For business owners managing sales people can be a problem. Selling can seem a black art, with its own concept’s, language and rules. How can anybody who doesn’t understand the black art manage staff who do? Meanwhile entrepreneurs need sales people to grow their business, and therefore they need to manage them. In this article we suggest a strategy they can use to work “with” their sales reps for everybody’s benefit.
Starting out, the new business owner has a significant advantage (alongside some big disadvantages I’ll agree). S/he’s an expert in the main product or service. Conversations with prospects and customers are simple:
- “yes, that’ll work, because :-”
- “no that won’t work. because :-”
- “have you thought about :-”
This is less of a pitch and close process, more of a professional consultation. When business owners do the selling their expertise and authority more than compensates for any lack of sales skills.
Problems really start when the business grows and its time to bring in other people to do the selling, while the owner focuses on making customers happy, generating profits and cash. Keeping up with salespeople is difficult most of the time, and especially when they have experience and knowledge we don’t. They don’t have our product expertise so the selling is more difficult, but they do have the sales skills which should make up for it. How does the owner manager measure and manage this vital part of his business when s/he doesn’t understand the concepts or the language.
This is exactly the situation John described over the weekend when he asked for some advice :-
“within the last year I have employed a sales manager, not having any sales management skills or experience with selling, I find it very difficult to keep tabs on the sale person, I do not keep records of his calls and his follow up’s, could you please advise what sort of strategy I need to employ.”
Here’s how we responded. John found the thoughts helpful, and hopefully you will too.
- 1. There’s a danger of the relationship between you and your sales guy becoming based upon confrontation rather than cooperation. You should try to avoid that all all costs. Good or Bad your sales person will not enjoy you having visibility into what s/he does and how well. And you certainly won’t enjoy paying out wages without being able to measure what you get in return. Eventually that turns into enmity and resentment which is good for nobody. Try to get your sales rep to work with you, setting objectives and strategy, planning and reviewing progress. With your help the sales guy will be more successful. With the sales guys support your business will flourish. It’s team work. Unfortunately most sales people aren’t trained to think like that and nor are bosses.
- 2. Use Plan>Act>Review to agree direction, methodology and achievement. Use this regularly perhaps weekly to start with, maybe Monday morning or Friday afternoon. In between leave the sales guy to get on with the job, but always be available to help with advice and a sympathetic ear. Maybe the stuff you need to know most about is why people don’t buy from your business. The one best placed to find out that stuff is your sales rep. Listening to why people don’t buy gives you the opportunity to revise your value proposition where needed. It will also tell you when the sales rep is at fault and give you a chance to change what he says and does.
- 3. Together define who is going to buy from you, how and why. Then you’ll be well placed to agree your sales process, and refine it over time. Do this well and you and your sales guy will make each other rich. Do it badly and the reverse will be true.
Please let me know if you’d like more explanation, or give me more information about specific challenges you’d like help with.
In the meantime I’ve dipped into my blog for articles which introduce some useful concepts, and might even cause a smile or two. It won’t take many minutes to check out these posts.
What is Your Sales Strategy and How Well Does it Work?
Why Sales Forecasts Are Never Right
Knowing the Good Sales Guys From the Bad
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