| I am privileged enough to meet a lot of great | | | | organization: |
| companies; I spend a good amount of my time | | | | 1) Identify if you have the right or wrong team - |
| each week on the road. The opportunity to sit | | | | Hire slow, fire fast, get your people "righted". |
| down with many different styles of sales | | | | 2) Create a plan to develop your team - You |
| managers and business owners has allowed me to | | | | should seriously consider customized sales training. |
| discover that every management team drives | | | | 3) Keep the pipeline flowing - Continuous |
| their sales team differently. In certain companies, | | | | prospecting for new customers is an absolute |
| sales management provides a roadmap for | | | | must. |
| activity, growth and creating progress. Others, | | | | 4) Let the data do all the talking - The scoreboard |
| don't. I see firsthand both sides of the spectrum. | | | | doesn't lie. Numbers talk, let the data speak. |
| Many sales managers do everything they can to | | | | 5) It's nothing personal, it's only business - Drive |
| see that their sales organizations will mature this | | | | activity, demand results, do not accept "avg". |
| year and regain their winning forms. Unfortunately, | | | | 6) Have a terrific goals program - Every rep and |
| others are doing everything they can to | | | | sales manager should be keeping a goals journal. |
| guarantee their status quo remains. You could call | | | | 7) Identify the right lead generation programs - |
| it creeping failure. | | | | Increase your sales by being creative and active. |
| A very respected colleague of mine, introduced | | | | Here's the good news: despite a relatively high |
| me to a book called the E-Myth. In that book I | | | | unemployment rate here in Massachusetts (and |
| learned a valuable lesson: The universe always | | | | throughout the nation), couple with an economy |
| collides with stationary objects. You see, I am | | | | that is just starting to sprout out of a deep |
| confident; most, if not all of today's successful | | | | recession, the country - and the world for that |
| sales managers understand that our economic | | | | matter - is never going to run out of money. It's |
| climate is poles apart when it comes to writing | | | | impossible. It will never happen. There will always |
| business than it was just a few years ago. | | | | be billions and trillions of dollars pouring through the |
| Structure, accountability and transparency are the | | | | world economies each year. That stated, it |
| core functions of a winning and profitable sales | | | | certainly does not mean it is getting any easier |
| team. Likewise in 2010': activity, metrics, ratios | | | | for sales people and sales management to write |
| and accurate sales forecasting are just as equally | | | | new business and keep up with bottom-line |
| significant. At Sales1Boston, I teach sales | | | | expectations. |
| management and business owners these | | | | Now is the time to look in the mirror and size |
| principles; unfortunately, there are some that | | | | yourself up. It's time to lead your sales team and |
| simply won't listen. They're standing still - and their | | | | put forth a better way; a superior game plan. At |
| going to get killed! | | | | the end of the day, ultimately, your station with |
| The point is straightforward (and brutally honest): | | | | your employer will be based on how many sales |
| if these intangibles are not in place within your | | | | both you and your team produce. It is your job |
| sales organization right now then you are in big | | | | to make sure that everyone in your team is |
| trouble. Sales and profits are everything, so what | | | | producing at the highest level. Consider sales |
| is your plan this year? Is the status quo (what | | | | training, explore the idea of adding new talent, |
| you are doing now) working? Are you reaching | | | | decide who should stay and who shouldn't. Always |
| your sales and revenue targets? There is no need | | | | remember: the scoreboard reveals all who come |
| to panic if you can't honestly answer these | | | | before it accurately. |
| questions, for right now. But you have to take a | | | | Develop a real game plan and then execute that |
| step back and formulate a plan, immediately. | | | | plan. The status quo will become enviable once |
| I am going to share with you some examples | | | | again. |
| that will help with a plan-of-action for your sales | | | | |