Managing Sales People

Getting sales people to work means keeping people happy, but not comfortable.

by Brock Henderson Principal, Henderson & Associates [January 12, 2007]

Sales people are a unique lot by just about anyone's standard; they think differently than most. Although your sales people may seem inscrutable, remember this: most are motivated by money. When interviewing a salesperson ask them "How much money do you want to make?", and listen for their answer. If they say as much as possible, that's an excellent response and you should put them on the short list of candidates. If they answer with a specific dollar amount, such as $50,000, then thank them for their time and send them on their way.

By indicating a dollar amount, they have told you where their comfort level is, and once they reach that comfort level, their work ethic will deteriorate. It may not be a conscious act on their part, but their hunger and their drive to accomplish will have been met and they will relax. Once they know they have reached that verbalized goal they relax, and a relaxed sales person becomes sloppy and ineffective.

You don't want your sales team to ever feel completely relaxed in their job; there must always be a sense of competition. That's why sales managers post the individual monthly sales figures of their sales team, to foster competition between the individuals. Every day they will update the tally board so everyone in the office can see who is selling the most . . . and the least.

Shame is a sales management tool. I don't believe in public shaming or humiliation, but seeing your sales figures in the toilet every month is a motivator.

Rewards
Management is as much about carrot as stick. Sales people need a lot of emotional support. They spend their day chasing leads, getting hit with rejection after rejection, and working on proposals. You can provide support in many ways. Provide regular team meetings to lick wounds and recount successes. Meetings give your people time to feel like part of the larger whole, and not just someone being thrown to the wolves. Bring in outsiders to teach sales techniques, and yes they will grumble about spending time in a stupid meeting when they could be out selling, but trust me, the meeting will help. They will take one or more insights and immediately start applying them to their efforts, which is what training is supposed to accomplish.

In addition to money, give your top sales person every month some sort of reward. While it can be as simple as dinner at a nice restaurant, you can also get creative and have a trophy that sits on the winners' desk—and then gets passed on to next month's winner. Or how about one nice company car that is the exclusive use of the sales person of the month? Think of the pressure to keep that car after he/she has shown it off to neighbors and loved ones. They won't want to let it go.

Some companies send the family of the sales person of the year on an expense paid vacation to some exotic resort. That's an excellent reward, to be able to take the wife and kids to the destination of their choice. Note that it is the salesperson's choice, not the company's—they won it, so let them choose.

Some companies (yes this is expensive) take the entire sales team and their families on a vacation every year. As a group, they will fly off to Disney World or wherever, and they all have a wonderful vacation together. The few companies that do this have found it very effective and do it year after year.

Performance matters
Not everyone can be the top sales person and over the course of a year, two or three individuals will consistently be at the top; however, if one or two individuals are consistently at the bottom, some review must take place.

If the person is new to sales, then it is understandable that it will take some time for them to feel comfortable and grow into the position. If your sales people operate in different territories, then look at the territory as that may be the problem—it could be over-cultivated and used up, it could be the wrong market, or it could the individual.

Maybe the person needs training, and by training I don't mean hand them a book on sales and tell them to read it. Hire a professional firm to work with the individual and really help them to understand how to maximize the sales process. This will cost some money and several days of training, but it is time, money, and effort well spent.

But if all this doesn't help, then it is time to cut the individual loose. If their numbers are always on the bottom of the pile, then they know it is coming, they just don't know when. The good individuals will leave before you show them the door because they don't want the humiliation of being fired. The lazy individuals will wait for you to fire them because they are too lazy to look for work as long as you are willing to pay them.

You get what you pay for
One final note: the quality of your applicants is in direct proportion to the quality of your compensation package. Top sales people want to work where their income is unlimited, and your support unending.

—End