Sales and Sales Management Blog

November 11, 2008

Guest Article: “Managers Continue to Teach Their People How to Avoid Full Accountability,” by Keith Rosen

Filed under: business, management, small business — Paul McCord @ 9:04 am
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Managers Continue to Teach Their People How To Avoid Full Accountability
By Keith Rosen

“What is that guy doing now?” It was just an odd maneuver. Something out of the ordinary from what would have typically been an everyday experience at the drive through of a Burger King. (Hey, my kids love it and no, they don’t eat this ever day; just a treat!) I was on my way back home after spending the day with the family, unaware that within the next several minutes I’d be having a breakthrough which led to the development of many of the concepts and strategies you’re going to read about in my book, Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions.

I watched the customer in front of me drive from the first to the third window of the drive through which happened to have been closed. “What an odd maneuver,” I thought, as I noticed that the typical handoff through the drive through window was not in play. Instead, the cashier came outside, headset in tact and bags of food in hand, to deliver it directly to the window. The customer, happy to receive his order, drove off.

As I pulled up, I wondered if I too would suffer the same fate as the customer before me. Then it happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a digital timer mounted above the cashier’s head near the window. At that moment, the manager at the drive in window waved me forward, without my food. “We will bring it out to you. Just pull up, please,” he requested.

The manager sent a young man out to my car and handed me my food. Wanting to understand this odd tactic, I couldn’t let it go. “I’m curious, why did we have to pull up, especially when there was no one behind me?”

“The timer,” he replied. “That’s how the manager is rated in performance. We’re supposed to serve each customer under a certain period of time.”

As a manager, is this truly a feat you’d want to be known for? This manager actually succeeded at beating the clock, yet at a greater expense and one that most managers are blind to. Then, with a puzzled look of disbelief, these managers are mystified when their staff doesn’t meet expectations of performance. This manager unknowingly or worse, consciously did his company, every customer, as well as every person on his team, a major disservice.

Is there really any wonder why there is such a shallow pool of real talent in the workforce? At some level, across every business unit, industry or profession, this is what our managers are teaching the workforce - how to skirt and dodge full accountability! And then they sit and wonder why they can’t attract better people into their organization who are fully accountable for their performance and success. Hmmmmmm.

Keith Rosen is the President of Profit Builders, LLC, (www.ProfitBuilders.com) a provider of leadership and sales coaching and corporate training. He is the author of Time Management for Sales Professionals. His last book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling has been featured in Inc. magazine and became a Best Seller on Amazon.com.

November 9, 2008

Management Spy or Sales Aid–What is Your Client Management System Designed to Do?

Filed under: Client Relationships, Sales Management, business, crm, management, sales, selling — Paul McCord @ 7:28 pm
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“I know exactly what each of my sales team is doing-I know they maintain their contact management program religiously because they have to turn in a detailed report daily and an even more comprehensive report at the end of the month.  We know exactly who they contacted, what transpired, where the sale stands, and what the customer is going to buy.  We know everything we need to know.”

“How accurate is the information?”

“That I can’t say although our sales managers are supposed to be going over the reports with each member of the sales team and spot checking accuracy.”

“How well do the reports track with your actual sales numbers?  More specifically, how well does each team member’s report track with their sales numbers?”

“Of course there is discrepancy between the reports and actual sales.  Some things that are expected to close don’t, others don’t place as large an order as expected, others don’t buy when expected.  Those things happen.  If you’re asking if we use these reports for our sales projections, the answer is no.  We establish our objectives and each sales person’s quota and they’re expected to meet those numbers.  Projections are independent of these reports.”

“What are the reports for?”

“We track the team member’s activity so we know they’re doing what they are supposed to be doing.  It’s an activity management tool, not a projection tool.”

“What do your team members get out the process?  What’s the benefit to them?”

“They log each future activity for each prospect and client and that activity is then displayed on their screen on the day they have scheduled the activity.  They must complete the activity and check it off or the system will alert their manager.  They have an automatic tracking system to help them keep their prospect and client activity up to date and to make sure they don’t drop the ball.  The system won’t allow them to overlook a commitment they’ve made.  It helps them monitor prospects and clients and manage their time and work.”

“How much time do they have to spend maintaining the contact management system and doing the daily and monthly reports?”

“I don’t know.  Probably no more than a few minutes each day; maybe an hour to do the monthly report and another 30 minutes meeting with their manger to review it.”

“How much time does it take your managers to monitor and review the reports?”

“I really don’t know that, either.  I’d suspect maybe a half hour each day and no more than a day, a day and a half at the most, for the monthly reports, including meeting with each team member.”

“David, what do your salespeople and managers think of this system?  You said they use it because it is mandated that they do, but do they find it helpful or do they see it as nothing more than a way to be micromanaged?”

“We got complaints at first, but that was to be expected.  I really don’t hear too much complaining now except from the salespeople who aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing.  I think most see it as a major aid in keeping them up with their clients and prospects.  I’d be really surprised if many were unhappy using it.”

“Would you mind if I spoke to some of them and got their opinion?  I’ll certainly let you know what I find but I’m not going to reveal which salespeople I spoke to.”

“No, feel free.  I think you’ll find most are happy to use it.”

The above is an actual conversation I had with a new client a couple of weeks ago.  I suspect if you’re from the sales side of business, you can guess the attitudes of the salespeople toward the client management system.  They hate it.  They see it as both a time waster and a way management can micromanage them.

They don’t complain about the system too much-it’s been mandated, so they rebel by doing the least they think they can get away with.  If they don’t have enough contacts, they make them up.  They put in as few future tasks as possible.  They check tasks off as being done when they haven’t.  They give management what they believe management wants.

This company’s client management system is as worthless as the old handwritten activity reports they used to get from their salespeople.  The only difference is now the reports are easily accessed by all the company’s management, not just the salesperson’s immediate manager.

David’s company isn’t alone.  There are tens of thousands of companies that have bought client management systems that are just as worthless.  Like David’s company, they justify their system by convincing themselves there is a real benefit in it for the salesperson when in fact its real purpose is to baby-sit a sales team management doesn’t trust.  It’s automated micromanagement.

Unfortunately, when I informed David of the attitude his sales team has toward the system, his response wasn’t, “what do we need to do?”  Instead, it was, “I’ll talk to the managers and get everyone in line.  I didn’t invest in this thing for it to be abused or ignored.”

If your system isn’t giving tangible benefits to your sales team or if your team members view the system as a management spy tool, you are more than likely getting the same results as David-worthless information that is designed to get you off the sales team’s back.

Ask yourself these three questions about your contact management program:

  1. What tangible benefits do my salespeople get from the program that helps them grow their business or be better salespeople?
  2. What is the REAL purpose of the program-to help the sales team or micromanage them?
  3. How do the salespeople view the program-as an aid to their business or as a spy for management?

If your answers aren’t salesperson centered, you’re fighting a losing battle.

October 14, 2008

Guest Article: “Managing the Millennials,” by Gregory Stebbins

Filed under: Coaching, Sales Management, business, management, sales, selling, small business — Paul McCord @ 3:45 am
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Managing the Millennials          
by Gregory Stebbins  

Independent, tech-savvy, social, and optimistic - why are these “kids” so hard to manage?

The New Millennial’s, people born after about 1981, are now entering the work force en masse. Even seasoned sales managers are having challenges helping these people become productive. They have a different approach to life, which greatly impacts their ability to sell effectively. Understanding them and some key events that took place during their youth will help you get a handle on their outlook on life in general and work in particular.

While they were growing up there was a technology explosion. Their every day reality included video on multiple devices, mobile phone, computers, and iPods. They have been bombarded with marketing messages that are constantly changing. School violence and global terrorism (specifically 9-11) have made them wary about the world and helped them develop a global perspective. For the most part, poverty is something that they have seen on television. Watching their parents get downsized in the 80s and 90s has caused them to question loyalty to the company. Reality television, MySpace, Facebook, Second Life and Google have caused them to believe (and experience!) that information is available for the asking so being “transparent” (putting everything out there for all to see) is the way things should be.

While I often hear comments about their lack of work ethic, those are the same comments that were leveled toward Generation X and Baby Boomers when they first entered the work force. Neuro research now tells us that the prefrontal cortex of our brain continues to mature until about the age of twenty-six. So Millennials may continue to be a little irresponsible until they’ve been on the job for a while. It’s neurological, not attitudinal. So make life a little easier on yourself and cut them some slack.

What is different is their work style, motivations and view of the world, especially the corporate world. These individuals do have loyalty, which is focused on their social network and specific managers and members of the team - not on the company.

Generally they have an ability to find information about anything at a rate that far exceeds expectations of management. What they lack is discernment about the accuracy of the information. If it’s on the Net they tend to believe it must be accurate. They can instantly communicate this information to their social network via Blogs, Instant Messaging (IM), personal Web pages and cell phones. Some companies have found out the hard way that their management mistakes are common knowledge within days, if not hours.

Many of these people had parents who hovered over them during every waking hour, giving birth to the term “Helicopter Parents.” With probably hundreds of possible activities, from soccer to music lessons, Millennials have been over-committed and over-scheduled. They also have been smothered in praise with constant reinforcement about how great they are: blue ribbons for the entire team, there are no losers, etc.  They expect recognition for everything, even the most mundane activities. They may not know their own strengths and weaknesses because there have not been many opportunities for self evaluation or honest, constructive criticism.

This creates your greatest management challenge. How do you help them understand that there are indeed losers as well as winners in the sales world? How do you provide constructive criticism without devastating their psyche?

Keep in mind that these people will tend to look at you as a parental substitute. I know that makes most sales managers more than a little uncomfortable. Nonetheless, since their parents didn’t wean them, you get to do that. And, generally, this is going to be a shock to the Millennial. You’ll need to teach them basic decision making by coaching and guiding them step-by-step, before you tell them, “You decide.” Don’t be surprised if they’re calling you constantly asking the simplest questions.

Here’s a four step process that can be helpful in guiding them in decision-making (this process may take two to six months total):

    1.    The first time they approach you, work with them to think through at least three options. Then make the decision for them. Having them consider options is the first step of developing the ability to reason.

    2.    After this, when they want your input, make sure they come in with the three options already thought about. Then help them understand the consequences of each option. Add in other options if they haven’t considered all of the consequences. Then, you make the decision.

    3.    The third stage is that they come in with three options, understand the consequences and a recommendation for the course of action. Either agree with their course of action or make suggestions. Essentially they will be making the recommendation which you are approving.

    4.    The final stage is to cut them loose and have them handle a situation on their own. However, also have them provide a written report (IM or Text message is OK). The report needs to tell you what the situation was, the options they considered and the decision they made. This step won’t last that long as their need for independence will kick in and they’ll just stop coming to you with every little situation.

Keep in mind that these individuals are going to need much more coaching than their predecessors. The good news is they are used to being coached. After all, many of them have been on soccer teams since they were four or five years old.

Like all previous generations they’ll be coming into the work world thinking that they have all the answers and know how to do the job better than you do. Once we turn about 35, we begin to realize that we don’t have all the answers and things may not be as they seem. Developing mastery at work requires us to listen intently, understand the history of each situation and gather the different perspectives of each of the players involved. However, growing up protected and interacting with others largely through technology, has created a generation whose people savvy is very limited. Their ability to read a person in a face-to-face situation (and almost all selling is face-to-face) will tend to limit their success, especially when selling to people of a different generation. Help them understand the nuances of body language, the uniqueness of each person’s office and what the contents of that office reveals about the customer. (Shameless promotion: Our book, PeopleSavvy for Sales Professionals covers these points in detail.)

In your coaching efforts with Millennials, your focus and approach may need to be different from others you have worked with. You’ll need to provide structure and give information in bite-size pieces. Praise for what they do is important to their self-esteem. If they’ve messed up you’ll need to present it as a development opportunity. Course correction instead of scolding or brow-beating is a better approach.

Millennials generally have short attention spans, so keep your coaching sessions short. If you go beyond about 20 minutes you will lose them. Use technology freely before and after the session; they’ll come in to the session better prepared and will actually appreciate the follow up. If you’re not comfortable using IM, it’s time to learn. Their mobile phone is like a third arm and gives you more access to them than you’ve probably ever had with anyone.

Have frequent coaching sessions. Remember they’ve been sitting in front of video games knowing instantly what their score is and how they compare with others. Waiting to give them feedback at their annual performance review won’t work. In fact, without feedback, they will probably be long gone before that performance review happens.

Provide the rationale behind your coaching. This generation is hungry to learn and if they feel they’re learning from you, they will be loyal-to you. If they feel like their skills aren’t being developed, they’ll leave.

In some ways you’ll need to teach them patience. They’re used to instant gratification. On the plus side, their impatience for results can be a bonus in the sales world. On the negative, they can be easily frustrated when they don’t get immediate results.

Work/life balance is important to Millennials. One of the biggest challenges to Baby Boomer managers is that Millennials don’t want the same life style. Many Baby Boomers were brought up in sales to believe that if you were working from 6 AM to 6 PM, you were still only working half days. Millennials want “time and flexibility” often before financial compensation and benefits. No other generation has had “time and flexibility” in their top three drivers.

And finally, transparency or confidentiality is often mismatched between Millennial and manager. It is not unusual that a private discussion between a manager and employee becomes public. You’ll need to teach your Millennials why discretion is important, and it may be difficult for them to understand. If your entire life is on the Web for anyone to see-even pictures in a drunken stupor at a college party-they just won’t understand why someone wants to keep something private or would be embarrassed about it being public. Be patient and explain why it’s to their benefit. In other words, you may need to sell them on the idea.

Smart managers that focus on developing Millennial’s people savvy and who understand flexible work roles and effective virtual teams while leveraging technology will help them become a valuable asset sooner rather than later. Managers who meet the challenges of working with, not against, this generation will reap the rewards that come with shorter ramp times and more rapidly gaining some very valuable sales professionals

 

. Sales Psychology Expert Gregory Stebbins has helped over 20,000 sales professionals become the point of differentiation while their competitors struggle with how to differentiate their product and service. In his book PeopleSavvy for Sales Professionals, he unveils for the first time his simple but groundbreaking plan to win your customers’ trust and business forever. Visit his website at http://www.peoplesavvy.com

August 28, 2008

Guest Article: “Six Ways to Prove the ROI for Sales Inquiries,” by James Obermayer

Filed under: Sales Management, lead generation, management, marketing, sales, selling — Paul McCord @ 6:28 am
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The Six Ways to Prove the ROI for Sales Inquiries
by James Obermayer

Are there more than six ways to prove the ROI for inquiries? Probably, but these basic six ways to prove the ROI will start you off.

1. Salespeople report: The best way.

In this instance, salespeople report on the disposition of every inquiry through your CRM system, SFA contact management program or ASP vendor. If you sell direct you have the control to make this happen. If you sell indirectly, you’ll probably use one of the following methods.

2. Compare invoices to inquiries: The most accurate way.

If you sell direct and have the names of people who buy from you, you can compare the name with the person who inquired. If the sale is made after the inquiry date, you can claim a connection and take credit. Isn’t that wonderful?

3. Did You Buy Studies by telephone:

A statistically significant way to take snap shots of buying activity for a single product.

Take a list of inquirers that are six months old and call them. Get at least 100 completed questionnaires from a single product and a single point in time (typically a month) and you have a report that is significant. You will know what percentage buy in six months from you or your competitor. Any outbound telemarketing company can do this for you. Ask questions such as:

* Did you get the literature you requested?

* Did a salesperson from our company contact you?

* Have you bought a product?

* What did you buy?

* Who did you buy from?

* Are you still in the market?

4. Did You Buy Studies by Mail.

Similar to Did You Buy Studies by phone, this method is attractive because it can generate the greatest number of responses at the lowest cost. For every inquiry that comes into the company, send them a self-mailer six months later. Make sure the self-mailer can be refolded and it becomes a return mailer to you. The response you get can be 10-25% over time. Make sure the name is coded so you can compare like sources to like sources within a specific timeframe and you have the most inexpensive study possible.

5. Did You Buy Studies Using email.

This is an attractive method, although with the email opening rate continuing to drop, you may have a difficult time getting at least 100 responses for a single product and source at a specific time (month). Try it. It is cheap, fast and sometimes very efficient. If you get many thousands of inquiries in a month for a limited product set, you may have a winner here.

6. Comparing warranty registrations to inquiries will give you reliable and statistically significant information.

Compare warranty registrations with the inquiry database and you have a statistically significant report if the date of purchase is after the inquiry date.

James W. Obermayer is a principal in Sales Leakage Consulting, Inc., an Orange County, California based sales and marketing strategy consulting firm and a principal of Cerius Consulting. He specializes in helping small to medium-size companies identify sales and marketing leakage issues that stifle sales growth and waste valuable marketing dollars. He is the author of Managing Sales Leads, Turning Cold Prospects into Hot Customers and Sales & Marketing 365.

July 14, 2008

Book Review: The Profit Maximization Paradox by Glen S Petersen

Filed under: Book Reviews, business, management, marketing, sales, selling — Paul McCord @ 8:00 am
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It can be dangerous having a marketing book reviewed by someone from the Sales side—we tend to view things from the sales perspective which is often at odds with Marketing. And that ‘at odds’ happens to be exactly what The Profit Maximization Paradox: Cracking the Marketing/Sales Alignment Code (BOOKSURGE Publishing) by Glen S Petersen is about—more specifically, how to turn that ‘at odds’ into cooperation and a coordinated plan that benefits marketing, sales, and most importantly, the company and its customers.

The Profit Maximization Paradox is another in a long line of books that address the divide between Sales and Marketing and seeks to establish a format for bringing the two departments together. A short, easy to read book, The Profit Maximization Paradox isn’t a step-by-step guide. Instead Petersen reviews the problem and tries to point out in more general terms where the solution to the problem lies.

In chapter 5, Marketing/Sales Disconnects, Petersen quotes some anonymous commenters on the disconnect between the departments, one of which pinpoints, from a sales perspective, the issue succinctly:

“Marketing believes the sales force is myopic, i.e., too focused on individual customer experiences, insufficiently aware of the larger market and blind to the future.”

There’s the rub—the two functions have a vastly different view of the world. Marketing addresses the market from a macro point of view while Sales must view the market from a micro point of view. The above quote by a marketing person illustrates the disconnect in stark terms—Marketing expects Sales to view the world from Marketing’s perspective, not from the real world of sales.

The reality of sales is that salespeople don’t have the luxury of taking a broad view of the marketplace. Salespeople don’t deal with the ‘market;” they deal with a prospect, an individual human being with specific needs, wants, and issues. Their job isn’t to appeal to an idealized prospect with the general characteristics of X, Y, and Z. No, they must deal with a flesh and blood prospect that may or may not conform to Marketing’s conception of what a prospect should be.

On the other hand, Sales tends to view Marketing as theoretical and out of touch, a pestering gnat to be swatted away, not an ally to help identify and close sales. Marketing, for many in sales, are the uppity know it alls who couldn’t close a sale if the prospect literally took the paperwork from them, filled it out and handed them a check.

Compounding the issues between Sales and Marketing is the way each department is compensated. Marketing is compensated by salary and bonus—a longer-term strategy, while Sales is compensated by commission, a very short-term strategy.

Petersen argues that with very different perspectives and objectives, it is unrealistic to expect Marketing and Sales to come together to solve the divide. According to Petersen, “it is unlikely that the VPs of Marketing and Sales are going to unilaterally decide to abandon current behaviors in favor of new roles and accountability that will undoubtedly change existing budget allocations and headcount.”

So, are the two departments left forever to their own devices, feuding and wasting resources and opportunities at the expense of the greater good of the company?

Petersen not only doesn’t believe that an option, he believes there is a real solution to the issue—one that can only be resolved through the intervention of the CEO. Trying to patch up the differences between the departments will accomplish little, if anything. What is needed isn’t a truce or even a little more cooperation between the departments, but a radical change in the business model that can only be accomplished through the leadership of the CEO.

The change that Petersen sees is a process that “starts with the customer and progressively creates a number of perspectives that help the organization to rally around a specific strategy and tactics. The organizational driver becomes the profitable delivery of customer value.”

The Profit Maximization Paradox isn’t the final word in the struggle to bring about a real working relationship between Sales and Marketing. But it can be a beginning. Petersen is certainly right that past attempts have failed, that the perspectives of the two departments are so divergent that left on their own they will not—cannot—come together. With that in mind, a higher authority must take the reigns. Mandating change won’t work—but very possibly a new vision, a new focus that encompasses and coordinates each department—and the rest of the organization as well–might.

July 11, 2008

Retraining Managers, Penetrating Markets, and Effective Sales Training

Filed under: Personal Marketing, Sales Management, Sales Resources, business, lead generation, management, management training, marketing, prospecting, sales, sales training, selling — Paul McCord @ 7:24 am
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McCord Training has just release a new White Paper titled “Why Your Company’s Sales Training is Ineffective.”  The paper outlines why traditional forms of mass sales training has little positive impact on sales performance-and serious negative impact on the sales department’s budget, and then discusses how companies can maximize their training dollars while increasing the production and effectiveness of each individual member of their sales team.

“Why Your Company’s Sales Training is Ineffective” joins McCord Training’s two other White Papers, “Retraining Sales Managers: The Changing Role of Sales Management” and “Effective Sales Penetration of Markets: Finding and Connecting with Prospects.”

White Papers are offered free of charge to any company by simply filling out a short form HERE and selecting the paper you wish to receive.  Although the papers offer both identification of issues and recommended solutions, they are naturally meant to generate interest in McCord Training’s training and consulting products and services, so if you request a paper, understand you will receive a follow-up sales call.

July 5, 2008

Guest Article: “Lift vs. Drag: A Business Leader’s Perspective,” by Waldo Waldman

Filed under: Leadership, business, career development, management, small business, success — Paul McCord @ 7:13 am
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LIFT VS. DRAG – A Business Leader’s Perspective
By Waldo Waldman

So, how do you get a 35,000-pound F-16 jet fighter to fly?

It’s no easy feat. To overcome the force of gravity, you have to create a force greater than gravity’s grasp. That force is lift.

As the F-16 blasts through the sky, there is an “enemy” of lift that must be overcome. It’s an aerodynamic force which resists the forward motion of the jet (known as drag.)

There are two kinds of drag – induced and parasite. Induced drag is a “good drag.” It is a byproduct of lift and is necessary for flight. Parasite drag is not helpful because it battles against the “good” drag, working to slow the aircraft down. It’s caused by the non-lifting portions of the aircraft, such as the landing gear, missiles, and external fuel tanks.

Here’s the big picture. In order to fly, a jet’s lift must exceed drag. The less drag, the easier the plane flies.

Let’s look at this on a practical level in fighter combat. When evading missiles or engaging another fighter in close combat, one of the first things you must do is what pilots call “jettison your stores.” You have to get rid of all the parasite drag hanging from the jet that’s not critical to immediate, fast flight. Fuel tanks and bombs, for example, must go. This reduces your weight while simultaneously reducing drag, allowing the fighter to be much more maneuverable to avoid getting shot down.

Simply put, if you don’t need it, you drop it.

What “parasites” do you have dragging you down and stopping you from reaching new heights in your life?

Parasites are the negative relationships that sap you of your energy and time while giving nothing in return. Parasites are also the fears, doubts, mental baggage, dramas, and self-limiting beliefs that strangle your ability to take action. They suck the life out of you. They can drag you down emotionally and hold you back from being a successful leader.

Do you have any of that hanging around?

We all have parasite drag in our lives. We’re just not aware that we have it or we put off doing anything about it until our own personal “missiles” begin to fly. If we’re dragged down too much, the missiles will hit us.

What are you holding on to that you really need to let go of? Here’s my advice. Jettison your parasites now!

Wingmen are the opposite of parasites. They are the relationships in your life who lift you to new heights. “Wingnuts” are parasites that drag you down.

Are you willing to jettison what’s dragging you down so you can become more fulfilled and successful? Perhaps it’s an unhealthy relationship, laziness, or a private addiction such as TV, gambling, or a sugar fix. Or maybe a bad job is bringing you down or a fear of failure is stopping you from starting a new business.

Want to find what gives lift in your life? Look at what drives your passion. Look at the relationships and activities that get you excited and energized and ready to “push it up” in life. Then, pursue them relentlessly. Seek what gives you life.

When flight planning for success, winners have an ability to get rid of distractions and focus on action that leads to positive results. They also surround themselves with people who challenge them. Jim Rohn, one of my favorite philosophers, has a saying that I love, “Don’t spend major time with minor people.” If you want to be a success, spend time with people at work and in your private life who lift you up. Folks who have the courage and compassion to tell it like it is. These people won’t settle for your excuses, but they will inspire you and give you hope.

The question remains: How do you attract these types of people into your life? You do it by giving your time, advice, and hope to those in need. In essence, you become a wingman to others and help them to fly to greater heights. You do the hard work to build your own character before expecting it of others. This is the core of leadership. When you do this, wingmen will naturally be attracted to you. They will feel comfortable coming to you for help and you will slowly but surely find yourself surrounded by people you trust. As I always say, never fly solo.

Leadership Wingtip – Leaders push themselves up, while pulling others up.

Discipline, hard work, and productive relationships are the lifts in life that overcome the parasite drags of unhealthy relationships, addictions and complacency. They are your tools to conquer mediocrity and live with courage. They will help you to win. Don’t leave them from your flight plan.

If you want to reach new heights in business and in life, make sure you do whatever it takes to maximize your lift and minimize your drag. Not only will you avoid the missiles, but you’ll hit your target as well!

Waldo Waldman builds team unity within organizations as a high energy leadership inspirational speaker. A former combat-decorated fighter pilot with corporate sales experience, Waldo brings an exciting and valuable message to organizations by using fighter pilot strategies as building blocks for peak performance, teamwork, leadership, and trust. He has worked with dozens of corporations such as Panasonic, UPS, Hilton, Aflac, Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard. Visit www.yourwingman.com to learn more.

July 2, 2008

Guest Article: “Sales Candidate Attributes: Desired or Required,” by Lee Salz

Filed under: Sales Management, management, recruiting/hiring, sales, selling — Paul McCord @ 7:05 am
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Sales Candidate Attributes: Desired or Required
By Lee B. Salz

Companies spend tons of money trying to attract sales talent through job boards, yet they impair that campaign with what they put in their ad.

Close your eyes. Think of the perfect mate. Are you done? Close your eyes again. Think some more. How long is your list of requirements of the perfect mate? Are there five of them? Ten? Perhaps, you have twenty. Think about your list again. Are each of those really requirements of your ideal mate? Or, are those desired attributes? On which items are you willing to be flexible? For example, some people say the religion of their mate is a requirement while height is only desired. For others, it is the other way around.

People make decisions every based on their desired and required aspects. There are some aspects on which people can compromise and others where they cannot. This challenge hits employers when they are trying to attract sales talent to apply for their open positions. Instead of creating ads on job boards that invite folks to apply, they tightly close the spigot. I regularly look at the job boards to see how companies are attempting to attract great sales talent. What I find is interesting. Companies place an ad listing what attributes are required of the candidate. However, when I speak to companies about their ad, I find that many of the items on their list fall more in the desired category.

I’ve also talked with sales people about their perceptions of a job advertisement that lists requirements. “I look at the list of requirements in the posting and if I don’t have 100% of the background, I don’t submit my resume”, said a sales person actively looking for a new role. When I ask employers about their biggest challenges, finding great candidates ranks high on their list. “It just seems that we place an ad on a job board and we get few candidates to respond,” said one employer.

Here is the disconnect. Employers publish job advertisements to lure sales candidates to apply. Yet, that same tool is choking the entire process. In essence, instead of enticing candidates to apply, they are convincing them that they won’t be considered.

Here is an example of the requirements section from a job board advertisement

The successful candidate must have
BA/BS with a focus on business or life science
An MBA from a well-respected institution
10 years sales management experience
10+ years business to business sales experience to the Fortune 1000
Broad knowledge of principles and methods in a recognized professional field, or working knowledge of multiple fields
Well-versed in using CRM tools
Experience selling in disciplined, formal sales methodology is essential
Must be good at developing and articulating ROI to C-Level Executives
Telecommunications experience is a must

How many people meet this list of criteria? Very, very few. Would this company really not consider a candidate that met the most critical elements of their criteria, but was missing an element or two? Well, by publishing an ad that is so restrictive, those candidates won’t apply. The company misses out on those potential superstars.

I’m a huge proponent of formulating a profile of a company’s ideal sales candidate. Yet, if that profile is so restrictive that only one person in the world matches it, how will this company ever hire anyone? I’m not suggesting that companies reduce their standards or that they hire subpar performers. No one wins in those instances. However, there are two follow-on steps of the process.

Let’s say you have come up with twenty items for your ideal sales candidate profile. The next thing to do is to rank them in importance so that each item is ranked one through twenty. The first one on the list is the one deemed most important. In essence, you are prioritizing the importance of the criteria. Not much different than what people subconsciously do when searching for a mate.

Once that is done, the next step is to categorize each as either required or desired. I won’t insult your intelligence by defining those. Start with number twenty (least important from the prior exercise) and work your way down to number one. If this exercise was done correctly, the lion share of the items become “desired” while the finite few at the top become required. It is the few items that are deemed critical to one’s success in the job that should be listed as required in an ad.

This is a challenging set of exercises, no doubt. That’s the whole point. You want to make sure you encourage the right candidates to apply versus discouraging them. Thinking back to the company who had the laborious list of requirements. Would they really not hire a really bright individual who lacks the MBA component of the profile? If the answer is no, they shouldn’t list that in their ad as it discourages potentially strong candidates from applying. Did they put the requirement of a telecommunications background in the ad because they prefer not to teach the industry? If the answer is yes, then they wouldn’t want to put that in the ad because they could miss out on a superstar sales person who needs a little assistance learning the business.

This issue isn’t limited to candidates and employers. Recruiters are frustrated too. The company provides them with such restrictions that they feel handcuffed in their ability to find the right candidates. “I really want to help my client, but I feel like I’m searching for a needle in a haystack. I don’t dare send any candidates unless I find an exact match to what they’ve given me,” says one recruiter. Continuing on, “I don’t think they intend to be so restrictive, but that’s what they have given me to work with.”

Attracting great talent is very difficult to do. The great ones are typically wedded to their employer. Don’t let the few great ones that are in the market get away. Make sure your communication to attract talent is formulated to truly represent what was intended.

Lee Salz is president of Sales Dodo and author of Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager..  He developed his firm Sales Dodo with the fundamental mission of helping companies, sales managers, and sales people adapt and thrive in the ever changing world of business. He uses the metaphor of the dodo to show what happens when one fails to adapt. Those who adapt, thrive. Those who don’t become extinct like the dodo bird of ages ago. Some laugh at the use of the word “dodo,” but there is nothing funny about a business losing its competitive edge due to unmanaged change.

June 21, 2008

Top Sales Experts Releases New Sales E-book

Filed under: Book Recommendations, Sales Management, Sales Resources, career development, management, sales, sales training, selling — Paul McCord @ 7:02 am
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The Top Sales Experts have released a new 139 page e-book with articles by over 50 top sales trainers.

Topics covered range from prospecting to leadership to the sales process to managing sales teams and everything in-between. Authors include Dr. Tony Alessandra, Jill Konrath, Jonathan Farrington, Jeb Blount, Keith Rosen, Wendy Weiss, Dr. Gregory Stebbins, Tim Wackel, Ann Miller, Lee Salz, Kelley Robertson, myself and many others.

I encourage you to click over HERE and download your copy. Over 50 great articles by some of the best minds in the business of sales—and its free. Best yet, when you do download the book, you’ll be automatically registered to receive all future editions of the Top Sales Experts e-books when they come out.

There are a lot of e-books on the market—most of them are quite honestly junk. This is the exception. No matter where you are in your sales career or what sales issues you might be facing, you’ll find numerous articles that will help you sell more, make more money, and get more enjoyment out of your career.

June 5, 2008

Guest Article: “Seven Ways to Thrive as a Leader in a 24/7 World,” by Kevin Eikenberry

Filed under: Leadership, career development, management, success, time management — Paul McCord @ 8:16 am
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Seven Ways to Thrive as a Leader in a 24/7 World
By Kevin Eikenberry

Blackberries and Wifi and blogs (oh my!). And your list likely goes on – email, IM’s, forwarding your phone number, wireless everything and 24 hour news channels. While it might be trite, we truly live in a 24/7 world.

Many of us didn’t grow up in a world quite like it is now – with the plethora of options for being connected, getting information and communicating. It wasn’t that many years ago when email and cell phones were new. Now a cell phone that connects to your email is old news!

The challenges of a 24/7 world are many, but as a leader there are four that are especially important to consider – both as an individual and in your role as a leader.

* We have the option of always being connected.
* We are awash in information.
* We have too many sources of information to choose from.
* Many people are increasingly addicted to all of it.

One crucial step to thriving in any situation is to identify and understand the challenges you face, and then identify ways to overcome, benefit from or eliminate those challenges. The ideas that follow are meant to help you do all three of these things.

Your Seven Ideas

Remember that these ideas about thriving, not merely surviving. This may mean that one or more of them is a bit more radical than you have considered or even think prudent. While you have to use your own judgment, I encourage you to do more than consider these ideas – but actually try them!

* Manage your expectations of yourself. How much time do you want/need/have to be a connected info-holic? (Please note that these are three different questions – ask yourself all of them). Consider your answers carefully, and then make choices about your own expectations of yourself in an informed way.

* Manage your expectations of others. As a leader you may choose to be connected and/or be on your computer at all times of the day or night. Unless you have a conversation with your team, they likely will begin to model your behavior. Maybe you choose to do email or send links to ideas you find at an odd hour, that’s fine, but you need to explicitly tell others what your expectations are for them. Let them know that “just because I’m online at 5 am doesn’t mean you need to be” or whatever is appropriate in your situation.

* Turn off Tuesday afternoons. Face-to-face communication and the phone are amazing communication tools, and sometimes you will get more creative work done if the TV or web browser or email inbox is closed for awhile. Whether you pick Tuesday afternoons, Friday mornings, or whatever, consider a time during the work week when you disconnect from your toys and tools – and if you are a leader to have others do it as well. Personal experience and a variety of organizational experiments show that productivity may go up dramatically during these times.

* Find information sources and tools that work for you. Focus primarily on the tools that work for you. Use them appropriately and focus your attention on them.

* Turn off at night. At least one night a week (preferably more often) turn off the cell phone and don’t open the computer. If you find yourself lost without the computer open, you need this advice the most. If you really want to be reading and/or learning, open a book. Encourage your team to do this too – especially if you find yourself getting messages from them at all hours of the night.

* Chill out and think. This idea addresses all four challenges mentioned above. If you remember what it was like before Web 2.0, interactive cell phones and more, you know that you could still get real work done. If you don’t remember or weren’t alive yet, trust me, you can get real work done. This idea is to just relax a little bit. When you are disconnected and unplugged be good with that. You don’t have to have your Bluetooth headset on during dinner, and you don’t have to take (or make) a phone call while in a public (or private) restroom. Relax a little. Use your disconnected time to think, rather than react to your technology.

* You can’t do everything (so don’t try). Even if you are really wired to technology, and even if you love it, know that you can’t know everything about everything, because everything is so much bigger than it used to be. There will always be one more video site, cell phone option, all news blog or website. Be OK with that and refer back to idea #4.

A final note. A smart friend of mine called as I was writing this article and reminded me that some leaders are on the other end of this spectrum – either anti-technology or at least not challenged by these issues. If this is you, you need to recognize that many of your team could use the ideas above. And maybe you need to be a little more open minded to learn some of the benefits they are gaining in this 24/7 connected world – without falling into the their traps.

Potential Pointer: The communication and information options that are available to you in our 24/7 world are amazing! Always remember those options are tools designed to serve your needs, not make you a slave to them.

Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services.

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Business-2-Business Cold Calling–No, You Don’t Have To

Last month I conducted a one-hour teleseminar on how to turn business-to-business cold calls into strong, interest generating calls that result in appointments. This was supposed to be a one-time offering since I don’t really work in the area of prospecting via the telephone.  However, the seminar was such a hit and so many have requested that I do it again so that others in their company can attend, I’ve decided to offer it once more during June.

Let me give you some of the reactions from the last teleseminar:

David Collins said “this is by far the most productive teleseminar I’ve ever attended, bar none. Your approach isn’t like anything I’ve heard before and the best part is after a week of using it, I can say without any hesitation, ‘It Works!’”

Lynn Groves says “I’ve taken numerous telephone seminars and teleseminars and none come close to giving me the real honest to God help this seminar has given me. Funny, this seminar at $67 is one of the least expensive I’ve attended and is worth more than all the others put together.”

Andy Ramos says “without a doubt, the most effective seminar I’ve attended in the last three years.”

What are they raving about? They’re talking about what they learned that gets them to:
• the decision maker without having to lie, deceive gatekeepers, or try to manipulate people
• how to create real interest in the decision maker
• how to know before they call what the company’s needs and issues are
• how to get their voice mail messages returned almost 100% of the time
• how to make a real, welcome connection with the decision maker, not a cold call
• how to set themselves apart from every other salesperson even before they make the call

This isn’t some miracle cure or slimy gimmick. This is a disciplined, effective process that turns time wasting, ineffective cold calling into a real conversation and connection with decision makers.
Join me on Tuesday, June 17 at 5PM Central Time (6PM Eastern, 4PM Mountain, 3PM Pacific) for the most effective phone training you’ll ever get.

REGISTER HERE—still only $67.00 for this career changing teleseminar.

Seating is LIMITED and we ran out of room for the last seminar, so register early

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