Warning - this story is disturbing and contains actual quotes from its participants.

The president of a small company, suffering from years of declining sales, asked us to evaluate his small sales force (3 salespeople and sales manager).  He hoped that our data would prove, both to him and his small sales force, that they could grow their revenue to the level of their peak years.

30 days later, when we met to review the findings from the sales force evaluation and answer his questions about potential performance improvements, there was some good news, but most of it was bad.

The good news was that with time (30 months), higher expectations, along with some training and much better coaching, his goals were achievable.  The bad news was that his salespeople were seriously among the worst we have ever evaluated and his sales manager, not much better than his salespeople, seemed disconnected and disinterested from anything other than managing his existing personal accounts.  Did I mention they were the worst we have ever seen?

We also produce individual sales and sales management evaluations for sales team members so that they can better understand their selling strengths and skills, and begin to overcome their selling challenges.  We always ask them to provide some feedback, some of which makes its way back to us.

Objective Management Group (OMG) has evaluated more than salespeople from more than 10,000 companies.  It isn't unusual or unexpected for a salesperson to disagree with a finding or two.  After all, if they were aware of their skill gaps and challenges, they might have attempted to work on them by now.  But in this particular company, everyone on the sales team believed that their sales and sales management evaluations were wrong.  According to this exceptional group of salespeople, all underachieving to the tune of more than 100%, OMG doesn't understand selling...but they do.

Here are just a few of their comments:

From the sales manager:

"First of all, management growth potential of 71%?...this is insulting and demeaning. I seem to have performed pretty well everywhere I have been employed for 44 years while providing pretty well for my family at the time. This is unbelievably pathetic."  [Note - 71% growth potential means he can improve that much and he is deflecting his and the team's pathetic results on our findings.  He also said the following:] 

"I don’t take responsibility? I do not handle joint calls effectively? How does he know? To my knowledge he has never been on a sales call with me or interviewed me. I do not have a selling system? Ever hear me talk about SIHBC which was taught to me by P&G over 40 years ago..."  [Note - this sales manager is still operating as if it was 1973 and that's what his salespeople were taught to do.]

From his salespeople:

"It's all crap" [Note - The strengths and skills that we identified must be crap too]

"You do not understand our industry.  I am the entire sales department, service department and customer service department for our company."  [Note - he is a bit overimpressed with himself.]

"My sales numbers could improve but my history has proven my abilities."  [Note - another one stuck in the past.]

"Too much talking - really?  Isn't this what we are supposed to do?"  [Note - like I said, stuck in the 70's.]

"The report said I do not have a “consultative sales approach”.  That is what we do every day.  We try to sell value and problem solve.  We do not sell “price” but we sell better results and we do save them money even if our [their products] cost more."  [Note - this salesperson believed that telling people what they should do and why they should do it equates to a consultative approach.]

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This isn't normal or expected, so why did it happen at this company and what does the future hold for them?

This is what can happen when salespeople have zero concept of selling; when knowledgeable, technical people are moved into selling roles without being trained to sell; when the sales manager is more interested in selling than managing; when the president doesn't hold the sales manager accountable; and when there isn't a sales culture.

If the president of this company gets serious, replaces the sales manager with a motivated, committed and talented sales manager, and hires strong salespeople to work for the new manager, this company can thrive.  On the other hand, if he sits back and hopes for the same dysfunctional team to suddenly change their behaviors and performance, he will be extremely disappointed.

Was OMG wrong?  Yes!  We predicted that this group could be developed, trained and coached, but the sales manager-led rebellion against change from the status quo undid all of that.  Were we wrong about how bad this sales team was?  Not a chance.  They were statistically at the bottom of all sales teams.

What would you do if you were the victim of a sales manager-led rebellion against change?

Perhaps you watched the Thursday night Thanksgiving Day football massacre between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.  The Patriots scored 35 unanswered points in the second period and scored 3 touchdowns in one 52-second period of time.

Unbelievable!

Incredible!

Unheard of!

The more common reaction though is, "How quickly it all unraveled for the Jets."  We heard more of that than, "How quickly it all came together for the Patriots."  That's because humans love talking about people when they are down.  Why talk about how fortunate the Patriots are when we can talk about how unfortunate the Jets are?

Let's focus on fortune for a moment.  If you were watching that football game, it was completely uneventful up until those three quick scores.  It went from uneventful to explosive in just 52 seconds.  The same fortune can be realized by a salesperson, sales team or company, even when it seems that none is forthcoming. That's the point of today's post.  Sales and revenue can materialize very quickly. Momomentum - both good and bad - as in the football game, can build very quickly as well and success is all about building positive momentum.

So, what does it take for sudden sales, monumental momentum and ridiculous revenue? 

Consistency.  You must be consistent - about holding your salespeople accountable for consistently adding the right number of opportunities to the pipeline, moving those opportunities through the stages of the pipeline, following the steps of your sales process, qualifying , and providing both needs and cost appropriate solutions.

The wins (which can come suddenly) build positive momentum and lead to championship years.

I am having a disconnect with the bad economic news being reported.  Perhaps these conditions aren't like this where you live and work, but here's what I see all the time:

• Can't find a place to park at shopping malls because they are jammed;
• Every flight I take is full;
• There are lines of cars waiting to purchase fuel at gas stations;
• The restaurants are packed;
• Sporting events are sold out;
• Concerts are sold out;

Perhaps the disconnect between what I see and what is being reported is simply this.  While there are some isolated geographies and industries that are doing poorly, others are doing quite well.  But when we look at the overall numbers, they just don't provide an accurate reflection of what is actually taking place.

We heard that only 54,000 new jobs were created in May.  Shouldn't news of 54,000 new jobs, most created by small and mid-market businesses, be a good thing?  The reality is that there hasn't been much new job creation from blue-chip and other large companies.  The slow job growth is an isolated problem, not a widespread one.

Even the slumping stock market is only a reflection of one segment - investors - and only one kind of investor.  Obviously, the other kind is continuing to infuse huge amounts of cash into growing companies.

And I know the housing market is still slumping. But like I said before, it is a single industry and not representative of the whole.  But the three isolated numbers the government likes to provide us with, stocks, home sales and gas prices drive the overall numbers way down.

As a result, the overall numbers simply don't reflect what is really taking place.  And that brings me to sales numbers.  Do your overall sales numbers reflect what is really going on?

Take a look at your sales revenue by salesperson for the year to date.

Look at the numbers for some of your top salespeople and review the data to answer these questions:

• What percent of the total represents sales to existing customers?
• What percent of the total is low-margin business?
• What percent of the total might include an unusually large, one-time sale which, if taken away, would actually make the numbers unimpressive?
• Which of these opportunities were in the pipeline for one or two quarters too long, meaning that the revenue was not the result of a recent selling effort?
• How many new customer opportunities are in their pipeline going forward?

Now look at the numbers for some of your mid-tier salespeople and dig through the data to find these answers:

• What percent of the total represents brand new customers/accounts?
• What percent of the total is higher-margin business?
• Are there any unusually large sales that might skew the results?
• Is their pipeline going forward looking nice and solid?

If you come up with the answers I am expecting, then you'll see that you must approach the sales revenue numbers with the same degree of skepticism and isolation as you should when listening to economic reports.  The total is not representative of what is really taking place.

When things loosen up (and things will loosen up) and companies and consumers both begin spending money again, you could be in for a significant windfall.  You may even have some record breaking revenue months if, and it's a big if, you have your sales force doing all of the right things, even while companies and consumers aren't spending money.

Here are ten requirements for having and continuing to have record-breaking months in the not-too-distant future:

1) Over stuff the pipeline.  Just because opportunities are being placed on hold, doesn't mean that you shouldn't put more opportunities into the pipeline.  The sales pipeline is not like your stomach, you know.  It will expand infinitely.

2) Focus on a different metric. The metric that reports closing percentage is skewed right now so ignore it.  Instead, focus on the metrics that tell you how many opportunities are entering the first stage of your pipeline as well as those moving to the second stage of your pipeline.

3) Tighten up the criteria. As long as you're going to pay attention to the percentage of opportunities that move to the second stage of your pipeline, now is the time to make sure everyone understands the criteria for placing an opportunity in the second stage and make those criteria more difficult to meet.

4) Modify your incentive/reward program.  If you have decided to focus on pipeline building rather than closing, reward that behavior with recognition, awards and bonuses!

5) Don't look back.  The tendency will still be to look at closing.  The problem is that once you start looking at it, you'll want to do something about it and there may not be anything you can do. Remain focused on pipeline stuffing.

6) Two - two - two closables in one. The closable stage of your pipeline will have two types of opportunities in it today.  Closable now and closable later.  What they have in common is that for both types of closable opportunities, you have been told that they will do business.  The difference is only in the when.  The later closables need to be nurtured while the current closables need to be closed.  It's OK, even good, to make sure that the current closables don't become later closables.

7)  Diversify.  There is money out there and it is being spent.  The question is whether your target customers are the ones doing the spending.  This is a great time to move laterally into new markets.  Let's suppose you sell trade show exhibits to small and medium sized businesses.  The small size businesses not only don't have any money but they aren't even participating in shows.  The mediums have money but aren't spending it on upgrades to their look.  You can wait it out or you can target a new market segment by moving up to larger companies than your traditional sweet spot, or you can target specific industries that haven't been impacted as negatively, like food or health care.

8) Be a non-profit. When the money isn't rolling in like it's being printed just for you, there is almost a sense that you've become a non-profit.  Well....do what the non-profits are doing right now and ask for money!  You have all of those existing customers that you used to take for granted.  Put the full court press on them, find out how they're coping, learn what's changed in their business and figure out what you can do to help. And ask for money!

9)  Develop sales processes, competencies, strategies and tactics for the tough times.  Selling is not the same as it once was.  You can no longer count on success from glorified order taking and account management. Got a sales force?  You must make it strong enough and effective enough to succeed in these times, not wait for a return to the good times.  We may not see those times again. Invest in a sales development expert and let them help you now!

10) Hire great salespeople.  All of your salespeople will not be able to make this transition and this isn't the time for charity.  Replace the salespeople who won't be able to step up and aggressively hunt for new opportunities.  Replace the salespeople who won't be able to skillfully move those opportunities through the steps of your sales cycle with good questioning and listening skills.  Replace the salespeople that aren't closers. Good ones are out there and you must make the commitment to settle for nothing less.

(c) Copyright 2009 Dave Kurlan