Posts Tagged ‘Sales Manager’

My wife told me to do it. As many of you know, I have two young boys. Not unlike some of my former sales reps, they oftentimes lack the motivation needed to do the necessary tasks that will help them to achieve success. For my boys, its doing their math homework, getting excited about school, reading on their own, taking out the trash, the list goes on… If you have kids, I’m sure you have the very same issues. So for the last three months, my wife’s been hounding me to watch a DVD she borrowed called “The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-Out Child” by educator Richard Lavoie. On the cover, Lavoie claims to have “proven and effective strategies for encouraging any child to learn and achieve success”. Although it took me three months of do so, I finally watched it a few nights ago. Despite my extreme skepticism, I was totally shocked…it was unbelievable. His research and ideas on motivation really hit home with me. He claims that if a parent or teacher can identify a child’s motivational style – then gear their interactions with them based on those motivations – then the child can achieve consistent success. Lavoie’s research proves that in order to really motivate the child, you need to first uncover their primary motivations…(if you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, does this sound a little bit familiar?) To motivate you need to find out if the child is:

• motivated by power?
• prestige?
• praise?
• contact with other people?
• projects?
• prizes?

Lavoie explodes some common myths about motivation and demonstrates that rewards, punishment and competition are not the effective motivational tools most people tout. Lavoie explores each motivational style in depth, and presents proven techniques, strategies and scripts that can be used either in the classroom or at home to break through a child’s apathy and inspire him to achieve. Although they are not children (even though they may act that way at times), motivating your sales force is no different. Watching this DVD reinforced a very important concept in that in order to motivate them effectively a sales manager needs to know what actually motivates them. And this information is easy to get. So easy, that all you have to do is ask for it. For example, if you try to motivate one of your sales reps with prizes…but they’re actually motivated by prestige…then you’re barking up the wrong motivational tree (so to speak). We train sales managers to ask “the Ten Questions” to get this information. Its simple. Just ask the questions, then use the answers to motivate…what could be more simple? To get “the ten questions” as well as a bunch of other great sales training and motivational techniques, get your own copy of our free ebook. What do you think? How are motivating kids and sales reps the same or different? We’d love to know! Post a comment below.

We’ve all sat through God-awful boring sales meetings right?

Not exactly a good time, as I’m sure you’d agree…

Has the thought ever occurred to you that your sales reps might feel like this almost every time you call a sales meeting?

“Positively absurd” you say!

Well, if you are one of the few who does have the need to inject a little vigor in your next sales meeting, then read on…

Try this to spice things up: next time you call a sales meeting, try a little “lead by being led” reverse psyschology on your sales reps to get them involved in the process of choosing topics.

All you do is simply ask your sales reps a week or two before the sales meeting what they most want to hear about is the best way to get them engaged and helps to “spruce things up”.

After all, if you ask them what they want to hear about in the meeting you can always tell them that “this was your idea” if they are tuning out…a little sneaky but it does work.

It always amazed me how much a little friendly competition gets a sales meeting spruced up as well. I was never a big fan of the “rah rah” games at sales meetings…but it does work incredibly well.

For example at the last company I worked for we had to write down on a flip chart any and all “breakthrough” ideas that we had come up with during the grueling 12-hour sales meeting session that would increase business.

Unbeknown to us, we were building a list that would be used for a day-end competition…

When the day was finally over, we were all told to present the best idea from our individual group to the rest of the larger group in the “most creative way” we could – no hold barred – with the winners each getting a $50 Starbucks gift certificate.

My group of brain surgeons decided that our idea would revolve around “adoption” of one of our sales service sites. To that end, we convinced one of our guys named Jerry to dress up as an “adopted baby” – complete with a table cloth diaper from one of the meeting tables – while me and another guy carried him into the presentation room to deliver him to the “hopeful parents” who were looking to “adopt”.

We nearly dropped poor Jerry as we ran in dressed in our “surgical gowns” – bedsheets we somehow swindled from housekeeping.

Totally ridiculous…I know.

We won in a landslide…and I got a months worth of lattes on them.

Getting people to act completely foolish for competition and prizes – with a good business focus in mind – never fails to “spice things up” at a sales meeting. Give it a try.

If you’re looking for great ideas to really spice up your sales meetings or your sales managers sales meetings, check out Meeting to Win and sign up for their newsletter.

And if you do, I promise you won’t have to dress up in a diaper…

To learn even more about sales training, get our free ebook.

You got ‘em. We all have ‘em.

They’re the reps who no matter how hard they try, they just can’t make quota.

Something’s got to be done – and fast. These guys are killing your company’s sales performance. When dealing with underperforming sales people, you can’t delay.

When it comes to sales underachievers, your sales managers need to stop fighting the war and focus on the battle.

In this sales training we give you three ways to take the first steps to turning around your sales underachievers:

1. Focus on rewarding the “smaller” things. Highlight the small steps that might lead to a sale. If the sales manager waits until the actual sale is in the door before they start acknowledging any positive efforts, then this is a missed opportunity.

For example, the sales manager could praise the sales person for showing good probing techniques, for preparing a commendable opening statement, maintaining a solid rapport with other office staff, making good use of sales data, etc.

2. Praise specifically. With an underperforming sales rep, praise all the basic stuff at first. A simple “Good job” is okay…but the more specific, the better.

The sales manager should tell them: “I really loved the say you started that last sales call – you asked very specific, non-threatening probing questions and they just opened right up and told you what their issues are – excellent job”.

3. “Approximately right” is alright. The sales rep may not have reached the real goal yet, but by praising them all along the way to “exactly right” by praising them for doing things “approximately right”, this works wonders in enhancing confidence and instilling optimism in a sales rep who being an underacheiver, may be lacking both.

If the sales manager withholds praise for only when they do things exactly right, then the opportunity is lost. The point is to simply get the underperforming salesperson moving in the direction of success. And the sales manager can do this by

Getting underperforming salespeople on the track to success sometimes is just that simple – when small techniques like this are used consistently, the results will start to come.

Focus on the small everyday battles and your sales managers will start to win the war.

To learn even more about sales training, get our free ebook.

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

Do your sales managers struggle with motivating their sales teams?

It’s easier to do than you might think. Sometimes motivating a sales rep is even easier than motivating a five-year

This sneaky little tip is one that I copped off a behavioral modification book I was reading to learn how to discipline my two kids a bit better. So of course, after I used it on them – I tried it on my sales reps…and even though I shouldn’t have been surprised…it worked like a charm.

This sales training tip is called: “Give ‘em a LOFTY reputation to live up to…(even if they’ve done nothing to deserve it)”.

Terrible title…but effective technique.

Anyway, here’s how it works: Say a sales rep is trying to desperately to figure out some kind of relatively complex issue. So the extremely helpful sales manager really want to help them figure it out. They may know the answer and see them struggling…wanting desperately to tell them exactly what to do.

The real “pro” sales managers don’t do it though.

Instead of actually doing the work for them and telling them what to do, the excellent sales managers says this instead: “You know, (name) you’re the expert here, I KNOW you can figure this out on your own”…she then walks away.

Yes, walks away.

Let the rep figure it out. That’ right, let them figure it out. Your sales managers will be shocked at what will happen without them being there.

Now, of course, they’ll need to follow up with the salesperson the next day or within a period of time that they feel is appropriate to make sure it was done…

The point is this: the sales manager is training them to use THEIR brain…not THE SALES MANAGER’S brain.

Here’s why this is a highly effective motivational technique: when people are empowered to control their own destiny, they are far more motivated to control that destiny.

Because a sales manager cannot be around his reps every second of every day, micro managing their salespeople…or worse yet, baby-sitting them, the sales rep has got to learn to do it on their own!

When a sales manager does this, it empowers the salesperson…and motivates them BIG TIME.

The great thing is by using this technique the sales managers both motivates…AND lets themselves off the hook…less work for the sales manager!

To learn even more about sales manager training, get our free ebook.

Post a reply to this post and tell me what do you think? Get in the discussion below!

The Law of Reciprocity states, “If you do something nice for someone, human nature dictates that the recipient will feel compelled to do something nice for you in return.”

The philosopher Confucius simplified it when he said, “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you.” This second definition is very important.

Selling is a two-way relationship. The same applies to managing a sales team. If the team wants to be able to grow beyond what it started out with, it needs to surrender under the guidance of its sales manager. If the sales manager wants to earn the respect of the team, he needs to work hard and earn his sales people’s trust one brick at a time.

I know this much is true: that the Law of Reciprocity is essential to a career in sales. (more…)

First things first….

As an aspiring top sales manager, get your sales group to buy into the fact that achievement is the only permanent value of work and achievement only comes from relentless effort and commitment.

Say this in a group setting at first (at your first sales meeting to establish your credibility as a leader if you need to.

After this is done, talk with them one-on-one. I’ve always found that holding frank one-on-one conversations with every member of the sales team is essential to success. In no uncertain terms, tell each salesperson what you expect of him, reiterate their one minute goals. And reinforce to them that you both want the same things, right? When you discuss this with them, align their goals with your goals.

Whatever you do however, be extremely clear on your expectations. They should know what minimum performance is – and if they don’t – then shame on you and shame on them! Shame on you for not repeating it over and over again and shame on them for not knowing it.

Once this communication is established, appeal to their passion for achievement and desire to make money. However, be very clear that if they don’t produce what is needed you will find someone who will. Don’t make it a threat; just tell them as you would state any other fact, like the sky is blue.

That’s just the way it is. Tell them that you are here to “achieve at the highest level”. Tell them “I’m not her to finish 30th in the country, I am here to finish first – and neither should you”. Leaders can do everything right but if they don’t set an expectation of excellence – they can never expect to be successful.

To learn even more tips and techniques about how to be a top sales manager, we’ll be posting nearly every day, so stay tuned for more gret tips on how you too can become a top sales manager.

To learn more about sales management, get our free video on the sidebar of this post or by clicking here.

Post a comment and tell me on how you encourage your people in reaching the highest level of achievement.

The sales manager is the sales rep’s direct line of communication between himself and his performance. If this line is cut, if the sales manager is somewhat incompetent or won’t do his job properly, then the company has a problem. One of the most important factors that could influence a sales rep’s growth in his career is the sales manager’s ability to do his job well.

A top sales manager does this job by providing specific behavioral feedback. It is by no means an easy task. Each sales rep has his or her own set of behaviors he or she brings on the job. The top sales manager should be able to analyze these behaviors based on reports and turn them into feedback in a way that would inspire growth and positive change from the sales rep.

One way to pull this off is to develop a shared vision—between the sales manager and sales rep—of the expectations and style of coaching the sales rep needs to improve his or her game. For example, during pre-call planning, a top sales manager could use this opportunity to take notes of information as well as his own observations to be used as feedback later on.

Sales management is a tough job, sure, but who ever said otherwise? If anything, it’s one of the most emotionally gratifying jobs in the world, knowing you did what you could to help someone get better in his or her career.

Speaking of helping people, a top sales manager recognizes the power behind giving positive behavioral feedback. Confident sales persons produce better results, period. Top sales managers know this, and adjust their strategies accordingly. Underperformers might even change and start making consistent sales, while average sales reps, under the right encouragement, could grow to become sales superstars someday!

Who knows? Anything is possible with the right guidance of a top sales manager who knows what he’s doing.

Visit the blog post How To Deliver Words Of Encouragement To Your Sales People That Eventually Make A Difference for more in-depth tips on providing positive feedback to your sales reps.

Share your ideas on encouragement and positive feedback by leaving a comment below.

Let’s talk about motivations. As I mentioned in an earlier post, everyone has different motivations. Some are motivated by money, some are motivated by success, some are motivated by personal satisfaction, etc. You can’t trust Mary to have the same motivations you did when you were in her shoes, as a salesperson.

But if there’s one thing in common among all salespersons, it’s being motivated by more than one thing, and one motivator that tops most lists is the incentive compensation plan.

As a sales manager, how well do you know your incentive compensation plan? Do you have total mastery of it? I hope you do. Otherwise you’re missing out on one of the most effective motivators of salespeople to help them reach peak performance.

I’ll give an example. A salesperson needs to do two things right in order to be successful.

1. Perform daily selling activities
2. Master every aspect of his or her product and use that knowledge to their advantage

Same is true for the sales manager. You are here to manage your salespeople, and to do that you must also be in control of what motivates them: the incentive compensation plan. You need to be a master of these two aspects to bring out the full potential of your salespeople, just as a salesperson has to master both points if he or she wants to be able to make a good sale on a consistent basis.

The incentive compensation plan can mean different things. For Mary, it signifies the freedom to do what she wants. For John, it means being able to pay the bills and make ends meet. For Tom, it allows him to support his family. So it only makes sense that the incentive compensation plan is a huge motivator of salespeople. As a top-performing sales manager, are you going to let this go?

Let me clarify this much: you are not a top-performing sales manager until you have total mastery of your incentive compensation plan and are using it to motivate your team to sales success.

Do YOU have total mastery of your incentive compensation plan? How do you use it to your advantage? Let me know by leaving a comment after this post.