Business Development managers or “hunters” have a difficult assignment.  As I have written in the past, they are change agents and no one likes change.  On the other hand, the Account Manager does not deal with change primarily.  They deal with conserving revenue and finding new opportunities within existing accounts.  The hunter must be aggressive and at times force the line on persistence.  The account manager on the other hand focuses on growing existing relationships, and on maintaining a line of communication.  This difference in roles and missions can cause conflict, especially if the “hunter” is brought into the Account Manager’s client to, “sell new business.”   The Account Manager can find the Business Development manager too aggressive, while the latter finds the Account Manager is too passive.

I believe the two roles should not work on the same client for the same company.  Business Development managers should find new business, close it, then hand-off the relationship to an Account Manager.  The Account Manager should then be responsible for the entire relationship, and for finding additional business.

So what should an Account Manager focus on to make sure they do their job?

• Build and grow relationships:  I am always shocked to find that a company’s reach into a client only goes as far as the buyer.  In today’s world, the buyer position has considerable turnover.  Companies move buyers around as a policy to broaden their personnel’s experience, to bring in fresh eyes and ideas, and to lessen the chance for decisions to be made because of relationships and not on facts.  So you must go beyond the role of the buyer to their supervisor, and company executives.  There will be resistance, so how to you proceed?
  • Work on the existing supervisor and executives.  Look for ways to meet them outside the office, perhaps in their stores or in the field.  Find out what they do outside of work.  What community organizations do they work with?  What are their hobbies?  An associate of mine found out that the Vice President of his account worked out on the weekend at a local gym.  He got the name of the gym, and then happen to meet the VP there.  They soon started spotting each other as they worked out with weights.  Soon my associate was invited to other activities including the company’s management retreat.
  • Make it a goal to meet everyone in management at your client and establish an authentic relationship with them.  Early in my career, when I was assigned to a regional grocery account at Keebler, I visited every store, and talked to every store manager.  I did this more than once, visiting all stores in a region on a regular schedule.  I then started meeting with the regional managers in a store, usually taking them and a store manager out to lunch.  We would discuss Keebler of course, but we also talked about how to improve their private label sales.  Over time, region and store managers were promoted, and my influence grew.  By the time I left the account to take a district manager role, I could visit headquarters at my discretion.  Region Managers would stop presentations to store managers to say hello.  My growth in relationships led to the development of a promotional program at the account that increased sales by 75%.  Such a strategy takes time, and hard work, but you must expand and grow your relationships at your account if you plan to succeed.
  • As I mentioned in the last point, you cannot just focus on your product or company when you meet with client personnel.  You must bring value that goes beyond who you represent.  This could include trends in the industry, public news about their competition (be sure to only discuss information in the public domain.  If you know something about their competitor gained from your company or your work, it is unethical to discuss this information.  In addition, it makes your client suspicious of what you are telling their competition about them.)  In my case, my regional chain had a great interest in their private label.  I would give advice and consult on ways they could improve their sales.  I was the expert in my product line, so my advice helped.  Is this helping a product that competed with mine?  My price point was usually around $3.99 a bag, while their private label was around $1.00.  We had different customers.  I also believe in the category management principle that what is good for the category is good for me.  Bring value to your client, and your influence grows.
  • Be seen at your client and at their events.  Are they opening a new store?  You must be there.  Are they having a golf event?  You must be there and even play if you can.  Do they throw a party for vendors?  You must attend and provide samples if necessary.  Do not miss an event.  If you cannot attend, send someone to take your place, someone at a higher level in your company if you can.  You must be there and take advantage of these events to grow relationships.  Does it take time from the family?  Yes it does, so you will have to find a balance.
  • Turn relationships into friendships that can last beyond your time assigned to the account.  An associate of mine took a VP at his account snow skiing every winter.  Both families would go to New Mexico, rent a cabin, and stay for an extended weekend.  Your company may assist and if they do, go first class.  But focus on growing a friendship.  Be there as a friend if needed, not just as a supplier.  If your friend has a family issue, be there to talk and support.  Maybe they lose their job.  Do you abandon them?  No, help them find a new position and be there to give them advice.  When they land a new job, your network and your friendship grows.    Business is much more than just selling products or services.  Human beings are involved and that aspect of the relationship has to be recognized.  Plus, there are times when you need friends.
  • So we have talked a ton about relationships, and we must.  The relationship part of account management is very, very important and many times overlooked.  But there are other areas of focus.  They include:
    • Protecting your existing business.  Remember, your competition is always looking for ways to take your business.  You have to maintain an “intelligence” network at your account so you know what competition is doing.  Have they made a proposal?  Do they want some of your shelf space?  Is there a new display program?  Whatever competition is doing, you must be able to counter and protect your business.  If they want shelf space, make sure it comes from someone else.  Do they want displays?  Make sure that yours is not targeted.   Work constantly to remind your client of the value you and your company provides.
    • Look for new opportunities.   Is your client only using one product or service?  Work on expanding your footprint at the account.  Keep presenting new products or services.  You want to grow deep and widespread roots into your client, and making sure that they are using all of your company’s offerings is one way to expand.  Having multiple products or services at an account also gives you some slack.  You could lose something, and still have considerable business at the account.
    • Look for ways to provide more value.  Can you provide an expert in an area?  Do so complementary.   Reward your loyal clients with first access to a new product or service.  Do you need a place to test new software, product or service?  Offer partnerships to loyal customers and give them the product at a reduced price.  Continue to look for ways to provide value, and your influence at your account grows.

I’m sure there are other aspects of account management that I have left out, but these points are basic and necessary.  If I could sum up, there are two main areas of focus; growing relationships and growing your value to the client.

I had a discussion with a CEO recently about our sales philosophy here at Dynamic Sales Strategies.  Our key principle is that one must become a trusted Advisor for their customer, not just an account manager or sales person.  A trusted advisor brings more value than just a product or service.  They provide industry expertise and can consult with their customers on best practices, improved productivity, and ways to increase sales and reduce cost.  Such an advisor becomes an important part of the value equation for a customer, protecting your customer base from your competition.  The CEO brushed aside my comment and stated that customer retention comes automatically from good customer service.  I disagree.

There is nothing “automatic” about customer retention.  There are always forces in play that could take your customer away.  These include the following:

• Competition: There is always someone out there trying to take your customers away.  Oh, yes, there are customers who are loyal to you to a fault, but they are usually a minority.  Clients are fickle and will leave you for a lower price, new way of doing something or to try something new.  If they are good managers, they will keep you on your toes by talking to your competition all the time.  There is always someone who can do what you do more efficiently, providing more satisfaction, and at a lower price than your service or product can today.
• Client changes:  Customers are changing constantly.  In the past, you might have the same buyer for years.  Today, you are lucky to have the same buyer or decision maker for a couple of years.  There are changes that can happen all up the chain-of-command for your customer that affects your relationship.  A new CEO can come onboard and order a complete reassessment of all suppliers.  A new Vice President wanting to make their mark may insist on the best product for the lowest price.  They may force your buyer to issue a new RFP or ask for presentations from all qualified industry suppliers.  Overnight, you are scrambling to retain your business.
• Your company operations: It is human nature to become complaint when never challenged.  You begin to take customers for granted, and your service or product suffers.  Your customer gives you grace based on past performance and relationships, but only for so long.  Then one day, you get a call saying they are putting the business up for bid or that they have found a new supplier.  It can and has happened.

So how can you protect your customer base?

• Become their trusted advisor:  If you bring additional value beyond your product or service, you become more important to the success of your client.  They trust you more, and as a consequence you begin to build a wall around the relationship.
• Deepen your relationships within your client:  I once worked with a company who relied on one customer for 65% of their revenue.  When I looked deeper into that important revenue generator, I was shocked to find that their relationships at the client were no deeper than the manager level.  They did not have a relationship at the senior leadership level.  The company was extremely vulnerable to a leadership change that could take their customer away.  You have to work at gaining access to upper management at your clients and become trusted advisors to them as well.   You also have to keep up with potential changes in strategy or execution.
• Make sure that your service or product is the best:  I once worked for a consulting company whose strategy was to hire the needed expertise once a project was sold.  While we were traveling to a trade show, an associate of mine complained that we really had nothing to sell.  “What are we going to sell at this show?”  My answer was, “Good intentions.”  A good intention just doesn’t get it done in today’s extremely completive economy where businesses are doing everything and anything to get revenue to survive.  You have to have the best service or product and keep improving.  If you don’t, someone else will and they will take your customer away.

There is nothing “automatic” about keeping customers.   It takes a lot of hard work.  You cannot just depend on your relationship with that decision maker or buyer.   You have to bring the best product and or service to the table along with additional value.  It is the only way to protect your client base.

I have heard over and over again that cold-calling is dead.  I do not believe it.  Cold-calling is alive and well and will last until the final sales representative makes the final sales call just before judgment.   So why do so many people want to get rid of cold-calling.  It is not an easy task.

When you cold-call, you are trying to communicate with someone who you do not know and who does not know you or your company.  If this is a business-to-business call, your prospect has their job to do and gets enough distractions and communications without having to deal with you.  If you are calling consumers, well, they have their lives to lead, and in many cases have been mislead by some sales person who called out-of-the-blue.  I know in my case, sales representatives usually call when I am trying to either feed or put my children to bed.  This is not a good time to sell me gutters.

This means you will receive a large dose of rejection.  No one likes rejection.  Thank about that time you wanted to ask that pretty girl out.  Did you have a lump in your throat?  Had you already heard her laugh at you over the phone in your head?  Rejection is not pretty.  We all want to be liked.

It is this fear of rejection that turns the phone into your enemy.  Yes, that phone that is sitting there laughing at you.  It just looks at you and shouts, “Why would anyone want to talk to you, and why would they want your service?”

So, how do you win at cold-calling?  First, you have to come to grips with this fear of rejection.  In my case, I do not take anything anyone says personally.  I am doing a job, and in my mind, the service I represent brings value to my prospect.  They need my product or service.  It is my responsibility to tell them about this value.

Think about someone being in harm’s way.  Wouldn’t you want to help them avoid the danger?  Or think about how it feels to help someone.  A friend of mine just finished a great job interview because I sent her a job posting.  It made my day to hear her happiness come over the phone.

You have to have the same mindset when you start cold-calling.  These guys need my service or product.  I’m trying to help them.

It also helps to have a system in place.  I either use a customer relationship manager software or an Excel spreadsheet to help me know who to call and when.  I try to be careful in building this list only including companies or individuals who I believe could use my product or service.  If you are calling consumers, make sure you use a service that tells you if they are on a “Do not call list.”

Then, each day, my tool tells me who I need to call.  It also gives me a history of past call dates and times.  I keep a record of conversations, so when I get someone on the phone, I can remember what was said and other personal or company information.  This helps establish a relationship and turns a cold-call into a sales call.

You also need a headphone connected to your phone.  Something happens when you hang a phone up.  You get the feeling you need to have a conversation with a co-worker, or buy a drink or get coffee or a snack.  In other words, you want to waste time and get away from that evil telephone.  Don’t do it.  Instead, have the headphone so all you do is enter the phone number and push some buttons to call and hang up.  You want to be a phone calling machine, one call after another.

You also need to have a script of what will be said if you contact someone, and what message to leave if you get voice mail.

Now that voice mail thing.  Many believe leaving a voice mail is a waste of time and serves no purpose.  In my mind, a brief message left on voice mail is like free advertising.  Also, once you do get that person on the phone, you are no longer a stranger.  You are the guy that left the message.  Your voice mail should be brief.  You should have some hook, like,” We are giving away free puppies….”  Not really, but you get my drift.  You mention your name, the company name, and then slow down.  Give your phone number slowly once, then again.  Finally repeat yours and the company’s name.

If you are lucky enough to get someone on the phone, you have 15 seconds or less to get their attention.  Make sure you say something like, “Would you like to increase your sales by 25%?”  “Do you want your execution in the store to reach 95%?”  Listen to their answer, and then have some prepared responses.  Have a goal in mind that you want the call to achieve.  Do you want to schedule a phone or face-to-face meeting for yourself or a sales person?  Do you want them to check out your web site?

If they are not interested now, get them to commit to a time when you can contact them again.  Get their e-mail address so you can send information, reminders, and news.  Send a thank you note after the call.  If they are not the right contact, find out who you do need to call.  Get a phone number and e-mail address.

As a business development director, I have used these techniques to penetrate companies like Hasbro, Exxon/Mobil, Du Pont, Malt-O-Meal (Now MOM), Boots Cosmetics and others.  The system works to get meetings and to find information, like who is the decision maker.

Cold-calling is not dead.  It should be one of your methods of finding new business.  It is hard and it takes a tough skin, but the reward is worth the effort.

.  Every person I fired desired to be let go, but the process hurt me as much as it pained them.

So first, realize that terminating a employee represents failure.  How?

• You made a mistake somewhere in the hiring process.  I would say this is true in most cases.  Take a look at the job description.  Is it specific enough?  Does it cover all the duties and needed skills for the job?  Do you need to improve your interview skills?  Did you ask behavioral type questions to get examples of how they performed against the job description in earlier positions?  In other words, learn from the mistake and improve your hiring process.
• Did you fail as a supervisor?  Too often, this is really the reason why you must terminate an employee.  Did you provide the necessary training?  Were your instructions vague and unspecific?  When the employee’s performance started failing, did you provide coaching to get them back on track?  Research has shown that when an employee begins to have attitude or performance issues, in 80% of the cases, poor supervision is the cause.
• Did you use progressive discipline?  I know, in many states, you can fire someone without a discipline process.  That does not mean one should not be used.  I suggest establishing progressive discipline as a company policy.  Using this technique will turn some employees around, and when you must terminate the others, you will personally feel you did all you could.  So what are the steps in progressive discipline?
  • First, you give the employee a verbal warning.  You tell them what should have been done, what they did, and how you expect them to correct their performance.  Place a written note in their file that the employee has received a verbal warning.
  • Second, give the employee a written warning.  Give this warning in person.  Go through each section and make sure the employee understands the document.  Listen to their explanations and document them.  Put a copy of the written warning in their file along with notes that you took during your discussion.  A written warning needs the following parts:
    • Explain specifically what the employee should be doing.  Take this part directly from the job description.
    • Outline specifically how the employee is failing to meet these responsibilities.  Give examples from their on-the-job performance.  “You did not meet the display penetration goal.”  “You misrepresented the number and types of displays in your reports.” “You have products that are out-of-date on the shelf and in the back room.”
    • Tell the employee specifically how you want them to rectify the performance issues and by when.  The traditional time frame is thirty to sixty days.
    • Explain what the consequences will be if they do not bring their performance up to standards.
    • Finish the document by stating that you are willing to provide instruction, coaching or training if necessary to help the employee get back on track.
• Third, terminate the employee.  The termination document should be a lot like the written warning.  Make sure there is a witness with you during the termination process if at all possible.  Have a procedure for gathering all equipment, documents and or job materials.  I would hold the last check until all equipment, documents, and other job tools are returned.  Have the employee fill out a final expense report if expense reports were part of their job.
• Of course, if the employee has violated company policy in some way that can lead to immediate termination, let them go.  I suggest suspension first either unpaid or paid.  When you suspend someone, you go through the termination process, but there is a chance the employee could return after an investigation.  This type of termination would cover drug use on the job, violation of alcohol policies, driving a company truck while under the influence, fighting with or threatening another employee or supervisor, and of course theft of company property or cash.

Finally, do not fire someone over the phone or by e-mail or even mail.  It is a cowardly way to terminate an employee.  You hired this individual in most cases.  Even if you have to travel to where the employee is, do it as a professional.

Hopefully, facing the unpleasant and daunting task of employee termination will make you a better recruiter, interviewer, and supervisor.  Yes, some people do need to be let go, based on their actions.  Just make sure that you did everything you could to save that person’s job.

I was asked the other day what qualities I wanted in sales representatives/business development personnel working for me.  I have recruited, trained and coached award winning sales representatives so I do have some experience in this area.

Let me start by talking about qualities that many managers look for, but which actually have no predictive value as to the eventual success of a sales person.  Many managers want enthusiasm.  I like enthusiasm, but I believe it is a bad predictor of success.  Enthusiasm dies quickly in face of the day-to-day struggles inherent in sales.  Many of the sales representatives full of enthusiasm during the interview and training process become some of the biggest complainers and drags on the morale of the sales team.  Other managers want to see confidence, and confidence is important.  One must believe in yourself if you are to succeed in sales.  There are many disappointments, can’t miss deals that go wrong and sales managers bent on destroying your self-confidence that one must be able to overcome.  But confidence is overrated.  I also believe it leads to a “closer” mentality where the end justifies the means.  I have seen many of this type of sales person close a handful of deals, then leave for the next “better” job, with the company and sales team holding a bag of bad deals made through misrepresentations, and unethical means.

When I look for a sales representative, I need someone who has the basics; ability to speak either prepared or on their feet, a healthy dose of self-confidence, ability to listen and empathize, a focus on value and the customer’s needs, and the ability to prepare sales materials, presentations and proposals.  In addition to these qualities, I want to see the following:

• A strong sense of responsibility and ownership:  I like representatives that want to own their territory, channel or industry.  They have a strong sense of responsibility for what happens on their watch.  If there are issues, they want to know about them and be responsibly for the fix.   They want to meet company standards and are disappointed in themselves if they fail in this endeavor.
• They must be coach-able.  I don’t care how good you are, all of us can improve based on observations from others.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, the sales manager must coach, and I believe this is the core of their job.  If professionals in sports, many of which have talent that surpasses any other player in their position ever, can be improved through coaching, then sales representatives can improve through coaching.
• There must be a strong sense of wanting to be the best at what they do.  The best representatives are always wanting to learn from publications, from their peers  and competition.
• In today’s world, a good representative must also be able to use technical tools like the internet to research their prospects, clients, competitors, and industry practices.  Perhaps there are still sales jobs that do not require a technical aptitude, but they are few and getting rare.

I would weigh these qualities heavier than experience in the position or industry.  I feel I can teach you about the industry or your position, and if you have these qualities, you will excel.

I guess that is why I get frustrated when recruiters focus on “experience.”  ”We took a pass on that candidate because they did not have beverage experience.”  What a fallacy!  Experience can include bad habits or qualities you really do not want.

Don’t misunderstand.  Experience does count, but I believe it is overrated.

So, how do you make sure your job candidate has these qualities.  I like behavioral questions that require the candidate to relate how they used these characteristics in a job situation.  There are also assessment tests, but make sure you understand the research and assumptions that were used to develop the test.  I have seen where two test taken by the same candidate had conflicting results.  Just make sure your test has been vetted and others have had good success with its results.

Look for candidates who have the above characteristics, and you will avoid many issues.  They will actually make your job easier and allow you to focus on your core duties.

I saw an interesting article today on when should you release a sales representative who is not performing.  I decided to add my thoughts on the discussion.

I believe too often, the sales manager “fires” a sales representative for poor performance, when the source of the poor performance is actually the process or environment.  Sales representatives need certain knowledge, support and tools to succeed.  Unfortunately, the orientation process at many companies leaves much to be desired.  Sales representatives fill out their employment paperwork, are shown to an office or cubicle, and told to get started.  They may even need to ask someone where the office supplies are, how to mail something, and how to make a phone call.  I have even heard complaints from new employees who had to work for several weeks without a computer, which in today’s world I think is unforgiveable.

So how should a sales manager “on-board” a new sales person?

• Once a start date is set, send their employment paperwork to them early, so it can be filled out and ready for human resources when they arrive for their first day.
• Have a document prepared that explains pay dates, vacation, daily procedures, and all the routine employment “stuff.”   Either go through the document with the sales representative yourself, or have someone from human resources do the job.  Once a sales representative has this information, they can focus on the requirements of their position.
• Make sure to introduce the sales representative to their office mates.  Focus on contacts that support them with supplies, credit approvals, proposal generation, etc.  Give them a company roster and allow them to make notes.
• Have everything prepared at their work station.  Make sure that their computer is ready for business.  Show them how to log on to your system, get their e-mail and make appointments on your calendar system if necessary.  Have their e-mail account setup and ready for them the first day.  Make sure they understand who to call for support if they have IT issues.
• Discuss their responsibilities in detail.  Give them their list of accounts if they are account managers.  If they are business development sales representatives, outline who their targets are, what geographies they need to work, and industries.
• Go over their compensation plan and let them know how commissions or bonuses are earned.  Show them how to open and view sales reports.  If the sales reports are dynamic, explain how to create custom reports or drill down for details.
• My suggestion for a first assignment is to have the sales representative prepare their “business plan.”  Give clear instructions on what you want in this document.  I would have a template prepared that shows the information you want and how it is to be presented.  Show them how to find the information needed to prepare this plan.
• Give them the rest of the day to get settled.

On the second day, start with a discussion about the “business plan.”  Give them some pointers and additional direction if needed.  This document will become the contract between you and your sales representative, so I would make sure they give it some thought and support their conclusions with facts.  The business plan needs to contain milestones so both you and the sales representative can determine if they are on track.  I would let them work on this document for a couple of days and leave your door open so they can ask questions and get additional direction.

By day four, your sales representative should be ready to present their business plan to you.  I would have them do it orally, just like they would have to give a presentation to a client.  This allows you to become familiar with their presentation style and provides a coaching opportunity regarding what the company wants in a presentation, what is required, and what is optional or left to personal style.  Like I stated before, this “business plan” will be the basis for evaluation, and ensures that the sales representative knows exactly what you expect from them their first year.

As the weeks progress, time needs to be given  to discussing progress against the plan, changes that need to be made, training or coaching needed and other discussions.  Prepare a sales training and coaching plan for each sales representative based on their skill and experience level.  During sales meetings, make sure there is time to practice sales skills, discuss company strategies and objectives.  Most important, you must schedule some time with each sales representative so they can practice in front of you, discuss their plans, allow you to observe how they interact with prospects and or clients, and provides time for coaching.

And finally, let the sales representative do their job.  Do not step in and do the job for them.  Do not take over the sales call, so the sale can be “saved.”  If necessary, provide needed facts or product knowledge, but leave the selling to your sales representative.

I believe you can avoid many performance issues and disgruntled employees with a good start as outlined.  Plus, your sales representatives will appreciate your efforts and will give you their best. Finally, the company gets results and reduced turnover.  It is a win for everyone.

I had an interesting discussion this morning about business development.  My friend and I agreed that business development is the most difficult sales discipline.  In many cases, you must convince your own company to change so you can sell change to a prospect.

Business development sales people are change agents.  You may hear that change agents are respected, glorified, and rewarded.  In most cases, this is not true.  Human beings hate change  Why do you think “tradition” has such a hold on our cultures?  We crave stability, and the reassurance that things today will be much as they were yesterday.  When “change agents” disrupt this stability, they do not win popularity contests.

When you look at business development from the view of the prospect, there is much to fear.  If you have a process in place, and it works, why disrupt it?  There is high risk in making a change including failure, embarrassment, unnecessary cost, and the loss of  your job over the consequences.  This is especially true if you must depend on your vendor to assist you with a decision.  The business development sales person has to overcome this fear of change and minimize the risk as perceived by the prospect.

From the view of the business development sales person’s company, a new client also brings changes.  These changes include cost that may be hard to quantify because the opportunity is new business, without a track record.  The new client may require changes in how operations does business.  It may involve new techniques or services.  All of these changes may be resisted by the company as too costly, too hard, or just plain impossible to implement.

So, to be successful, the business development sales person must manage the “fear” of change at both the prospect and at their own company.  This takes a specific skill set, that unfortunately doesn’t show up in many business development job descriptions.  Instead, companies begin searching for a “closer” although many have a tough time defining exactly what a “closer” is.

A recent book I read described the “closer” as James or Jamie Bond.  You know if you send Bond out into the field they will come back with the business.  Unfortunately, they leave many bodies in their wake, along with customer expectations that cannot be met.  The result is a relationship nightmare, additional cost to “fix” things, and a short-term gain that leads to unhappy clients, and a ruined reputation.

So, what are we do to about business development?  Well, I have a few suggestions:

1. Companies must recognize the difficulties inherent in business development, and be prepared to recruit and compensate the best they can find.  You can define business development sales persons as “hunters,” which they are, but they must have the ability to conduct research, effectively communicate the value of your offering, be confident and sure of themselves and their abilities, be project managers in many cases, be up on the latest and greatest in your industry, and have the ability to work with the many cross-functional teams needed to develop a proposal and implement a solution for a new client.  I’m sure I have missed some important skill here, but you get the picture.
2. Executives must have patience with their business development departments.  If you want the business to be profitable and long-term, you have to wait for the opportunity to develop.  To overcome the resistance to change, business development sales persons may need to work with several teams at both your company and at the prospect’s to develop a compelling case to move forward.  The very best deals are the result of a consensus developed between your business development team and the prospect.  Sure, you can send in James or Jamie Bond and have some short-term success, but it may come with a huge bill for cleanup and long-term customer dissatisfaction.
3. Provide your business development team with the resources needed to get the job done.  This could include travel, equipment, marketing and even entertainment expenses.  Your business development sales person is building relationships, and that means one-on-one time.  The relationships needed to overcome change resistance are not developed over the phone, or with e-mails, or as the result of a winning presentation or proposal.  They are developed because your business development sales person becomes a trusted Advisor.  Someone whose opinion the prospects respects.
4. Work with your business development team on a sales discipline that adds structure to the process and assist with time management and forecasting.  An excellent discipline or “rules of engagement” identifies qualified prospects, eliminates  ”tire kickers” and keeps everyone focused.  It also encourages communication between the business development team and upper management eliminating expectations that are too high.
5. Finally, turn your company into a business development machine.  Make sure that “operations” cannot kill a deal because they do not want to change to meet the prospect’s needs.  Ensure that everyone in the company understands the importance of new business and their responsibility in the process.  Instead of erecting barriers, everyone in the company must look for ways to help the business development team succeed in closing new business.

Business development is difficult at both small and large companies.  There is no “magic” bullet.  The resistance we all have to change is too strong.  It takes discipline and time to overcome.

It still amazes me that sales training and sales technique practice are despised by so many sales professionals if you can call them by that title.  Professional football players practice.  Professional musicians practice.  Olympic athletes practice.  You may ask individual members of these professions if they like practice, and many will tell you no, but they still practice, and know they must.

My daughter has a friend that is a gymnast.  She loves to practice and knows it is a requirement, if she is to compete with the best in our state.  She is at the gym in the morning before school.  She is at the gym after school.  She is at the gym, well you get the picture.  Recently, she came in sixth in her age group in our state.  Could she have gotten there without practice?  No!!!

So, how should sales professionals practice?

• Role Play: Yes that dreaded word.  Try to make sure that your role plays are “real.”  Create your own based on experiences.  Practice the role play until your response is automatic and professional
• Presentations: Recently I read a book that downplayed the importance of presentations.  You must remember, even the best presentation has a retention rate of only 40%.  This is a great argument for making sure that your presentations are near perfect.  That means practice.  Do you think the President of the United States gives the State of the Union address without practice.  Think again.
• Listen to sales trainers in your car, or on the train or during a flight.  Listen to their techniques.  Focus on sales trainers that are beyond “closing techniques” and other manipulative practices.  Instead, listen to those who are familiar with today’s technology and customers and focus more on consulting and advising
• Make sure that you research your prospects before your engagement with them and use the information in your practice sessions.  Work on how to address specific issues you may have discovered during your research.

What practice gives you is confidence in yourself and your salesmanship.    Be on the lookout for opportunities to practice.  Your practice does not have to be a “formal” affair.  If you are waiting at the airport, find a place to practice.  If you are waiting at your prospect’s location for your meeting, go over your thoughts with either yourself or with the other members of your team.  In your car, listen to the latest thoughts on salesmanship.  When you close your next big deal, you’ll be thankful that you did practice.

I have attended some terrible sales meetings.  They were disorganized, ran way past schedule, and provided me with little information.  What was worse, I had to stay awake during these meetings or face the wrath of my supervisor.

A recent survey of sales people by JustSell.com asked, “What’s the worst thing about meetings?”  The most common responses were:

• No clear purpose or objective
• Not organized.  No agenda
• Too long
• Boring.  Nothing new or interesting
• Not inspiring or motivating
• Doesn’t start on time, stay on track or finish on time
• Lack of interaction
• Allowing attendees to ramble and repeat the same comments and thoughts
• Weak presenter
• Repeating information for late arrivals
• No specific action items or walk-away points.

Sales meetings are important, and can be very effective.  If you have a meeting scheduled, then you must do your homework and prepare.  If you do not have the time to prepare, cancel the meeting.  Both you and your sales representatives have better things to do than attend a bad meeting.

So, how do you prepare?  Here are some suggestions:

• Make sure you have a clear purpose and objective for the meeting.  Have a clear understanding of the information or training you are presenting.
• Prepare an agenda for the meeting, and send it to the participants in advanced, so they can prepare.
• Start the meeting on time.  Make sure that everyone understands they must be at the meeting on schedule.  (I have seen some managers fine late comers)
• Have a Sargent at Arms to help keep order, and if you have a break, make sure that everyone comes back into the meeting at the end of the break.
• If you meet for more than two hours, make sure you have a break.
• Attempt to change the activity every half hour.  If you have a presentation, keep it to 30 minutes.  If you have an activity, keep it to 30 minutes.  Change up the agenda.  I suggest an opening presentation, then some type of exercise or activity, then another presentation.  Adults need a change every thirty minutes, or they begin to lose focus.
• If you are running the meeting, politely cut-off ramblers, and repeaters.  Keep the meeting on schedule and focused
• Do let everyone participate
• End the meeting on time as scheduled

If you follow these suggestions, your meetings will be productive, instructive and worth while.

A recent study done by Heike Bruch and Sumantra Ghoshal investigated what they called, “decisive purposeful action,” by managers. What they found is that only about 10% of managers take purposeful action. The remainder fell into one of the following classifications:

• 40 % worked hard, but were unfocused
• 30% had low energy, little focus and procrastinated
• 10% were focused, but did little

Does this sound like your company?

So where would you start to turn things around?  The managers with the most potential are those that are working hard, but have no focus.  Why no focus?  Perhaps they were never told what they were to do as managers.

I know when I was first promoted to the account manager position at Keebler, I had no idea how to proceed.  My new boss had no time for me, so he assigned another account manager to “train” me.  She took me on some store visits, gave me some pointers and she was finished.  It took about a year to really get a handle on how to do my job  During that learning period, I was very busy, but not very productive.

I believe this is a huge issue with sales managers.  Most companies promote their best sales representative to the sales manager position.  They provide no direction, no training, just the objective of making sales quotas.  The new sales manager falls into the path of least resistance which includes micro-management and doing the sales calls for their employees.  Of course, this leads to poor attitudes on the sales force and overwork and burn-out for the sales manager.

The first message a new sales manager must hear is, “everything is now different.  You are no longer selling.  You are managing the sales force so that they make their numbers.”  The only effective way to perform these duties is to become a sales force coach.

Think of athletics.  Does the coach play in the game?  No, they are on the sideline, coaching.  They watch their players and look for areas of improvement.  The coach sets the strategy and calls the plays, but the players implement using their God given talents.

In sales management, you need to become the coach for your team.  How important is this?  The Sales Executive Council states that proper coaching improves the productivity of sales people by 35%.  Sales training content retention improves 400% if sales persons are coached within 30 days of the training event.  A sales person who receives coaching more than three days a month achieve on average 107% of their quota.

So, what does one do when they coach?

1. You redirect the sales person to focus on their goals, procedures and sales methodology.  Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to company goals, mission, and culture.
2. You must make sure that your sales representatives are prepared.  Do they know your company?  Do they know the products?  Do they know their “elevator pitch?”  How well do they know their prospects?  Have they done the necessary research to understand the potential client’s goals, objectives and areas of possible pain?
3. Make sure that your sales representatives have set objectives for each day.   Do they know who they will call, research or meet with?
4.  Observe your sales representatives during their calls, meetings, discussions with clients.  Are they using the right techniques?  Are they talking too much?  Have they asked the right questions?
5. Are your sales representatives following-up on meetings, contacts or touches?
6. Make sure your sales representatives keep their name, the company’s name and its products in front of your prospects.
7. Make your sales representatives practice questions, presentations, product knowledge, and other sales skills.

And of course other things as needed.

As you can see, there are many things a sales manager or coach must make sure their team is doing.  They have little time to sell themselves, and it they do sell, it should only be a minor part of their job.  If you do all the work for your sales representatives, how will they grow, improve, or add their own innovation to the process.

When sales managers coach, the entire sales organization benefits.  At Dynamic Sales Strategies, we teach your sales managers how to coach their team.  Give us a call.  You might be surprised at the results and how the overall culture of your team changes for the better.