Tag: sales management

Leaders: You may be doing it wrong.

Invest your time like you would invest your money- In the places you will get the best return.

I want great returns on my investments. I can get that in a couple different ways:

First, I’d look for stocks that have a good rate of return. Steady performers that have good growth and a solid balance sheet. My buy in cost will be higher here, but the return will be steady and large.

Next, I’d scout for the next big performer. I’d look in the middle of the pack for companies that have a great profile, good potential, and require a moderate investment. I’d love to discover the next Amazon, Apple, or Keurig and watch it grow.

Last, once in a great while, under the right circumstances, I may throw a few dollars at some penny stocks and hope for the best, but I’m certainly not going to build a portfolio around them. I also want to be well aware of declining stocks, sucker bets, poorly run operations and shady companies that are looking to consume my resources and sap my positive outlook.

[bctt tweet=”Invest your time like you invest your money- In the places you will get the best return. “]

Leaders, how are you investing your time?

Are you spending all your time with penny stocks? I hope not, but the reality is that many are. Sadly, many leaders feel they must fix what is broken and in doing so, they neglect the best performers.

We wouldn’t invest in a plummeting stock, right? But we will give up an entire Tuesday to spend with Bill, who hasn’t hit his number in three consecutive periods. Meanwhile, Tracy, one of our President’s Club winners for the last three years is left alone. (‘Surely, she’ll call if she needs something’.) Absurd.

Your time is the equivalent of your investment dollars. You only have so much to invest. It is your job to maximize the return. You owe it yourself, your company, and your people to make wise, well thought out decisions about how you will invest.

Investing in your high performers costs more. You have to prepare better, you will need to clear bigger obstacles, and you will have to work really hard to get them to higher growth numbers. At this level, even a modest return is huge dollars. They also constantly perform, year after year after year. 20-40% of your investment should be made here.

Your mid level people should be mined for gems. Make consistent investments in this pool and you will not only find your next star, you will likely see great returns. Overall, we are in it for the long game, but stay aware of market trends that may cause this group to fluctuate-  you may see something that is worth heavy investment for a large, quick return or you may find yourself in a position to offload some deadweight before it drags your portfolio down. You will spend the majority of time managing this group so you can stay nimble, informed, and can make needed adjustments. Plan on dedicating 40-50% or your investable time here.

The remainder is yours to spend as you see fit. Take some risk, invest in a penny stock here and there if you like. There’s no harm in taking chances provided you aren’t betting the farm. Whatever you do, stop making investment in those who are showing a consistent, downward trend. Know when to call it a loss. Pay the brokerage fees and sell them off. Your team will thank you.

Go look at your calendar. Look at how you’ve allocated your time this week and next. Make sure you are investing your time like you’d invest your money. Leave the penny stocks for newer investors. You go make wise, thoughtful leadership decisions about your time that will get great returns that will provide for a comfortable retirement.

Let me know if I can help.

If you’d like to read more blog posts from The Win Source, you can find them here.

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Ideas, comments, and questions are always welcomed! Happy Selling!

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Pee In The (Prospect) Pool…

Seriously, it’s just bad etiquette.

Do you remember what age you were when you learned this life lesson? I was pretty young. The admonition was clear- “Don’t pee in the pool. If you do, you won’t be invited back.” My mom would call me out of the pool every so often and make me ‘try’ to go. Most of the time it was under great protest. Sometimes I was being stubborn, sometimes I was just having fun, often I was just comfortable and didn’t want to get out of the water.

My mom did that because it was the right thing to do. It was simply good etiquette; it kept the pool clean and it ensured a good experience for everyone; also, it was respectful to our host.

Sales Leaders: When was the last time you pulled your teams out of the pool to practice their craft? Do you have dedicated time set aside for role-play, skill coaching sessions, and additional training? Do you have a safe environment where your teams can practice new product or service launches and get feedback prior to engaging with real prospects? Do you have a process where new hires can prove themselves before they go out into the marketplace?

If you don’t periodically drag them out of the pool and make them ‘try’, they are likely peeing in the prospect pool. Not good. It’s bad form. We don’t get invited back when prospects figure out what we’ve done. Do you want to take that kind of risk?

Salespeople: I know you hate role-playing. I realize that it can feel intimidating, embarrassing, and sometimes a bit silly. Here’s the thing though- even a little bit of practice breeds huge confidence. When was the last time you got feedback on your performance from a peer or leader, someone who knows what you are supposed to be saying? When was the last time you recorded yourself and watched your delivery?

You might have yourself convinced that no one will know if you slip up, but the reality is that people do know. Your prospect knows when you are prepared, confident, and knowledgable. They also know when you are not. Every time you go out there unprepared or underprepared you are peeing in the prospect pool. Not good. It’s bad form. Maybe they won’t notice, but if they do, you’ll never be invited back. Do you want to take that kind of risk?

[bctt tweet=”Practicing your pitch in the field is like peeing in the prospect pool. Not Cool!”]

The point is that we need come out of the pool periodically to freshen up. Both sales leaders and salespeople need to set aside dedicated time to honing the craft of sales. Create a safe environment, outside the prospect pool, where we can practice, experiment, and learn. Set aside some time where we can build confidence, refine our pitch, and try out some new things that may make us more effective. Build an environment where it is ok to make mistakes and not fear judgement.  Stop practicing in front of the prospect. Making sure you are prepared, confident and knowledgeable is just good etiquette. It creates a good experience, and it is respectful to your host.

Take a minute, right now, and add some time to your calendar for skills practice. Commit to not peeing in your prospect pool. One or two hours a month will make a world of difference.

Let me know how it goes.

 

If you’d like to read more blog posts from The Win Source, you can find them here.

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Ideas, comments, and questions are always welcomed! Happy Selling!

5 Skills Your Next Salesperson Must Have

People often ask, “What are the things you look for when hiring the best salespeople?”

That answer has changed over the years. Relying on what made people successful a decade ago won’t cut it today. Things have changed.

Technology, availability of information and our ability to communicate ideas in an instant has accelerated the rate of change in the workplace. As a result, skills that used to be advantageous are becoming all but imperative. To be successful in this fast-paced business environment curiosity, creativity, teamwork, and flexibility now stand out as hallmarks of effective salespeople.

  1. Curiosity: Salespeople must be inquisitive asking ‘why’ and exploring the origin of projects, objectives and resources so they can get to buying motives quickly. Failure to do so can result in lost time, missed deadlines and tasks. Today’s salespeople have to use curiosity to help them develop empathy, putting themselves in the buyer’s shoes, so they can truly understand the buyers position and the impact of the sale they are trying to make.
  2. Creativity: Buyers have become very well informed. The information at their disposal is vast, allowing them to make decisions at a very rapid pace. If a salesperson is going to get their attention, they have to be creative. It seems that much of what we need to know has been reduced to a tweet, a snapchat, or a meme that we scroll through rapidly. Buyers have no patience for lengthy emails or requests for hours of their time. Creativity can open many doors and goes a long way in advancing or closing the sale.
  3. Teamwork:  The share economy has created groups and teams for everything. People buy and sell in groups. They share knowledge, insights, roles, and data. These challenges put salespeople in a situation where in order to be successful one has to learn to work both independently to uphold individual responsibility but also must get results through or with others. The Lone Wolf is no more.
  4. Flexibility:  Salespeople must be willing to pivot quickly. Tasks and projects can end and be spun up in an instant. If a salesperson is to succeed they must be mobile and willing to flex quickly. Failure to do so can make them look unproductive or leave them feeling frustrated in their role. Win fast, lose fast.

Bringing all of these skills together creates a salesperson that can understand why a target is set, can use people and resources to hit the target, and then can review the best parts of the work to make improvements and adjustments so the work continues to get better. Hire for these skills and the effectiveness and efficiency of your sales team will go up. You will see better results.

Speaking of getting better- Skill number 5 is Continuous Improvement. Many salespeople will have read this article because of the title. They will have clicked on the article wanting to know if they possessed the skills of the best salespeople, wanting to compare themselves to what was written, to see whether they measured up. Those salespeople are continuously striving to improve themselves by staying informed, honing their craft, and learning how to be more effective and efficient. You want those people on your team.

 

Do you have other skills you hire for? Drop me a note or comment with the critical skills you think salespeople must have. I’d love to hear about it.

If you’d like to read more blog posts from The Win Source, you can find them here.

Please subscribe to receive future posts directly to email.

Ideas, comments, and questions are always welcomed! Happy Selling!