We Can't Teach... A Passion For Success!

Please note... if you are new to this blog, please go to the first entry and read from there. If you are returning, welcome back.

We Can't Teach... A Passion For Success!

Please note... if you are new to this blog, please go to the first entry and read from there. If you are returning, welcome back.
Over the years I have been very impressed with the top performers in each company with which I have been lucky enough to work. I always wondered what made them tick, and how could I clone them? At some point, I realized that a key function of a manager is to understand the answers to this question, and that our success would depend on finding the right answer(s).

In my opinion, it is critical for the top sales manager to clearly have a handle on what will make his team successful in the field territories. It is at the individual performer level one can get that handle, and the only way to grasp it is to get into the field and observe the successful sales people as s/he works... just observe, take the time to profile several individuals, and note the traits and skills that they are relying on to gain successes.

Throughout these profiles, there likely will be threads that describe the key ingredients... organization and administration commitment; communication and selling skills; technical knowledge; values and ethical commitments; and no doubt, a passion for the company, product and personal success. It is important to be able to clearly communicate to the sales organization what is learned, and what is expected from the sales people who will be on the team. Human Resource Management and recruiters need this information with priorities attached, in order to search for and present appropriate candidates for the development of a new team.

This is a situation where the "PROVERBIAL FLY ON THE WALL" concept should take precedence. On several occasions when I took over sales teams needing a major overhaul, I actually had the sales people I was profiling introduce me to customers as an observer, or consultant. This was so that I could observe the selling skills of the rep, and not involve myself in the sale. As these sales situations unfolded, I took mental notes and converted them shortly after to organized notes. At the end of the session, I sometimes requested from the customer, information about what they were looking for in a sales person. I also asked how the incumbent is doing. I often I got valuable information that allowed me to learn more quickly what the company needed and about how to coach the sales person.
Once the key ingredients are known, it is not a difficult exercise to organize these traits and skills into a hierarchy from critical (must have) down to needed for success. In the medical industry many of these are the same as in any business segment. I found that it was clinical experience, technical skills and a passion for success that invariably separated the 95% performers and above, from those who consistently performed at lower levels. Once I understood this, it became much easier to decide how to develop a team from the ground up... by choosing high potential performers based on their differentiating skills, experience and passion for success. Most of the other critical skills can be learned through training provided by the company or through outside consultants.

Of course, most of us start with a team and have to develop from within. It is important to let the team know what the keys to success are, and let everyone decide whether they will strive to achieve those traits... and demonstrate them consistently. When interviewing incumbent and potential new sales people, my most critical questions are around passion for success. Will the success come through achievements with the products our company offers? When well trained, competent sales people have a passion for success... it is a short step to that very success.

Sales People Get Better Just After Sales Management Gets Better

What do I mean... just after sales managers get better..?

There are fundamental selling functions that should be a part of the routine of sales people on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Add to those functions, which we can discuss in another posting, techniques that should become part of the essence of the sales person. The issue however is that while we know the things that make us more successful as sales people, we either don't learn and practice them, or we forget them. And when that happens, sales suffer!

The core function of a sales manager is to ensure that his/her sales people are performing the fundamentals of selling and achieving their potential. If the sales manager ensures that sales people's skills are at the highest level, all the other management functions will become routine... and things like end of quarter rants will not be necessary. Sales people will be hitting booking, revenue and margin targets; maintaining key account relationships; forecasting accurately; attaining product mix plans; communicating through management key market feedback and information... and doing so with a minimum of personal, family or company stress.

So, if sales are suffering and corporate executives have assured them selves that other issues are not the cause (product problems; new competition; marketing miscues, manufacturing delays and such) its time to look at sales management. What are the managers doing? Perhaps, it is just as important to look at what they are not doing!

Very few if any sales managers have had formal sales management training, and they are not prepared for the position they are promoted into, simply because they are very good sales people. Unfortunately, the skills that make them 'very good sales people' are not the same that will make them successful as a manager. It will take years to learn them on their own... there are few sales management training books, seminars, CDs and so on. It is a problem for companies, particularly those without significant training means, that has no quick solutions.

When a sales person is promoted to a sales management position, or a new hire into the position starts working, it is critical to communicate expectations to the new manager. This should come in the form of a job description, and written performance expectations relating to the job. The new manager should also have a designated coach which may be a second or higher level sales manager... or in small companies, the owner/president. There should be non-financial goals and target dates set as a part of the expectations... for example, travel with and assessment of each subordinate sales person; internal training on administrative processes such as forecasting; and so on. These will give a gifted manager an opportunity to get started on the right foot.

In most situations, I also recommend formal training for new managers. Companies should consider investing in their new sales managers by having them trained. One way to accomplish this is though intensive one week university courses. For example, the University of Michigan (among others) has their Effective Sales Management (ESM) course in their Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Its highlights are as follow, from their website...

http://execed.bus.umich.edu/CentersOfExcellence/Products/Search_Programs.aspx

Create a job description defining the role and behaviors necessary to function as a sales executive and leader

Gain tools to create and lead an effective and efficient sales team

Receive audit materials to pinpoint the performance gaps in the sales team

Acquire coaching and training materials to enable the development of the skill set in sales leaders

Within these highlights are the keys to the function of sales management in my opinion. First, sales management needs a formal job description because it is not an intuitive process. There are things that should be done routinely, and when they are not, the performance of the sales people suffer. I have attended other courses at the U of Michigan, and can attest to the quality of their faculty and the materials. I recommend that anyone wanting a career path that goes through sales management, attend this course. It will put things in perspective, and teach the management tools critical to success.

It should be recognized that these courses teach what I call 'vanilla' sales management. There are certain fundamentals of sales management that should be the core training and core to every sales manager's administrative processes. There are also skills that are specific to the type of market and products that the sales team are focused on... these are not taught in books or courses like the ones in universities. It is important for companies to communicate effectively what those specific sales person skills and management processes happen to be, so the manger can ensure that they are internalized.

The initial position taken in this post is that once sales managers understand their job description better, and start acting the part, sales people respond to appropriate management by increasing productivity... and that should beget performance improvement. Supposing that the manager has had training and a good job description... what needs to happen next?

Why Not?

It has been some time since Lynnda and I left Nova Scotia in early March to found our new part time location here in Florida. Since then, I understand that there have been eight separate snowfalls and lots of weather reinforcement of our decision to come to the sun. We will live in Nova Scotia for much of the year, and here in South Florida for a few months. We are hopeful that while we inhabit the Oyster Pond, the weather will have followed us north!

I have decided to start this new blog spot that will focus on the business side of Blueknowser, especially the marketing and sales arenas... and how M & S impacts (and is impacted by) the various functions of business. Examples of those functions are the customer, corporate finance, human resources, manufacturing, engineering, service, regulatory affairs, operations, and many others.

The http://www.bruce-ross.blogspot.com reflects my decision to spend most of my consulting time in marketing and sales situations. I have decided to focus on the medical device and consumables arenas. This will allow me to lean on my 30+ years in the healthcare industry, working for North American businesses with responsibilities spanning the globe. I have participated in marketing and sales as a salesperson, marketing manager, VP Marketing and Sales, GM, COO and President... in private and public, large and small companies. In other words, I have seen it from inside, outside, over and under...

I believe that business success begins with strong marketing functions and seamless interaction with the sales channels and with the customer... in one direction... and with the management and executive functions of the company in the other direction. It seems to me that any disconnect in communications among these functions will begin (and sustain) the downward spiral of success potentials. I strongly believe that it is the management function of marketing and sales, in its role as communicator/facilitator, that creates the environment for success.

I also believe that marketing and sales people perform better just after management gets better. A manifestation of this clue to better performance is the millions of wasted dollars that go into the training of sales forces, sales force automation and so on. If management does not know how to be excellent in its pivotal functions, it probably can/will not reinforce sales training. It will not persist in driving compliance and ultimately the training will go to waste.

I will write this blog knowing full well, that while I had several job postings over my career that went well, most of them could have been significantly better had I better implementated the functions of management training. Further, it was often my inability to communicate what were perhaps important ideals or strategies that 'limited my successes'.

Reflection is a powerful tool! Having the time to reflect, during my retirement, has allowed me to put many things into perspective that I could not fathom when I was working those 30+ years. While I may still not have it right, I hope that these future blog thoughts will open new doors of refection and consideration for the reader(s).