LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH

Constantly changing technology has created a business world rife with ADD. Computers, smart phones and 15 second TV commercials have turned us all into chronically unfocused serial multi-taskers. Like bees flying from flower to flower in rapid succession, we move from task to task and interaction to interaction at blinding speed. Unlike bees, we rarely stop to “smell the roses.” To keep up with the demands on our time and attention, we sprint through our to-do lists. Each business day is a new battle in the war. Sales Managers bark out instructions to their troops while new opportunities explode all around them. What effect has this reality had on sales productivity and customer satisfaction? Let’s think about that for a moment.

After thirty years in sales, management and leadership, I’ve come to regard professional salespeople much like I do thoroughbred horses. They are magnificent, powerful and live to win. They can also be temperamental, high-strung and behave like prima donnas. Professional horse trainers have learned how to harness the full potential of their athletes:

• Constantly train them so they are ready to race and win.
• Develop a one on one relationship with them based on trust.
• Guide them to ever greater accomplishments.
• Reward them for superior performance.
• Give them focused attention and tender loving care to keep them on top of their game.

As a sales leader, I’ve found these same principles should be applied when helping my sales thoroughbreds. Note the key words in the bullets above. Training, development, guidance, rewards and focused attention are critical when helping sales professionals achieve their maximum career potential and personal happiness. However, those same words require a commitment of time and attention to your people. Is it even possible in today’s hyper-paced, ADD world? Yes it is. In fact, it has to be!

Giving your prime ponies what they need doesn’t require a huge investment of time. What it does require is 100% focus on each person, one at a time. You need to love the one you’re with, when you’re with them. Here are some methods I’ve found effective:

Dedicated personal time every day – Take 10 minutes of focused private time every day with each person on your team. Make this time sacred and ensure that everyone knows it’s sacred. No phones, no interruptions and no exceptions. I give my folks a code that has to be used when they break this rule. The first words out of their mouth must be “the house is on fire!”, or they better get the hell out of my office and leave us alone. They know I’ll commit to the same personal attention when I’m helping them.
This code means there is an emergency customer issue needing to be addressed. In this game, customer always trumps salesperson. No customers, no sales. If the salesperson is out in the field, do it on the phone and keep it as focused as if the person were in the room with you.

Ask how you can help them stay focused on sales today – I’ve always viewed the leadership role as me working for them, not vice versa. They are running a race. My job is to remove obstacles from the track so they can stay focused and win that race. They generate revenue. I’m overhead. I commit to take at least one non-revenue generating activity off their plate every day. It builds mutual respect and trust. Try it, it works!

The Top Five – ADD makes it difficult to concentrate and separate critical tasks from those that can wait. Help your people stay focused by identifying the top five things they need to get done today. Guide them toward the actions they’ll need to take to make good things happen. Will they get more than five things done per day? Of course they will. However, the top five will get them in the habit of “first things first.”

We entrust our salespeople with our greatest business asset, the customer. Happy, focused and loyal sales professionals create happy, focused and loyal customers. Therefore, when it comes to your thoroughbreds, be sure to always love the one you’re with right now.

Until next time…

Gene

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OPTIMISM REDUX

Image
I made the unfortunate choice of watching quite a bit of news over the last two weeks. As the reports of economic, political, business and personal tragedy piled up I noticed something. What hit me square in the face was the negative tone in each story. Ingrained in the assessment of every situation we face today were the consequences of failure. I’m not talking about your run of the mill everyday failure. I’m referring to failure of the devastating and catastrophic variety. Armageddon, if you will. Before I felt an overwhelming desire to head to the knife drawer in the kitchen, I turned off the TV. I also started looking into TV news rehab. Since I’m afraid of knives and was unable to find a rehab focused on this particular malady, I decided on a little self-help. I’m an amateur therapist so I kept it simple. The obvious cure for pessimism must be optimism. The opposite of negative is positive. I set out to find examples that would prove my hypothesis. Some facts came to light quick
Read more

MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND IMPROVE YOUR SALES - PART 2

Image
In the introductory article of this five-part series, I introduced a sales motivation piece I uncovered years ago entitled  Make Up Your Mind  and the positive impact it’s had on me as a sales professional. I elaborated on the importance of being sold on yourself, your company and your products as a foundation for sales success. I also covered how critical it is to focus on the needs of your customers versus any compensation you might receive from them for doing business with you. In this installment I want to cover the importance of efficient time management and knowing what your time is worth. These points, which are the third and fourth points in the  Make Up Your Mind  essay, are the next key building blocks you need to put in place as you work to join the elite corps of sales professionals. 3.  That time is money and that learning to manage your time productively will be one of your most profitable achievements. Many salespeople make the fatal error of mistaking activity f
Read more

MAKE UP YOUR MIND AND IMPROVE YOUR SALES

Image
I’m a big reader. I was fortunate enough to have worked for a company early in my career that put me through a rapid reading course. Their one-time investment in me has paid life-long dividends for my career. I’m able to read and digest large amounts of information efficiently. Why tell you this? Because I’ve used the training I received to find and read a ton of excellent articles on how to be a sales professional and not just a salesperson. One brief, yet impactful piece I’ve come across during my 32 years in sales and sales management is entitled Make Up Your Mind. I’ve never been able to identify the author of this little gem, but following the simple advice it provides transformed me in several important and valuable ways. The benefits it has given to me pale in comparison to the resulting value it has delivered to my customers. You’ll find the piece below. Over the next five weeks I will highlight and expand on two bullet points contained in the article per week. I hope it
Read more