’ — you know, when I’ve worked with a prospect for quite a while, and we’ve had great conversations, and they’ve expressed interest in our solution — and then all of a sudden everything stops.

I try calling them back once or twice. I even send a follow-up e-mail, but nothing. They just disappear. And I figure I’ve lost the sale, and I don’t know what I did wrong, or what to do next. It makes selling feel like such a painful and arduous process.”

If this has happened to you, you may have felt anxious and confused. You may have told yourself, “It’s not as if I’m the one who did anything wrong. I put everything into the relationship. How can I rescue the sale if I can’t even get them to talk to me?”

The “Hopeium” Trap

There is a pressure-free way to reestablish communication when your prospect starts giving you the “silent treatment.” But first, it’s important to understand why the situation has happened in the first place.

Most of us who sell get caught up in “hopeium,” a comical term that means we focus our hopes and desires on making the sale. But hopeium can be a trap, because it’s impossible for you to keep in mind your most important goal: to learn your prospect’s truth.

When we fix our minds on the outcome — making the sale — we automatically begin anticipating how the process will go, and we also begin expecting that things will happen as we hope they will.

But if we’re in that mindset and our prospect suddenly breaks off communication, we feel lost, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, and confused. We become preoccupied with what went wrong.

We may even feel betrayed.

Is there any way to clear up the mystery?

Yes, by giving up your agenda and learning the truth about where you stand with your prospect –and being ok with whatever the truth may be. “But how can I learn the truth when they’re avoiding me?” you may ask. “And why do I need to let go of the sale?”

Let’s take the second question first.

If you approach your prospect while you still hope the sale will happen, you’ll introduce sales pressure into the relationship. This will push your prospect away from you and destroy any trust you have developed with them. Instead, you can eliminate sales pressure by telling them that you’re okay with their decision if they’ve decided not to move forward.

In other words, you take a step back instead of trying to chase and follow up with calls because you’re focused on getting a “yes.”

The bottom line is:

When a prospect gives you the “silent treatment,” it doesn’t mean you’ve lost the sale. It just means you don’t know the truth yet.

What you need to do is call and learn the truth.

Why is learning the truth so important?

Here are 4 important reasons:

1. You stop losing confidence in your selling ability. The “silent treatment” threatens our “hopeium.” We start blaming ourselves. We don’t know where we stand — a painful state of limbo. Our self-talk is negative and full of self-blame, and we’re on pins and needles wondering whether the sale will still come through somehow.

2. You increase your selling efficiency and decrease your stress level. Once you learn the truth about your prospect’s situation, you can either stay involved with the prospect or move on. I often say, “A ‘no’ is almost as valuable as a ‘yes.’” Why? Because it frees up your time to find prospects who are a better fit with your solution. This lets you work much more efficiently because you can quickly weed out prospects who aren’t going to buy. Knowing the prospect’s truth lets you walk away without that guilt-laden voice whispering, “If you give up, you don’t have what it takes.”

Learning your prospect’s truth translates into tangible results that equal real dollars. You’ll also put an end to the self-sabotaging stress that comes from living in “silent treatment” limbo.

3. Sales pressure pushes prospects away. When you respond to the “silent treatment” with calls and e-mails, you’re really telling them that you’re determined to move the sales process forward — which means you’re looking out for your needs, not theirs. This makes them mistrust you and run the other way.

4. The “silent treatment” — totally breaking off communication — is how prospects protect themselves from sales pressure when they don’t feel comfortable telling us their truth. The more we press, the more they run.

But the opposite is true, too. The more we relax and invite the truth, the more straightforward they’ll be with us. Prospects feel okay sharing what’s going on with them when they know we’re okay with hearing it.

How to Reopen Communication

After Anthony and I had talked about some of these issues, he said, “This all makes a lot of sense, but I’m still not sure what to say when I make that call.”

It’s simpler than you might think.

* First, simply give your prospect a call. (E-mail and voicemail are very impersonal, so use them only as last resorts if you can’t reach your prospect after several phone calls.)

* Second, take responsibility and apologize for having caused the “silent treatment”.

Here’s some language I suggested to Anthony that will make prospects feel safe enough to open up and tell you the truth about their situation:

“Hi, Jim, it’s Anthony. I just wanted, first of all, to call and apologize that we ended up not being able to connect. I feel like somewhere along the way maybe I dropped the ball, or I didn’t give you the information you needed. I’m not calling to move things forward because I’m assuming you’ve probably gone ahead with someone else, and that’s perfectly okay. I’m just checking to see if you may have some feedback as to where I can improve for next time.”

When you respond to the “silent treatment” this way, the results will probably surprise you. You may even learn that the prospect has legitimate reasons for not having gotten back to you.

You’ll also find yourself more productive and less frustrated. It’ll make a world of difference in your productivity level, your stress level, your income, and how much you enjoy what you’re doing.

Remember…

You haven’t lost the sale. You just don’t know the truth yet.

Slay Procrastination & Eliminate Distractions

You’re likely aware of the benefits of making a “to-do” list, and you likely have a list of actions that make up your day. Even for the most seasoned to-do list users procrastination and distractions are the silent killers of productivity. If you’ve found yourself procrastinating or getting easily distracted throughout the day, it may be time to make a “not to-do-list”.
 
This simple exercise helps you STOP doing things that slow you down or get in the way of you achieving your goals. You may already have an idea of things you could stop doing. Use this tool for a one-off ‘efficiency boost’ or complete it monthly to refocus and refine your time management.

Feel free to use the download link below to get your exercise template.

not-to-do-list-exercise_u-1-1Download

*The download removes the watermark

The 4 Step Guide to Making Tough Decisions as a Manager

When it comes to making decisions that take you out of your comfort zone, it can really be emotionally trying. As a manager of people and processes tough decisions are a requirement of the role.

The only way around those decisions is to be untrue to your beliefs. And that’s an approach you most likely want to avoid. Your conscience is bound to eat away at you if you go that route. Simply ignoring the decision is often abdicating the responsibility that the decision requires.

Instead, try this process to help you make those tough decisions with confidence:

1. Weigh the alternative. When a tough decision looms overhead, you know there’s always an alternative. It’s probably easier to go with that alternative, and save yourself the stress. But at what cost? What is the cost to your team? What is the cost to the business?

  • If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll realize that the tough decision may be the best decision from a moral standpoint. It’s hard to go wrong when you go the moral route!
  • Many decisions will not have the benefit of hindsight, and you can’t predict how certain decisions will weigh on you in the future. Reach out to someone who’s been faced with a similar decision and ask for their insight. While someone else can’t make the decision for you, they may have wisdom that can provide a different perspective.

2. Consider the outcome. Usually, it is the most difficult decisions work out for the better in the end. But what you’re worried about is those who may not be pleased with the decision. The toss up is between two glaring options. Do you continue in a less than favorable situation? Or do you decide to make a change for the better?

  • A great way to justify making a hard decision is to look at the outcome. Do you see yourself, those around you, or your reports in a more positive situation after you make this decision? Can you envision life for you and your team being less stressful?
  • Always remember what you’re trying to achieve for yourself, your team, and for the business. Make your decisions based on your vision for what you are trying to create, whether big or small. Avoid living according to the goals of others if you want to be truly happy.

3. Limit the advice you take. In some scenarios, advice is very helpful. However, in others, it can easily cloud your judgment. When making a tough decision, go with your gut. It’s usually correct if you’re aligned with your conscience!

  • When you start to hear several different opinions, you can get confused. Of course, you can be courteous to everyone offering their suggestion. You may want to respectfully listen to everybody who’s trying to help. But listen with one ear! Ultimately the responsibility of the decision falls on the role of being the manager.
  •  It’s possible to hear the advice and not take it to heart. It’s also possible to weigh everybody’s feedback and filter the ones that aren’t helpful.

4. Think outside your comfort zone. Remember that life in general tends to be uncomfortable. While you would prefer otherwise, it’s a reality you just sometimes have to face. When you prime your mind to think of discomfort as the norm, those tough decisions become easier.

  • Nobody likes to be uncomfortable, especially for extended periods. But that’s what you’ll be if you avoid making the tough decision when it’s necessary for your well-being.
  •  If you know something is right, aim to block out all the noise and listen to your conscience.
  • You may end up losing friends for the decision. But you may gain so much more as a result, too. Consider peace of mind, a clear conscience and genuine happiness. These can all be yours when you decide to do what’s truly best for you, your team, and the business.

So focus on the task at hand, and what accomplishing it can help you achieve and move those you lead closer to the stated vision. If the end result of your decision betters the situation and supports the goals and vision, then you can be confident that you’ve made a wise decision – even if it was tough.

Create Value at the Workplace and Come Out on Top

Are you finding it tough to survive in the corporate battlefield? Everyone is always vying for that top spot, including you. But with so much competition, you’re probably thinking it’s next to impossible for you to come out on top. 

However, the reality is that working smarter, not harder, will get you any spot you set your sights on!

Consider the term “creating value.” Creating value means accomplishing tasks that will greatly benefit your organization, as well as making you stand out from the rest.

Although it never hurts to hit your targets, achieve the most sales, or have a flawless attendance record, those may not be enough to get you ahead. 

When the powers that be are deciding on promotions, how much value you’ve actually contributed to the company is what really counts! What have you contributed that will sustain the organization and allow it to grow by leaps and bounds in the future?

So just how do you create value? What can you do that hasn’t already been done?

Try these strategies to create value, regardless of the type of business you work in:

1. Focus on the return on investment. When thinking of ways to create value at the workplace, it’s important to consider whether the time you spend on a particular idea or project will yield the desired return on investment. Companies generally take one of two competitive strategies; pricing or differentiation. Evaluate if what you’re working on will help your company strengthen its pricing position or will further differentiate the company among its competitors.

  • Knowing what the end goal is before starting on a journey is the best way to determine whether or not you should proceed.
  • Spending time doing what others are doing won’t allow you to stand out. Work on projects that produce significant returns, from the point of view of financial success as well as market leadership.

2. Study the stories of successful businesses. If you take the time to study the stories of successful businesses owners, you’ll likely be able to identify what your organization is missing. How did Elon Musk take on two legacy industries (cars & energy) and create a thriving company? How did Allan Mulally position Ford to thrive through the 08′ recession without taking a government bailout? How did Bob Iger transform Disney through acquisitions and bring the organization into the 21st Century?

  • Changing your focus from doing your job well to creating value, instead, will help you tune in to ways to make a difference in the success of the company.

3. Seek out results that have a lasting effect. Creating value also means doing something that has a lasting effect and helps the organization reap positive rewards for a long time to come. 

  • Your contributions to building the business will likely be recognized and rewarded.
  • It’s exciting to think that you could be on the brink of creating something that will outlive your time with the company! In an ever-changing world, you might want to position your thinking years ahead of where you are today. Build something that has longevity!

4. Understand what customers want. How do you know that you’re offering what the customers want?

  • Study your client base so you can assess their needs and find ways to provide what they’re looking for. What are your niche customers not looking for, but should be? You can create value for consumers when you understand what they want, or by identifying trends that may catch their attention in the near future.

As long as you keep your mind focused on bringing ideas and solutions to the table that allow your company to continue on its growth path, you’ll likely be the candidate to secure that top spot at work. Thinking outside the box to create value is really what it’s all about!