Sales Blog with Sales Tips

I read a number of other sales tips blogs – and their authors read this one as well. I never editorialize about any of their posts, but today is different.

I read a sales tips post recently from a fairly well known sales blog that made me realize many in the sales profession continue to be frozen in time. Even sales writers and trainers.

Change is difficult for everyone, but sales professionals, sales management, sales trainers and sales writers need to promote the realities of selling in 2010.

Why I’m On My Soapbox
The author of that sales tips post included a list of recommended reading for sales professionals. The suggested materials are written by well-respected authors. The problem is that these resources were written in the 70’s and 80’s.

Extremely relevant 20 to 30 years ago. But not today.

Caveat Emptor
Think carefully before consuming and digesting any sales training materials produced before 2008. Many game changers in the sales profession were below the radar prior to that date:

1. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. These social media tools are fundamentally changing how we find and communicate with prospects and customers. Pure “smile and dial” calling from massive lead lists is dead.

2. Ecommerce. Your employer’s ecommerce website has affected how you sell. Your prospects and customers demand the ability to find information about your products and buy them over the web if they wish. As a result, the dance between direct sales and ecommerce has to be resolved in every company. Who controls the customer? How do we pay salespeople on ecommerce sales?

3. CRM (Customer Relationship Management). I’m not a big proponent of these tools primarily because of poor design and the implementations are even worse. However, these tools are getting better and companies are becoming more proficient at using them. The concept is too good to go away. It is quickly becoming a part of all medium to large sales organizations.

A Challenge
It’s obvious our profession has changed substantially in the last two to three years. As human beings, we are hard-wired to resist change. We want to fall back on what we know and are comfortable with.

But it always costs us money when we are mentally lazy as sales professionals.

My challenge to you is to discard the training manuals, books, CD’s and cassettes (I know you have some) that predate 2008. Get out of your comfort zone and immerse yourself (and your sales team) in new materials that represent the selling realities of 2010.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer
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By Scott R. Sheaffer,
“Comatose Management”
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Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
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Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
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This is one sales tips post where I don’t feel comfortable writing, “I’ve observed hundreds of sales managers who…” The reason? I was profoundly guilty of what I’m writing about today when I was a budding sales manager.

My sin? Showing instead of coaching.

Let me explain.

The Sin
There are essentially two ways to train people. They can be continually shown how to do something, or they can fumble through it themselves (with the help of a good coach) until they “get it.”

We all know which one works. Fumbling.

And for clarity, “coaching” occurs when an expert in a sport observes his or her players and provides feedback for improvement. Coaching applies to all professions, not just sports.

Some sales managers, especially new ones, can’t resist perpetually showing new – and even experienced – sales professionals how to sell their company’s widgets and services.

This style of training doesn’t work.

Examples

• The sales manager who “takes over” every sales call when working with a salesperson.
• Anything that falls the slightest bit outside of standard procedures must be reviewed with the sales manager.
• Any deal that is average in size or larger is completely managed by… you know who.

Why Do Some Sales Managers Do This?

• It’s easier.
• In the short term, they’ll probably help the sales representative sell more.
• If they get involved, there won’t be any problems, at least in their mind.
• The sales cycle may be shorter.
• The salesperson will be shown the “right” way.
• Helping new reps in the selling process takes some of the pressure off new recruits.
• Performance pressure from the sales manager’s boss can be a factor.

If we strip out the white noise, the real reason some sales managers don’t coach is because they’re unsure of their ability to manage their sales team.

A sales manager’s unwillingness to allow sales professionals to fumble, pick up the ball and run again kills the growth potential of his or her sales team and of the sales manager as well.

Sales Tips Blog Close
We all know we have to do what we’re trying to learn in order to master it. Repeat it enough times, and we’ll burn it into our subconscious minds. Athletes call it “muscle memory.” The military calls it “boot camp.”

Watching every training video on golf will never enable me to golf like Phil Mickelson. Having Lee Westwood personally give me golf lessons is worthless if all I do is watch him swing the club.

No, I’m going to have to pick up the club and swing in front of the pro. Lee Westwood will only begin to help me when he selects one or two of my major problem areas and begins coaching me.

I struggled as a young sales manager in this area. Fortunately, my VP of Sales recognized this as a management development opportunity for me. Guess who started silently tagging along and observing me in action with my sales team?

He coached me through my blind spot.

Stop showing. Start coaching.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Find a New Sales Job

If sales is nothing else, it is a game of comparison.

“How am I doing against my budget?”
“How do I compare against my peers?”
“How do my company’s procedures and capabilities compare to my competitors?”

In today’s sales tips post, I’m focusing on common practices within inside sales departments. Inside sales departments are critical to the overall revenue of a company and the success of its outside sales force.

I combed through a 2010 Bridge Group report on inside sales and selected what I feel are the most interesting findings. The data was collected from inside sales departments at 115 North American technology companies.

These are presented in no particular order and include my notes and comments.

The Findings
The study found the average inside sales department has the following attributes:

1. Primary function of the department is outbound calling (i.e. new business development). This was identified by 89% of respondents.

2. Level of sales experience for newly recruited salespersons: 3.1 years. This number is trending up each year.

3. Time for a new hire to reach full productivity: 4.5 months.

4. Tenure of an inside sales representative: 2.9 years (34.5% annual turnover rate). Companies know the lifetime value of their customers, but have they stopped to think about the lifetime value of an inside sales representative?

5. Percent of total compensation at risk (i. e. commission, incentive compensation): 44%.

6. Percentage of representatives who achieve their quota: 50%. This number has decreased steadily since 2007.

7. Number of calls per day per representative: 39. Less than five per hour. This suggests there is ample time for inside sales representatives to research prospects at most companies. My long-term sales tips readers will know that I think this is a good thing.

8. Number of emails per inside salesperson per day: 24. This number seems low to me. Could this be an indication that social media is beginning to have a significant impact on how we communicate?

9. Twenty-seven percent of prospecting calls are a result of a lead generated by marketing.

10. Number of contacts required to move a qualified prospect to a customer: 9.3. This number is higher than most other studies I’ve seen. It’s probably indicative of our current challenging economic environment.

11. Close ratio for all new business development activity (i.e. “in the pipeline”): 23%. This number is pleasantly high and reflects a quality-versus-quantity mindset (see number seven above).

12. The average direct sales manager is responsible for eight inside sales professionals.

13. Percent of total company revenue generated by the inside sales group: 42%.

14. Sixty-three percent of the inside sales group’s revenue comes from new business. This is not surprising in light of number one above.

15. Sales cycle in days: 108. This number seems to fluctuate only moderately among all industries and sales channels.

Your Mileage Will Vary
These are averages. How they apply to your company will depend on your industry, target markets, etc.

These numbers remind us that in order to benchmark our company, we must first measure and track the numbers that make a difference.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Find a New Sales Job