6 Sales Force Development Rules

– to Achieve More With Less

How can the sales force achieve more? Why do some fail? 

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1. Be consistent in developing your sales force instead of tight budgets

Too many times I have seen the ‘money on the brain syndrome.’ Symptoms include valuing money over your employee’s professional development, refusing to spend on training and ignoring the data which spells out why investment now equals long term success. There are many ways to create a sustainable sales force whatever your budget; stinginess should never factor into the equation.

2. Never stop spending to boost your sales machine

Would you drive your car without fuel? What makes you think you can grow your sales without investing in your sales team? Find the time and money to invest in your sales team and see above!

3. Coach, coach, coach!

I am constantly shocked to hear of the lack of coaching or the underestimated value of it. In fact, a recent study found 73% of sales managers spend less than 5% of their time coaching. Sales managers consistently fail to understand that sales team must be coached in a consistent and personalised manner. Focused sales development solutions will lead to sales performance optimisation.

4. Never recruit new blood without a sales assessment tool

Knowing what drives your team and how to reward them correctly could make all the difference. Consider this, in 2007, 54% of the sales force were Extrinsically Motivated, by 2011, this dropped down to just 27%. In 2017, from the most recent 350,000 salespeople assessed, that percentage dropped an additional 70% to just 8%. The shift from Extrinsically (money based) to Intrinsically Motivated (internal reward based) renders commission based bonus-plans a thing of the past. Download a copy of our free sales candidate screening sample and say goodbye to the days of dodgy recruits.

5. Link the performance of the sales force to the sales coaching

Accountability is the first thing that motivates human and your sales team. Link any coaching efforts to the sales team’s performance. If their numbers are down, and you are the sales manager, hold yourself accountable. A conductor’s job is to make the moves for the team to follow. Accordingly, the better your coaching, the better they perform.

6. Do not forget we are working with human beings, not machines

Expect deficiencies and be prepared to work to fix them, accordingly, do not be scared when you discover one. Always look at your ratios to add, minimise, refine your coaching to coordinate with the sales team performance. To help them do thing differently to achieve, you should

1. Set an accountability system

2. Monitor them accordingly

3. Coach them closely

4. Give them faith in their abilities

5. Be their reference

6. Be credible

7. Be consistent

The 5 Stages of Grief from a Bad Hiring Decision

Ships do not sink because of the water around them, they sink because of the water in them.

The same goes for business; if your team is underperforming, you could find the company sinking before your very eyes.

Ergo, hiring a bad salesperson can cost your business thousands; the same amount you could be making by hiring a good one. Unfortunately for anyone who has made a disastrous hiring decision, there are five stages of grief to battle before you see the light.

1. Denial — “No they can’t be this bad, I had a hand in hiring them!”

At this initial stage, you are still buying into the fact this person is right for the position, for your organisation. It takes a while for the news to sink in, and even when you can see it coming a mile away. Bunker down, this stage can linger on uncomfortably for weeks. To push forward; fight the urge to protect them, you need to get critical about your team. You want different outcomes. Therefore, you need to think about them differently.

2. Anger/Frustration — “Is this possible? How did this happen? Whose fault is this?”

It is normal to spend some time in this phase, but some people get stuck here and cannot move forward. That is self-defeating because that ‘anger’ attitude is a HUGE barrier to moving forward and making the big decisions.

3. Bargaining — “Maybe if I just…”

You start promising yourself that you will be more careful next time. You will do this though in the hope things will change. Some miracles will happen, to demonstrate nothing different needs to be done.

4. Depression — “I’m never going to get another great employee for that position.”

Therefore, I keep what I have – better the devil you know. This is a normal feeling. How motivated are you to change the outcome you deserve?

5. Acceptance — “What’s next? What will I do differently to get a better outcome?”

The fact is that you can change the outcomes by selecting, who to invest in and who you will not. Bouncing off this decision, you WILL find another great employee. You will get through this! Congratulations on reaching this last stage, now to take the next actions to save your ship and move into calmer waters.

Next Steps:

• RAISE the BAR - Do not allow under-performing to continue

• TRAINING - Targeted to the needs of the team

• HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE

• RECRUIT - Recruit ‘A’ Players only, using the SG Partners Sales Assessment Tool – Download a Free Sample here

“The goal of leaders is to create more leaders, not followers!”