Many owners of small businesses fall into the same trap–they hire sales people because of a compelling interview about the individual’s “sales prowess” and on day one, they are given a Book of Lists from the Business Journal and told “Go Get ‘Em Tiger!” Several months go by, and there’s no sales activity, and the business owner has spent money, time and energy and gotten results that are far below expectations.

The problem is that this type of management style is that it has no measurement for activity prior to the quotations/proposals/RFQ stage–so you’re well into the sales cycle before any corrective action can take place. (And in fact, it’s really no management style at all–but that’s another post).

The solution to this problem is to build reporting into the stages from the time that a target is deemed a “suspect” to the point that it can be closed. (Coffee is for closers).

But I hear you saying, “selling is a numbers game” right?

In reality, it’s not the raw number of calls, presentations, proposals and closes–It’s the quality of the targets, the sales skills sets (or lack of) in each of the Stages. Every great sales team has defined stages and accountability metrics–and that’s where the numbers game really applies.

When you look at the following, notice that there are activities, disciplines, skills and behaviors that are unique between the steps:

Typical Pipeline Stages and Associated Discipline
1. Suspect – Qualification through a Defined Funnel.
2. Qualified Prospect – Ranking A-B-C-D. and Confirming
3. Introduction –Appointment Setting – Objection Handling – Value Proposition Positioning.
4. Appointment – Presentation – Value Qualification – Probing for Pain – Trial Closing – Building Consensus
5. Action – Relationship Building, Value Building and Confirmation.
6. RFQ – Proposal Building, ROI Statements and Pricing Strategy.
7. Closing – Culmination on confirmation of Trail Closing in previous Stages.
8. Maturity – Building a Valued and High Margin Customer.

When you are able to measure the activity between each stage you have an average. (i.e Introduction Call to set Appointment = 40%.)

With this information you can manage each member of your team effectively, provide specific training (corrective action) in areas where they are weak, encourage an upward goal for continuous improvement and identify tools, content and training that adds value to their efforts and ultimately your bottom line.

Anything less is a waste of time and money–but as an entrepreneur, you’ve got plenty of both, right?

Bob Davis is the owner of simple.sales strategy in Austin, TX providing sales training and holding sales people accountable to a proven, systematic sales system. He can be reached at 512.658.9500 or rsdavis@simplesalesstrategy.com

When I was growing up in New York my team was the NY Yankees. The Yankees had a second baseman named Willie Randolph.  I always admired Willy because every time I turned on the TV to watch a game there was Willie doing his thing; hitting, fielding, stealing bases, making double plays. Willie was on the field early and then he headed home to the family not the night club. Willie was doing the basics day in day out, chopping wood and carrying water for 18 years in the Pros*.  Not much “Rock Star” about Willie. You never saw Willie in the gossip pages or mug shots.

Contrast that with the “Rock Star”. You don’t have to think too hard to get my drift. I would take a team of “Willies” any day. So that is what I look for; consistent, measurable progress and results. Continuous improvement and corrective action measures when necessary. I like a full balanced sales pipeline, even, fair and honest communication with clients, prospects, management and employees. No pop sales psychology, no manipulations, no tricks, no hard closes.

So how do you get there? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Hire reps that test well on personality assessments for sales skills and take the time to review the results to make sure they fit YOUR culture.
2. Understand that past performance (or non-performance) is the best indicator, not the only, but the best indicator of future performance.
3. Build a sales plan that outlines sales stages incrementally through the sales cycle; from qualification, appointment setting, presenting, proposals and closing percentages.
4. Develop a set of key performance metrics or indicators on the stages above that are simple to measure and review.
5. Manage sales challenges and skill sets based on the performance indicators, develop sales skills like trial closing, probing, qualifying, objection handling and consistently coach “stuck” accounts.
6. Create “teams” not individual players. Create competition that supports the good of the whole.
7. Watch their feet – Not the words. Measure, Measure, Measure.

Look at Willies stats below. Now think of your favorite rock star. How are they measured? Again, not too difficult to get my point. But what is the ultimate upside? You won’t end up with a trashed hotel room on their expense account!

* Willy ranked fifth in major league history in games at second base (2,152), ninth in putouts (4,859), seventh in assists (6,336), eighth in total chances (11,429), and third in double plays (1,547).

I love to tell the story of my typical client. She builds a company on a real passion for the widget. She is so passionate and enthusiastic she brings down a few accounts and starts to grow.

The pressures of the business keep her inside in manufacturing, operations and management activities, all necessary but taking away from her sales activities. Ah! The Solution! Hire a sales person, “my widget practically sells itself!” So she reaches out to find a sales person.

A candidate is found, good resume, sold some stuff before, has a nice personality and a bonus, she likes him. The hire is completed, her new rep is sent to the factory floor for a few weeks to learn the ins and outs of widgets. The next step is to travel around meeting clients to learn why they buy this particular widget. Now it is time to show the rep to his new office to belly up to the phone, boot up and thumb through this year’s Austin Business Journal Book of Lists to research leads. As she leaves his office she will say (9 out of 10 times this happens!) “Go Get em’ Tiger!”

Fast forward 6 months later and well…. It’s surprising how many small and medium businesses (and startups) are guilty of this action plan–and the problem is that many business owners wonder why it didn’t work and then become concerned (rightfully) about the cost of training and salaries (there is no or little commission!) that they invest in unsuccessful sales hires.

The Fix? A PLAN– based on clear action steps, understanding your best clients/prospects, knowing that most reps quit at 3 calls and having a system to contact prospects 7-8 times (that’s when they buy), performance metrics that drive accountability, appropriate training and corrective action while systematically driving a series of prospects down a structured pipeline and as a result – booking business.

Motivating your sales force is a necessity–but what separates small businesses from larger businesses is a true sales plan, based on clear action steps, building a pipeline, and holding sales people accountable for either closing deals, or moving prospects out.

The good news is that building a sales plan is not difficult–but it does take management and persistence. It starts by asking the question, “Who are you calling, and why?” Once you’ve established the right types of prospects to call on, sales people should enter those names into some sort of pipeline where they rank the prospects based on predetermined criteria, ie an A is a prospect that we’ve gotten a proposal out to, a B is a prospect that we’ve had a discussion and determined a need, and C is a suspect that we haven’t talked to yet, but we think they may have problems that we can solve.

Bob Davis is the owner of Simple Sales Strategy in Austin, TX providing sales training and holding sales people accountable to a proven, systematic sales system. He can be reached at 512.658.9500 or rsdavis@simplesalesstrategy.com

Most successful business owners have a good handle on their assets versus liabilities, but many don’t consider that their most important asset is people.

If you’re not making right investments in your people (especially sales), they can quickly be moved to that liability column, and you can’t afford that. From a human capital perspective, time is of the essence.

Usually, when I perform assessments on sales teams, I explore the areas of resistance, and time management is always at the top of the list. So how do you measure and maximize time? Evaluate your sales tools – CRM systems like Act, Goldmine, Salesforce are great because they come with built with a ranking systems– pipeline, tasks, assets, reminders.

These tools allow sales people to make the calls, note the actions, send emails that are linked to a asset library, and set reminders. I call this the “RONCO” effect – “Set It and Forget It” and move on to the next task. CRM systems also allow you to review the sales process as it happens so you can pinpoint areas of resistance and fix the problems accordingly.

Review your Call Scripts – A practice around scripting can improve results drastically. Developing a series of call scripts that support the value your company brings to the market. Practice and consistency build confidence and erode resistance, and allows you to consistently improve on your message based on real world results.

Set Goals – Setting goals is important in keeping your sales people on track. Set a number of calls per day, target numbers of introductions per day, and numbers of appointments per week. Also pay attention to the number of quotes per month. It’s not necessarily a numbers game, but goal setting and tracking is the only way to understand real world results.

Ensure that your sales people are taking advantage of the Selling Window - If it all starts with a call, you obviously need to call when you have a high probability of reaching the prospect. So if reps are doing administration functions between 8:30 – 12:00 and 1:00 – 5:00 you are likely not going to get the results. Stop that. Protect the window.

There are many more tools and strategies, but it’s important to understand that your most valuable asset is time, and what activities and tracking mechanisms you apply is the most important first steps.

Bob Davis is the owner of Simple Sales Strategy in Austin, TX providing sales training and holding sales people accountable to a proven, systematic sales system. He can be reached at 512.658.9500 or rsdavis@simplesalesstrategy.com

I was thinking the other day about my consulting practice and what others are doing in the space. I was wondering what I do that keeps my clients engaged (and paying my invoices!) The answer is that I provide a sales strategy that works and tactical advice along the way dependent on what is going on in the sales pipeline. Other trainers do a lot more tactical stuff… I’m more strategic I think.

So what the hell does that mean?  What is the difference between tactical and strategic? Now the truth is that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so for that answer I turned to someone a bunch smarter than me… my wife! (it’s way true).  She said think of it this way.  During a war, there is a strategy set by leaders with an overall goal in mind.  Tactics are the individual actions necessary to carry out the strategy and move you incrementally towards that goal.  Tactics are the substance of strategy and require solid management. Ah ha!

Sometimes I tell my clients that they need to be careful not to confuse the activity with results. Very likely they are confusing the tactics with the strategy. Are we arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? How do we keep from getting caught in this dilemma? Simply, by keeping a keen eye on the strategy with incremental key measurements towards the goal and then adjusting and training around the tactics that support it. All of the best tactics in the world won’t get you there with a flawed strategy. A simple sales strategy defines and measures the tactics that create a successful outcome, not the other way around.

The quote above is attributed to Dr. W. Edwards Deming the American statistician, college professor, author, lecturer, and consultant. Another quote often attributed to Dr. Deming is “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”, while it might not be accurate to apply this quote to Dr. Deming , many of us have experienced a time when our company did not deliver do to a process breakdown! Management rarely puts up with an easily resolved issue though measuring processes and implementing corrective action.

I have had an opportunity in my career to look into many small and mid-size companies and see the process (or lack thereof) that drives sales. Often, if I saw management operate with limited tools, subjective decision-making, fragmented communication and limited accountability that a sales team is managed,  product failures or customer complaints would quickly gain the attention of upper management and corrective action would quickly be forthcoming.

Sales has often been considered an “art” as opposed to a process, and while there is a certain truth in that, process certainly plays an important part. Consider an under performing manufacturing asset such as a delivivery vehicle, computer system, or a key supplier. Underperformance would quickly get the attention of those responsible for those assets and action to correct the situation would be implemented. Does this happen when we consider sales as an “art” but not a process?

An example is how a “lead” is managed. A “lead” has value. It cost money to exist and will cost more to nurture. And if it is an unqualified lead, the more time, money and effort that is extended, the more underperforming it becomes. What of that solid lead or potential account that has been or is being “worked on” or “I left a message” without delivering results? What about that “great” lead that is chased down only to find at the RFQ stage you can’t meet the price point or you just found out that the buyer’s sister is your competitor. Managing a lead through a defined pipeline is essential to leveraging the value of that lead.

So what does this all have to do with instant pudding; measuring, managing and selling? It is commonly said that most buyers buy after seven touches or “impressions”, it is also commonly known that most reps quit at three. They are looking for the instant pudding. A process supports  accurate qualification; that the prospect buys what you sell, allows management to see a lead as it progresses, institute corrective action and creative solutions if it gets stuck and provides tools and content for seven touches. In a competitive environment being top of mind and at very least positioned as a secondary source is the appropriate investment in a valuable asset of your business, a lead.

Managing a sales effort through process tools and management protects a multitude of  valued assets: the lead itself, accounts that have significant growth potential, time and sales resources. Ultimately it also does what it is intended to do. Sell more of your product.