Can Your Sales Managers Answer the Critical Questions Burning in the Minds of Salespeople?
by Carl Eidson, Ph.D.
In these tough economic conditions, it’s easy to believe that most sales forces are doomed to poor results and low morale until the economy turns around. But is this really the case? My informal observations across 10 companies and 8 industries would suggest—NO.
Over the past few weeks, I traveled to meet with more than 20 customers and prospects within 10 different companies from California to Maine. Organizations where sales managers lacked direction and struggled with coaching their salespeople were indeed losing market share and experiencing revenue declines. On the other hand, without exception, the companies that had highly engaged sales managers were growing and thriving despite the brutal economy. I believe your salespeople can overcome the downward spiral of “learned helplessness” and economic challenges through actions taken by their sales managers.
You might be wondering, “How can I help my sales managers get better results out of their people?” The answer is to make sure your sales managers are able to respond to some key questions burning in the minds of every salesperson. Although sales managers cannot force salespeople to be highly motivated, research indicates that they CAN create the conditions necessary for a highly motivated and engaged sales force if they address those questions. Let me share two of them with you here.
1) Where are we going? To be fully engaged, salespeople need to know the sales manager’s strategy and direction for how to gain market share, how to differentiate from the competition, and how the direction of the sales team is linked with the overall mission, vision, and values of the company.
2) What is expected of me? Salespeople need and want a crystal clear understanding of what is expected. Most sales managers do a great job of setting a quota. However, revenue production is a “trailing indicator” of what has already happened. What’s missing are clearly defined, measurable goals around the “leading indicator” behaviors required for success (e.g., writing compelling access messages tailored to the unique critical success factors of each new prospect).
Our research shows that out of the hundreds of factors that influence sales revenue, margins, customer service ratings, and salesperson retention, an astonishing 39% of these outcome measures are directly attributable to how well managers answered these and a handful of other key questions. What would a 39% boost in any of these performance metrics mean to your organization?
Comments (2) •
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3:30 PM
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This is interesting, but what are the other key questions that are critical to salespeople’s motivation?
-Joe Smith
8:51 AM
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Thanks for asking. Other questions that drive salespeoples’ motivation are:
• How are we doing? Salespeople often get feedback from their manager on how they are doing against their quota. However, as mentioned in my original posting in the discussion of goal setting, sales managers often focus only on revenue as a performance indicator. If this is the case, they are only looking in the rearview mirror. Revenue production is often an indicator of sales effectiveness behaviors demonstrated two to twelve months earlier, depending on the length of the sales cycle. In my visits with prospective clients who have not provided the proper skill development support for sales managers, I consistently see managers who focus their feedback only on one part of the sales cycle—usually close rates, top-line revenue, or margins. However, if they were to coach to each step of the sales cycle, from prospecting to supporting after the sale, the results would be much improved.
• What’s in it for me? Most salespeople understand the importance of letting the customer know the potential payoff for working with them. However, I am surprised at how many sales managers take the attitude of “I’m not going to take the time to show my people what’s in it for them. They should do it because it’s their job and this is what they are paid to do.” Sadly, this approach ignores 50 years of research showing that compensation is only one relatively small part of motivation and performance—necessary, but not sufficient. Other important factors include, for example, a trusting relationship with managers, meaningful relationships with coworkers, career advancement opportunities, and recognition for key achievements.
• Where do we go for help? In sales, sometimes precious seconds or minutes make the difference in accessing a new prospect, closing a sale, or solving a customer problem successfully. There is often no margin of error for finding the right resource to get the job done. Resources can include everything from accessing a database, contacting an internal subject matter expert, finding critical product information, or solving an IT problem. When salespeople know where to go for help, and are efficient in accessing that support, they can spend more time prospecting, engaging in client discovery, calling higher, wider, and deeper, and asking for referrals after the sale. In this age of instant gratification, sales problems must be solved quickly and efficiently to keep customers happy and win new business.
Share your thoughts on these additional questions. Are you and your sales managers ready to answer these questions for your sales team? How do you think the performance of your sales force would be affected if they had clear answers to these questions?
-Carl Eidson