“A Sales manager’s job is to move sales people to do what works.” This is Part III of the key elements – “Move” (I), “Do” (II), and “What Works” (III)
A very wise sales guru once told me, “If a sales person is unruly, not conforming to policy, etc., but really selling well, keep him (or her) and deal with it.” Whatever this bad apple is doing is working and you want to keep him going. The point: Don’t mess with what’s working well.
Strange at it may sound great sales people (the 10% or less in you sales force) are far more open to suggestions and help than the other 90%. These people are aware times and conditions are ever changing and they know they have to keep improving to compete successfully. That’s why they are all ears when it comes to training, coaching, new ideas and other suggestions.
However, managing great sales people is not why you are reading this. So let’s concentrate on getting the other 90% of your sales team to a point where they can repeatedly do “What Works” well.
What Works
“What Works” means the skills, techniques, strategies, and tactics of actually selling and managing a sales territory or product segment. “What Works” means actually implementing those skills to close business. But “What Works” means more than just closing sales. “What Works” means walking away and avoiding wasted time and resources. It means managing large accounts so they continue to buy more. It means cross selling, up-selling and pursuing referrals. “What Works” means promoting the company’s brand and maintaining the company’s goodwill.
A Selling Process Makes “What”… “Work”
Every sales person and sales manager has a selling process, a system, an approach. The question is how well does it work? Is it efficient? Are sales taking too long to close? Could there be up-sells, cross-sells or add-on’s while the customer is buying? Is it effective? When he’s there, is he selling or is the customer buying? Is he cultivating new prospects and closing them?
Then do the processes of the sales people align with the manager’s. If they don’t, the manager is constantly trying to corral cats. He’s always managing chaos because each sales person is doing what he feels comfortable, which for 90% is probably not working so great.
