Sales Blog with Sales Tips

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

There are only a few things that really matter to sales management. Let me present them in order of importance:

1. How much you’re selling (specifically, your last month/quarter).

2. The quantity and quality of what’s in your pipeline.

3. Your sales forecast.

Why Does The Sales Forecast Come In Last?
Conventional sales forecasting comes in last because we all know it’s a fairly worthless exercise. We also know it’s a bad habit the sales profession can’t seem to replace with something that works.

The TAS Group recently completed a survey of 200 companies that showed the average sales professional spends 2.5 hours per week on sales forecasting.

For the majority of companies in that study, their sales forecasts had an error rate of 25%+. Does it make sense for sales professionals to spend almost 11 hours per month on sales forecasting when the accuracy is less than 75%?

Why This Matters
Poor sales forecasting practices can negatively influence organizations in many ways:

• It wastes the sales professional’s time.
• There is no real feedback loop for sales professionals and their managers to prioritize and channel their efforts.
• Accurate allocation and planning of resources (e.g. sales support, operations, marketing) is compromised.
• Every sales professional’s forecast is moved upstream in the sales management food chain. His or her forecast is touched (i.e. manipulated) many times. The time wasted each month extends well beyond the time investment from just the sales force.

Is CRM (Customer Relationship Management) The Answer?
Large companies that use CRM systems list the ability to accurately forecast sales as number two on their wish list for their CRM software.  Isn’t this supposed to be a key functionality built into CRM systems?  I’m confused.

The TSA Group states that the majority of CRM companies don’t use their own software for sales forecasting. Sobering thought.

CRM, in its current form, is not getting the job done. It’s simply not seen as a provider of accurate sales forecasting.

How Things Might Be Improved
Organizations need to simplify their sales forecasting process. Most sales forecasting systems (CRM and non-CRM) put too much emphasis on the “who, when and why” instead of the “what and how.”

Sales management is frequently guilty of forgetting that the primary benefactor of a good sales forecasting process is the sales professional.

CRM providers need to start over. The complexity of these systems is beyond ridiculous. No sales professional (or anyone in sales management for that matter) is going to seriously deal with all the data entry, drop downs and radio buttons involved in these systems masquerading as forecasting tools.

I feel that dozens of people designed each of these systems and all of them got their way.

Most salespeople bang in the minimum amount of information the CRM system requires and quickly move on to something important – like selling. The information coming out of the CRM system is unreliable as a result.

Sales Tips Conclusion
Sales forecasting is important in sales. I’m surprised that most sales organizations still operate without the accurate metrics they need.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Let’s face it; most of us hear what we want to hear and see what we want to see. In sales, this can be a killer.

There are some not-so-nice aspects of sales that we have to manage – or they will manage us.

Below are six of the more important ones. Give yourself a self-examination. Are you aware of and managing these realities? They are presented in no particular order.

Reality #1
Your competitors are calling on your accounts. The intensity of their activity has a 100% positive correlation to how valuable the account is to you and your company.

Don’t lull yourself into thinking your great relationships within your top accounts represent some kind of absolute shield from competitive inroads.

Reality #2
For a million different reasons, sales professionals have shorter tenures at their employers than other professionals. Don’t see your current sales job as a “permanent” position. This will cause you to get sloppy with your customers and your career.

Make “sales” your job. Be a student of the sales profession.

Reality #3
Organization, reporting, dress, office politics, etc. are factors in your success as a sales professional. However, compared to how you’re performing against your sales budget, these things are meaningless to sales management.

Reality #3a
I’m calling this “Reality #3a” because it is a corollary of #3.

Sales leaders have their own sales budget they’re aiming for. It’s always higher than the one they’ve been assigned.

Reality #4
When it comes to specific customers and prospects, your sales manager may not be providing the best sales tips.

Since sales managers don’t know your customers like you do, they will sometimes unknowingly ask you to do things that move you backwards in an account.

It’s your responsibility to be pilot-in-command of your customers. Don’t mindlessly do things that don’t make sense.

Reality #5
Stop prospecting and you’ll eventually wither away and die – or be killed by your employer. Customer attrition is a certainty for every sales professional.

Reality #6
The best predictor of future sales is how full your pipeline is. Sales forecasting has been shown over multiple studies – and in my own experience – to be nothing better than a well-dressed guesstimate.

The quantity of quality prospects you have in your funnel is your best indicator of future sales.

Sales Tips Blog Conclusion
Everyone is born with fully developed skills in the area of selective observation.

It’s foolish to be blindsided by something you know exists.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer