I often get to see things six to twelve months before they happen.  When manufacturing placed projects and orders on hold as they did last October, it's easy to predict that it will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months. 

The word from clients so far this week is that manufacturers are taking projects off of hold and releasing money - even in the automotive industry!  That too will trickle down and impact everyone else over the next six months.

Today I also heard from a client whose house sold in just one day.

Housing and automotive - positive signs from both camps - truly good news for everyone.

It makes your salespeople feel better, it gives them hope, and in turn it makes them work with more confidence.  When they are out there giving it their all, not letting the resistance get to them. following the sales process, using appropriate strategies and tactics, not accepting the first stall, put-off, objection or rejection that comes their way, you have a much better chance that your struggling sales force will generate some much needed revenue.

Haven't heard any good signs in your own industry yet?  Make some calls and talk with some people until you find even one example.  Then spread the good word to all of your salespeople and let them in on the win - even if it wasn't a win for your own company.

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan

Huh?

That's right. Today I heard about a CEO who told one of my colleagues that all of his salespeople over achieve.  In the same phone conversation he mentioned that sales are down 20%.  Can you imagine where sales would be if his salespeople under achieved?  

I think that many CEO's are in a time warp.

Despite the struggles of their sales force in this economy, they still view the sales force as they remember them when times were good. 

The problem with this is that even the good times did not accurately define these salespeople.  Salespeople who succeed when times are good but struggle when times get tough are not over achievers.  They are mediocre salespeople who simply don't get in their own way.  Over achievers find ways to succeed in all conditions, good and bad.

I think that many CEO's are in denial.

Despite the struggles of their sales force, they continue to look at the pipeline and say to themselves, we'll be okay as soon as these deals close.  But the deals aren't closing and with each passing day companies are less okay then they were the day before.

I think that many CEO's are scared shitless (the only truly accurate word I could type there).

Because of the struggles of their sales force, they look at the numbers, down 90%, down 75%, down 50%, down 25% and wonder how they can turn it around.  It can be turned around but they have to be proactive, not reactive.  They have to be aggressive, not passive.  They have to work on the right end of the problem - revenue - not just costs.

Truth is, our data shows that only 6% of all salespeople over achieve.  And another 20% can become over achievers.  Who do you want on your sales force and what are you willing to do to develop them or recruit them?

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan

'You said this was on Computer Drive? That's the state's responsibility.'

'You want to let them know?'

'I said it's the state's responsibility. You'll have to call them yourself.'

'Don't you live in this town too? Don't you care?'

Click.

When you ask your salespeople how a call went and they say good;

When you ask if you'll be getting the business and they say no;

When you ask why and they give you one of the following reasons:

• relationship with the competition;
• price;
• not ready;
• not the right person;
• no money;

it's just like the person who says it's not their problem, but someone else's. Oh yeah? Well go back and build a great relationship. Sell value. Create some urgency. Get to the right person. Help them find the money. Don't let your salespeople behave like government employees. Make them take some responsibility or tell them they can go and work for the government where their behavior will be appreciated.

(c) Copyright 2006 Objective Management Group, Inc.

• How many salespeople would you hire if you knew they would all succeed?
• The concept of reaching goals is outdated. We should be striving for overachievement.
• The Pipeline, if managed properly with the right tool should be the single most accurate predictor of future sales revenue. Do you have gold bullions or lumps of coal in yours?
• Most top performers are mislabled. They may be managing more revenue than anyone else but that makes them good account managers not top performers. Take their accounts away, accounts they may have inherited, ask them to go out and sell something and see what happens.
• Companies with a stable sales organization have a turnover problem - not enough turnover.
• Are your sales managers doing everything they should be doing to grow your company? Most CEO's can't answer this because they don't know what their sales managers should be doing.
• The best sales development in the world won't work if you don't have the right people in the right roles.
• The best sales specific pre-employment assessment in the world (mine) won't help if you don't have the right pool of candidates.
• How to Upgrade Your Sales Force? Take the 80/20 rule, the rule that says 80% of your sales force will suck, and get rid of it. Replace it with the 100/0 rule. This rule says that 100% of your sales force will be overachievers.
• You learned how important empathy is in selling? Yeah, it's important that your salespeople don't have it.

(c) Copyright 2006 Objective Management Group, Inc.

Then he chose, a single, unspectacular work experience from my career, from 33 years ago, and spoke of it as if it was the defining moment in my sales development career. It could have been embarrassing but I know that once I get up to speak, the crowd will forget anything the and everything the host chose to say about me.

But it got me thinking. We prepare our salespeople to say certain things, talk about certain topics, and present certain products and services in certain ways. But do they? You've been on the road with them but what do they say when you aren't with them? How do they flavor things when they're on their own? If one word can forever reposition a company, how many times do they choose a word that would make you cringe? And if one experience can change someone's opinion of your company, product or service, target market, quality, integrity or mission, how many topics do they choose that would make you wring their necks?

Management must do a better job reviewing what is said by their salespeople to ensure consistency, impact, the integrity of the value proposition and revenue.

The problem is that you shouldn't be the least bit happy about this. Assuming that this was a properly qualified opportunity, your salespeople took the easiest put-off in the business. This is the put-off that promises future business - much more exciting than the put-off where prospects need to compare your proposal with that of the competition.

As many as five variables are at play here:

• Honesty - is the prospect truly interested in moving forward or are they just letting the salesperson down easily?
• Recognition - did the salesperson hear a buying signal or recognize a put-off?
• Skills - if the salesperson recognized the put-off, did they know what to do about it and how to do it?
• Need for Approval - if recognized and equipped with skills, was the salesperson's need for approval a dominant factor in allowing the put-off to go unchallenged?
• Buy Cycle - as above, was the salesperson's M.O. for buying services similar enough to his prospect's so as to make their delay understandable?

Chances are, you don't know the answers to these variables, putting you in very good company. Most in management can't objectively evaluate these issues but would love to know the answers. The answers are available as part of Objective Management Group's evaluation of your sales force. You can also learn more about these dynamics at play in Baseline Selling - How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball.

(c) Copyright 2006 Objective Management Group, Inc.

Try this with your salespeople. Have them write their biggest closing obstacles on a piece of paper. Then hand each of them a copy of the four bases. Next, review the criteria for each base and then have them identify where in the baseball diamond their issues should have been dealt with. Were they uncomfortable? Have your sales force evaluated to find out why they get uncomfortable dealing with these issues prior to closing time.

Give me a break!

The most common type of salesperson is the one who doesn't prospect enough, followed closely by the one who does it, albeit it ineffectively. Then there are those who have the following problems:

• they don't have a process to follow
• they don't determine whether the prospect needs what they have
• they don't find the prospects' compelling reasons to buy something
• they don't find the prospects' compelling reasons to buy from them
• they don't get enough face time
• they don't effectively differentiate themselves
• they don't build a stronger relationship
• they don't effectively demonstrate their superior expertise by asking better questions
• they don't qualify the opportunity
• they don't make a compelling case to buy from them
• they don't present the solution in a clear, concise and compelling way
• they don't present a needs appropriate or price appropriate solution
• they ask for business (not closing) but don't close the business
• they don't ask for the business
• they create too much pressure to buy
• they don't create enough pressure to buy
• they take stalls and put-offs

You can learn more about how to solve most of these problems in Baseline Selling. For each one of those 'types of salespeople' there are many more. Many salespeople exhibit multiple symptoms. The most obvious issue to most CEO's is that the salespeople know what they're supposed to do but they don't do it. Our sales force evaluations clearly and consistently show why your salespeople are unable to execute what they already know - hidden weaknesses.