Are your sales people reaping what the CEO has sowed?
Posted by Teicko Huber on Fri, Oct 21, 2011 @ 11:52 AM
Sales, and marketing for that matter, have been overcomplicated. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or statistically significant research to know there are repercussions for indecision as well as decisions. Literally, you reap what you sow; or in some cases, don't sow?
Seeds not being sown by CEOs to cultivate a high performing sales team:
Accountability-Holding sales professionals accountable to the numbers. The 'number seed' is typically loosy goosey and does not account for the entire customer acquisition process.
Coaching- Not spending time with a sales person on a daily basis for pre-call planning and role playing, as well as post-call de-briefs and action planning.
Motivating- Little is done to understand what makes individual sales people tick, and to cultivate an enviroment where they can thrive.
Development- Sales people are thrown into the field without a plan for helping them continually improve and keep pace with the market.
Systems & Process- The rules of engagement and tools to perform the job aren't clearly defined or kept up to date. CRM is one of the number one seeds that is not planted in most sales organizations.
When these seeds aren't planted in a company, you end up with the following:
- Accountability- Sales people don't have an objective compass or don't know how to prioritize their time.
- Coaching- The sales department will operate without tunnel vision and will be ineffective.
- Motivation- Sales people's sense of urgency will be low, and they won't bring 100% everyday. Thus, their performance will eb and flow.
- Development- Sales people won't stay competitive in the long run and will be out maneuvered by competitors that invest in developing their people.
- System & Process- It will be difficult, if not impossible, to develop, scale and repeat the sales process.
If you're curious where you stack up, you can take an assessment or use common sense to make sure you are sowing the right stuff. Regardless, it is the responsibility of executive management to sow the proper seeds for sales success.
LET'S FACE IT...Like cars, social media, googling and all that jazz has made selling and marketing a pain in the butt. If you want advice for getting more out of your revenue hot rod you're in the right spot.