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A disturbance
in the force
It is common for managers to encounter difficulty when
attempting to change the behavior of their sales people. After all, change
is difficult for virtually all of us. However, it is also common for managers
who are not getting the desired level of cooperation to become autocratic
and take the “my way or the highway” approach, usually by threatening
the sales people with negative consequences if satisfactory action is
not taken. This approach almost never works, for the simple reason that
your people will only do what you want them to do when they are motivated,
in a positive manner, to do it. Trying to force your will on your subordinates
is therefore a recipe for failure. Getting your people to solve a business
problem Engage their input when planning
a course of action. This is the most important step, because if
you allow them the responsibility for producing a solution to the problem,
they will almost always take ownership of it. Conversely, if you don’t,
you’ll usually get nowhere in terms of cooperation. In the example cited previously, everyone of my client’s
sales people are fully aware of the immediate need to develop new customers.
However, their input was not solicited in how to go about addressing the
issue — and now they aren’t on board with regard to the need
to take action. Let the sales team come up with
a solution. Sometimes managers forget that sales people are each
running a business within their market or territory. As such, they are
fully capable of solving problems and making decisions — and should
be given the responsibility for doing so in this case as well. Too often,
managers are afraid of losing too much control in taking this step. This
is both unfortunate and unnecessary. There is no need to be concerned.
As the boss, everyone knows that you retain the right of final approval.
Besides, you’ll be surprised to find that, in most cases, the solution
that the team produces will be very close to what you would have decided
to do anyway. In some cases, they may exceed your expectations. Require measurable results.
When presenting your problem to the sales team, you must be clear
in requiring a quantifiable outcome as part of the solution. For example,
in the scenario cited previously, it is not sufficient to ask the sales
force what they are going to do to gain new accounts. As part of the problem-solving
exercise, management needs to have the sales force commit to a specific
minimum amount of new business, on a per-rep basis, as part of the solution. There are a number of ways to approach this depending
on your particular business. Examples would include a minimum number of
new accounts, or a percentage increase in this year’s new account
revenue, or a minimum dollar amount of profit from new customers. Irrespective of your measurement standard, the term
“minimum” is very important. Minimum means “anything below
this is not acceptable.” It serves as a benchmark for satisfactory
performance, and everyone needs to understand that those who fail to meet
these minimum objectives are not meeting the company’s expectations
of performance. Make a reward system part of
the program. Too many sales organizations overlook the importance
of positive reinforcement as a motivation tool. Sales contests that are
tied to the company’s sales objectives are more than just a good
idea — they make the challenge fun and should always be an integral
part of the problem-solving scenario. Once again, let your sales people
tell you what they want for a prize — after giving them a budget
for it. After all, who are you to determine what other people consider
valuable in an award? Don’t make the mistake of dangling a carrot
that nobody wants. Negotiate to an agreement.
You may not completely agree with the solutions that your sales people
come up with — but then again, you don’t necessarily have to.
What you need is a solution that works — whether that solution is
what you would have come up with or not. It is therefore important to
try to be as cooperative as possible in arriving at a mutually acceptable
plan of action. Once an agreement is reached, publish a written memo and
circulate it to all of the sales people for review. This serves as their
opportunity to give final approval before the new directive is implemented. Offer resources and support as
required. Your first responsibility as a manager is to provide
support and assistance to your direct reports in their selling efforts.
Once the sales team establishes an objective to the problem, and you agree
with their recommendation, you may be asked to provide training, computer
resources, or other support mechanisms as they tackle the problem. Whenever possible, give them the tools that they request
to get the job done. You have a responsibility to do so — and, after
all, by meeting your end of the “bargain,” you are in an enhanced
position to hold them accountable to deliver. Hold people accountable for goal
attainment. Once you have agreement to correct the problem, your
role becomes one of supporter and advisor as your people tackle the issue.
Of course, you may have people who do not keep their commitment. This
is where your prior empowerment strategy begins to pay dividends. In such situations, you never have to say, “I’m
frustrated. Why haven’t you done what I asked you to do?” Instead,
the conversation will now be: “I’m confused. Why haven’t
you done what you said you were going to do?” See the difference?
The accountability issue is where it belongs — with them, not with
you; and the conversations about correcting the performance issue stay
focused where they belong — in their court, not yours. In closing, remember that ultimately, your objective
here is singular and simple: attainment of results. Your sales people
are entitled to their own opinion about how to go about getting that result;
your role is to provide support and assistance. Ultimately, they can,
and will, go about achieving it any way that they see fit. This is perfectly
acceptable as long as they recognize that, regardless of the strategy
employed, the bottom-line requirement for results attainment remains the
same. About the author: Based in Charlotte, NC, Landy Chase, MBA, CSP is an expert who specializes in speaking to corporations and associations on advanced professional selling and sales management skills. For more information, visit his Web site at www.landychase.com or call 877-550-2655. FREE BY REQUEST! Sample “Key Items to Consider” List! For a free copy, send an e-mail through the author’s Web site. |
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