Thanks again to sales management guru Lee Salz for compiling these excellent suggestions from top experts for his article on "The Unprecedented Sales Management Challenge for 2009."
“In tough times, sellers must be at the top of their game. As a sales manager, your job is to infuse your team with fresh thinking - to make sure they have the knowledge and skills to deal with today’s challenges. Start a “book of the month” club. Register for webinars or teleseminars put on by sales experts. Encourage sign up for sales e-newsletters. Lead weekly “how we won” sessions. For maximum impact, start now!” -Jill Konrath, Sales Strategist & author, "Selling to Big Companies"
“There
has never been a more critical time for sales leaders to work overtime
to ensure that their teams remain focused and fully motivated: Attitude
is, after all, that small thing that makes such a big difference.
Strong leadership from the front, and by example, is the only way to
reverse the downward spiral that comes with self-limiting beliefs and
fears.” -Jonathan Farrington
, Chairman of The Sales Corporation
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“To get the malaise out of your sales team give them permission to press the “off button” and shut out the negative media. Protect seller’s natural optimism – have contests for the best joke of the day – buy coffee for the winner. Equip them with the winning words
– role-play the very words decision-makers long/need/want to hear:
which are how your product increases revenues; decreases expenses;
mitigates risk.” -Leslie Buterin, founder ColdCallingNetNews.com
"Sales managers must remember the behavior of sales people is driven by the desire to avoid pain or gain pleasure. The more powerful of these two drivers is the desire to gain pleasure. Smart sales managers recognize that achievement and recognition of that achievement are the two most powerful motivators in sales. So instead of cracking the whip, they are whipping up contests, games, spiffs, and awards that keep their sales professionals focused, happy, and engaged.” - Jeb Blount, CEO of SalesGravy.com and author of “Power Principles”
,author of “No More Cold Calling™” “Although the current economic situation presents problems for you and your sales team, it also presents unprecedented opportunities. There are still prospects buying and customers purchasing additional products and services, and your competitors are facing the same daunting and depressing news. Salespeople who overcome their lethargy and seek new business can turn this economic downturn into a record-breaking year. Empathize with their issues, but emphasize the tremendous opportunities your team has while their competition is sitting on the sidelines.” -Paul McCord
, management consultant and author of the Sales and Sales Management Blog “Managers
need to shift away from fear based management and develop more of a
collaborative coaching culture. You cannot inspire others when you are
afraid and you can’t be inspired when you’re full of fear and worry.
Conduct more frequent one-to-one meetings, build greater accountability
by relinquishing your role as Chief Problem Solver and have less
tolerance for mediocrity. Ultimately, management needs to adapt,
innovate and evolve or suffer from corporate inefficiency, rigidity and
declining profits.” -Keith Rosen, Executive Sales Coach and author of "Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions"
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“The
key to making the sale in this economy is to help your team stay
focused on solving real customer problems and enabling them to add
immediate value to their business. We have been in this economic
situation before and we will be here again – the strong will survive
and 20% of sales people will exceed their quota in spite of the
economy. Our job as sales managers is to not let the economy become
the excuse for non performance and lack of productivity.” -Julie Thomas, CEO of Value Selling Associates and author of “ValueSelling"
“Employ
equal doses of inspiration, motivation, and oversight to simultaneously
raise morale and maintain production levels. Use anecdotes from
well-known figures in history who’ve met and overcome challenges. Set
specific short-term goals, and monitor progress against them. Project
an air of optimism, and lead by example. Direct the team to focus with
laser-like discipline on only those opportunities that have real legs.
Provide oversight to ensure they are maintaining that focus.” -Craig James, sales consultant and trainer, president of Sales Solutions
________________________
“To
create momentum, keep your sales team focused on what they need to do
today, or this week, by implementing a 20 point system. On
this system, they earn points for doing the right types of sales
activities: conversations, appointments booked, face-to-face meetings,
referrals, closed files and closed business. The focus on the right
kind of activities with targeted prospects will result in creating the
desired energy.” -Danita Bye, President of Sales Growth Specialists
________________________
“Sales
managers must help salespeople to maintain clarity, calm their nerves,
help them function, keep them positive, get them motivated, challenge
them to perform, urge them to fill their pipelines and hold them
accountable to all of that. And talking the talk isn’t quite enough.
When conducting pre-call strategizing, coaching must include how
the account or call plan will be executed – with role play – so that
sales managers are certain their salespeople truly have the ability to
get it done. Your pipelines may have been thrown into a holding
pattern. Orders haven’t canceled or been lost to competitors; they are
simply delayed. The sooner that everyone gets over their initial
reaction to the recession and gets back to just doing business, the
sooner that money will loosen up and start changing hands again.” -Dave Kurlan, Sales Development Expert, and author of “Baseline Selling”
________________________
“Sales
managers need to roll up their sleeves and join the team. The worse
thing to do in this situation is to add pressure from above with no
active participation in the solution. The sales teams I’ve coached tell
me that because I’m in the trenches with them, they are more
motivated—even in tough times. Your sales team needs to know you are in
it with them. Together you will conquer!” -Shannon Kavanaugh, president of Go-To-Market Strategies
________________________
“We
read & hear the doom and gloom every day about this economy. Well,
I believe we need to start managing our attitudes and mindsets, as well
as our sales efforts. It is time to look at all the challenges, issues
and problems as OPPORTUNITIES wearing disguises. Strip off the
disguises, identify the opportunity and deliver a solution. Be
positive, persistent, proactive and patient in this time of change.” -J. Glenn Ebersole, “Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
“Here’s my best piece of advice to those leading sales teams today: Do all you can to continually boost your staff’s confidence
— confidence in themselves, confidence in their product, and confidence
in the problems your product solves for your customers. Suggestions
on how to do that: Remind them of successful case studies often. Feed
them creative ways to confidently answer your top objections. Work
with them one-on-one to develop their own individual style, so they
sound and act naturally confident. Today’s customers have NO margin
for error in choosing their suppliers; do all you can to help your
staff be the ones that others can trust to make them look good!” -Bill Guertin, CEO, The 800-Pound Gorilla and author of "Reality Sells"
________________________
“My
recommendation is simple. Identify specifically two things that your
sales professionals have done well to adjust to the new marketplace.
Once you determine them, discuss 2-3 areas that you both agree are in
need of development. Reach out to all your sales professionals and
repeat this process. Compile the responses and put together a
measurable action plan for your team. And don’t forget to follow
through.” -Charles Brennan Jr., author of “Sales Questions That Close the Sale”
________________________
“Many
sales teams are not only going through a big wake up call on
the economic front, but are going through an earth moving generational
shift…from Baby Boomers and Generation X running the show to men and
women under the age of 30 making critical business decisions for our
organizations. At the end of the day, they want to know “How are my
ideas being incorporated and actually applied to our sales processes to
make us better at what we do?” -Bea Fields,
co-author of "Millennial Leaders"
“Sales
managers should hold a meeting with their sales teams with a focus on
creating two lists: one containing the things the salespeople CAN’T
control, and one containing the things they CAN control. Managers
should then encourage their salespeople to focus 100% of their
attention on the things they CAN control. Nothing blows away feelings
of helplessness like having an action plan and TAKING DAILY ACTION
against that plan.” - Alan Rigg, author of “How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Team Performance”
________________________
“Downturn
leadership requires laser-like focus. Focus to reinforce customer
service, existing customer relationships, and presence in the
marketplaces. This results in improved perception of market position
and stronger, more profitable customer relationships (again, what every
sales leader wants more of). Focus on the “vital few” -
the 20 percent of customers, product lines, industries that has the
greatest impact. Do not only rely on your instincts to identify your
vital few—use data to determine the truth about your sales and
customers.” -Lee J. Colan, Ph.D., author of “Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence”
________________________
“During this time of stress, management needs to attend to the emotional
needs of their sales professionals. Part of that attention is to help
them understand what they can change and what is beyond their abilities
to change. For example they can change their attitude in how they
approach each day, keeping a positive focus and working to produce
results. What they can’t change is how the market will fluctuate on an
hour by hour basis.” -Gregory Stebbins, Ed.D., internationally recognized sales psychologist
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“The
sales manager needs to communicate the company’s vision, mission,
values, goals, and expectations to the sales team weekly and then
reward their accountability. The senior management team must define
and communicate the criteria for a profitable customer and all sales efforts need to be focused on securing and managing those accounts. The
sales professionals, who learn how to thrive in this economy, will
develop skills and talents that will guide them to long-term success.” -Janet Boulter, Profitability Consultant, Center Consulting Group
________________________
“In
order to re-energize your team you need to help them become more
successful. The fastest way you can do that is by establishing a killer
sales strategy that focuses on a moderate amount of ideal clients. An
effective strategy positions you as the industry expert, educates the
client/prospect on how to run their business better, sets the buying
criteria and establishes doing business with you as a forgone
conclusion. Your sales people will be fired up because they are closing
lots of business, making good money and loving life!” -Andy Miller, sales strategist
________________________
“Stop being complacent to selling professionals. Selling professionals control their destiny more than any other organizational function. Nothing happens unless something is sold. Selling professionals must speak with customers, requesting referrals and closing business. Watching the news is simply a form of procrastination. They must discover the unspent allocated money from the current budget year and request the business. Products and services are still needed. Tell selling professionals to do what the competition is not - sell something!” -Drew Stevens, PhD, Author of “Split Second Selling” and “Ultimate Business Bible”
“The
issue has become one of finding and sustaining mental energy. Not just
the energy you and your team need to achieve sales. Even more important
is your ability to sustain the enthusiasm, calm and inspiration needed
to get your team through these torrid times. Instead of work life
balance, it’s about getting the right flow of personal energy input and
business energy output. Having an enjoyable personal interest that
enables you to switch off is a good start.” -Peter Nicholls, Director, Work Leisure International
Lee B. Salz is a sales management guru who
helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them, and focus
their sales activity using his sales architecture® methodology. He is
the President of Sales Architects, the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of the award-winning book, “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager.”
Lee is an online columnist for Sales and Marketing Management Magazine, a print columnist for SalesforceXP Magazine, and the host of the Internet radio show, “Secrets of Business Gurus.” Look for Lee’s new book in February 2009 titled, “The Sales Marriage” where he shares the secrets to hiring the right sales people. He is a passionate, dynamic speaker and a business consultant. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.
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