How to avoid losing more than 70% of your market share in just a couple of years!

Evaluating a salesforce delivers a lot of data and other information, which in turn gives an organization the ability to adjust, reform and increase performance significantly. It also helps you build a substantial competitive edge above the competition.

Looking from a rational point of view, the report and its content gives any management team and its CEO a huge opportunity to adapt in this fast changing world and keep the sales force in battle mode.

Alas, not everybody sees it like that.

Some years ago we evaluated a salesforce which was not performing well. The results were alarming: sales leadership was poor, there was no sense of urgency in a very turbulent market with great changes ahead and the salesforce was completely complacent. Furthermore, the Sales VP was seen by the market as very arrogant, with an attitude of “they need me more than I need them”. After processing our findings, the results were presented to management. The management team recognised the findings except for the Sales VP.

The Sales VP disagreed completely and decided to ignore all the conclusions of the evaluation. The CEO who had just been moved into his position with a more international background decided avoid challenging the Sales VP.

We recently understood via business publications that the company lost more than 70% of its market. The reasons given were the same as those we identified some years ago: poor sales leadership, accepting low performance over years, no sense of urgency, not adapting to changing markets, complacency and much more.

So, how can you avoid this?

• First, read Jim Collin’s book “Good to great”. Why? Sales management is also about sales leadership. When ego’s egos stand in our way and hinder us from making necessary changes, we end up with broken pieces. Jim Collins discloses to us that “most effective leaders are humble and strong-willed rather than outgoing”.
• Hold people accountable for their performance. They also hold you accountable for paying their salary every month and delivering other benefits. It should be quite normal to expect the performance that goes with it.
• Don’t hesitate to challenge people on behaviour and attitude. By doing so, you help people to grow. They will be grateful for you in the future.
• Dare to build a winning team. Being good is not enough. Just be great!
• Eliminate complacency. Sales teams need to be on the ball. It’s about winning the sales and giving the customer all the value you promise.
• Repeat business is essential. Knowing your customers and delivering what they need is key.
• Open up for change. The world is changing at a high pace. This goes for innovation, competition and customer demands. Be ready and adapt.
• And as a Sales Leader: dare to lead!

Want to talk about it? Contact me.

The death of the fire-and-forget sales missile

In recruiting we often bump into the following situation: a sales candidate was found through recommendation by business acquaintances and hired with high expectations. He’ll be the man! In the first week of work the new sales person is hailed with great enthusiasm. A car, smartphone, laptop and or tablet are provided and off he or she goes into the highly competitive and turbulent market. All the luck is wished to this enthusiastic person with a wonderful job.

Then during the course of the next 6 to 12 months something odd happens: sales don’t develop like they are supposed to do. The pipeline is half empty or less and questions about delivered proposals are answered with “we are close to closing”. The sales cycle starts to stretch and success is further away than ever. Then this sales person who started off with so many expectations ends up leaving the company silently through the backdoor. The organization has lost € 100.000,00 to € 300.000,00 or more in costs of the sales person and unrealised sales, as well as all the time, energy and effort spent in recruiting this person.

The reason of this mishap is often found in the way sales people are prepared for the job: none what so ever! Management initially understood that the new candidate was a champion in sales and the person is now treated like a “fire-and-forget sales missile”. No guidance or coaching is provided because the sales person is experienced enough. They will find their targets without help. Just like the above mentioned missile. This is a recipe for disaster.

In practice this means that management relies on the fact that successes of the past are a guarantee for the future. This is the biggest mistake that a manager can make. A costly mistake!

So how do you avoid this?

• Right on the first or second day of work, have a meeting with the new sales person and discuss the following:
• What you expect from the sales person regarding performance, behaviour and attitude
• What you appreciate of sales people in general and this person in particular (like taking initiative, finding creative solutions, etc)
• What you do not appreciate (e.g. negative behaviour, coming with problems instead of solutions)
• Share your goals. The sales person is part of your team and is also part of your success
• Discuss and set goals for the first 6 months which should be monitored monthly. Goals should be set from the first weeks
• Ask for a plan with a timeline and review this together

By executing this approach you achieve a rapid ramp-up with quick and sustainable results. Why? Your new sales person knows what is expected from them, they have a plan which is known to you and which gives you insight in their approach to the market. This in turn makes it easier for you to assist and coach. By operating this way you avoid costly mistakes and increase the success rate for your newly appointed sales person dramatically

Contact me if you want to know more.