How to be A Great Boss

If you’re in charge of a company or team, small or large, you’ll want to do your best to keep everyone keen, engaged and productive. Being a great boss involves walking a fine line between friendship and leadership – but the rewards are immense: high employee loyalty, improved results, fewer wasted resources and the ability to go on vacation without worrying that everything will fall apart without you.


Here are seven ways to build a great relationship with your team and to make sure that your employees stick around.

Listen to Concerns and Grumbles
Make sure that colleagues feel you’re approachable if they have concerns. Pay attention if someone raises a perceived problem – even if your first thought is to disagree. Sometimes, the new guy or a junior employee may spot inefficiencies that you and other old hands are blind to.


Pay attention to the general office atmosphere, too. Do your employees seem dejected, unenthusiastic or stressed? Give them a chance to talk about what’s on their mind. Make changes where you can: sometimes, very small things can make a big difference in how people perceive you and their job.


Be Accessible – Sometimes
As a boss, you want to be accessible to your team. You want people to feel that they can ask your advice or admit to a mistake or a problem. The alternative is living in blissful ignorance until all hell breaks loose around you...


However, you don’t want to be too accessible, or your own work will suffer. Have a clear signal that indicates you’re not available unless it’s an emergency; closing your office door is a common and simple method.


Delegate – Then Stay Hands Off
From the employee’s point of view, there’s nothing worse than being given a task – then having constant interruptions and “suggestions” from the boss on how to accomplish it.

Learn to delegate properly – then forget about the task. Let your employee complete it in their way, without you breathing down their neck. This will considerably lighten the stress for both of you! It also helps to train people to use their initiative and work without micromanagement.


Access to Training


Try to ensure that every employee has access to training. People enjoy learning new things and feeling a sense of progression – plus, highly-trained, confident employees produce great results.


Create a corporate culture where everyone, even the most junior members, knows that they can work their way up. Don’t neglect training in a rush for quick results: it can cause problems down the line if your more experienced members of staff leave.


Update Everyone on Progress


Send out a company-wide email, or hold a short meeting, every once in a while to update everyone on the progress that’s been made recently. You’re the boss, so you have a very good picture of how all the cogs are working together to deliver significant results – but employees often only see the small part of the business that they’re involved in.


Encouraging everyone to feel part of a team effort that’s producing something worthwhile can create more satisfaction than simple monetary incentives, like pay rises.


Bring Food and Arrange Treats!


One of the most well-received things you can do as a boss is to offer “treats”. This doesn’t need to cost much – a few boxes of chocolates or packets of great cookies can be a lovely surprise treat, perhaps on a Friday afternoon.


If your team has just completed a big project or hit a significant milestone, consider arranging some sort of celebratory event – perhaps a lunch out, or an afternoon of activities. This does cost money (and person-hours) ... but it’s another big way to create the sense of being a group of friends, not just colleagues.


Say “Thank You”


This last point is a very simple one ... but it can mean so much. In the rush of day-to-day business, it’s easy to forget to acknowledge people’s hard work. But people are often much more motivated and encouraged by a few words of thanks and praise than by any other reward.


Make sure that you do thank and praise people for a job well done. Just a few words from the boss like “Joe, I heard your presentation went down really well with the clients – great work!” can make someone’s day, and it hardly costs you any time at all.

The top factor in determining workplace satisfaction is the immediate manager. In a study of 60,000 exit interviews, 80% of the employees who quit their jobs did so because of their boss. (fromBlame it on ‘The Boss’, BtoB Magazine)

What's a Manager to Do?

Applying Science to Build Leadership: Which Managerial Activities Have the Most Impact on Improving Employee Performance? 
An overwhelming body of evidence exists to highlight the important and vital role of managers on employee performance and retention. However, the potential list of activities that a manager can undertake to improve employee performance is as long as the oceans are wide. Thus, questions often arise about which managerial activities have the most impact on improving employee performance and what the extent of that improvement is. Numerous experts claim that the most effective leaders use approaches that balance their focus between interpersonal skills and driving for results. These approaches seem consistent with our intuition on good leadership, yet we often have only anecdotal evidence to support such a contention.
A review of several surveys on these important topics reveals unusual similarities in findings and recommendations and suggests that an application of hard science might offer us some insight on how best to exercise and build the soft skill of leadership. Specifically, the evidence supports the establishment of a performance-management based organizational culture, although not from a command and control perspective, but one that involves a coaching environment and conscious attempts at continuous dialogue within work teams to achieve a balance between driving for results and interpersonal skills. Furthermore, managers who undertake specific activities related to this approach have a much better chance of achieving “breakthrough” employee performance improvements, leading to “breakthrough” results for the organization.

Focus on Success: What Works? 
Over the past 2 years, I’ve had access to numerous surveys dealing with both employee performance and leadership effectiveness. The ones that I find particularly interesting study successful leaders and hone in on the characteristics and competencies that differentiate those leaders from the rest and focus on what is working. I find this approach much more positive than the opposite approach that probes weaknesses and what isn’t working. It’s also clear to me that we don’t identify our best leaders by an absence of shortcomings, but rather by the attributes that lead to their success and what does work. Moreover, focusing on success creates positive energy by recognizing and appreciating what is working, which seems to produce greater engagement and momentum for change. Thus, we can evaluate a long list of managerial activities and competencies to determine the much smaller number of those activities that have the most impact on improving both leadership effectiveness and employee performance, ultimately achieving dramatic increases in organizational results.

Performance Management 
Most managers agree on the importance of performance management as a leader and would probably rate themselves fairly proficient in this role. In mid 2002, the Corporate Executive Board’s Learning and Development Roundtable analyzed survey responses from nearly 20,000 employees and managers on a wide range of manager-related activities involving performance management. Overall, managers received a poor report card on their performance on these activities as only 30-40 percent of employees agreed that their managers communicated performance standards and provided fair and accurate feedback to help them do their jobs better.

Immediate Feedback Works  Interestingly, most of the performance improvement activities that managers can utilize have minimal impact on individual employee performance. The results clearly show that managers have a much better chance of vastly improving employee performance by targeting their efforts on a much smaller list of activities. In fact, managers who set clear performance standards, become more knowledgeable about employee performance, and provide fair and accurate informal feedback on performance strengths can significantly improve individual performance. And when discussing weaknesses, managers who clearly focus on specific suggestions for improvement or development can improve employee performance; those who emphasize weaknesses can dramatically decrease performance. In short, managers who provide feedback that is voluntary, detailed, immediate, and positive can positively influence employee performance.
This information shouldn’t surprise most managers as we’ve heard it all before and it seems intuitive. However, survey responses show some disparities in perceptions between employees and managers. The majority of employees believe that formal performance reviews do nothing to actually help their on-the-job performance, yet they crave voluntary and detailed informal performance feedback, especially on strengths. Interestingly, the majority of managers view formal performance reviews as an administrative requirement rather than as an influential lever to positively influence employee performance. In fact, many managers report that they specifically cite performance weaknesses to lower an employee’s rating below the highest mark rather than emphasizing strengths to raise performance ratings above minimally successful. On informal feedback, employees report that most managers provide general praise, rather than specific and detailed recognition.

Manager-Led Employee Development
Few managers would disagree on the importance of their crucial role in employee development and many spend a considerable amount of their valuable time on manager-led development activities. In early 2003, the Corporate Leadership Council’s Learning and Development Roundtable analyzed survey responses from nearly 8,500 employees and their managers on a wide range of employee development activities. The results confirm that a vast majority of managers (3 out of 4) agree that helping their employees develop is crucial to organizational success and spend about 15-20 percent of their time on employee development activities. However, the results also indicate that employees rate their managers barely above average (4.07 out of 7.0) on their effectiveness in this role and most managers do not see a significant return on their time investment.By examining the employee development activities of the highest rated managers, we see that some activities have a much more positive influence on improving employee performance than others. Statistical estimates show that improving a manager’s effectiveness at employee development can positively influence employee performance by as much as 25 percent.

Target Fewer Activities  Similar to the results of the performance management survey, managers have a much better chance of vastly improving employee performance by targeting their efforts on a much smaller list of employee development activities. The top three managerial activities highlight the importance of managers ensuring that day-to-day work experiences provide learning and encourage development and that they clearly explain performance standards. Managers lament that time constraints or competing priorities limit the time they spend on employee development, but the good news is that they can undertake the activities listed above every day as a part of their normal job responsibilities to further “blur the line” between learning and work.

Effectiveness at Employee Development Increases Employee Performance 
Survey responses show some fascinating disparities in perceptions between employees and managers concerning employee development. The vast majority of employees seek to learn and grow in the course of doing day-to-day work and want their managers to create a learning environment in that context. On the other hand, the majority of managers do not believe that their employees want them to emphasize development and report a lack of confidence to perform well in that role. Armed with the results of this survey and organizational support, managers can proceed with much more confidence in performing specifically targeted employee development activities and the business case is compelling. For example, managers who improve their effectiveness at employee development by only 20 percent can increase employee performance by about 5 percent. That may not sound like much, but a company with a sales force of 2,000 employees who each average $1 million in annual sales can increase company-wide annual sales by about $100 million!

Leadership Competencies 
Organizations normally specify a set of leadership competencies that describe success for its managers and typically use 360-degree evaluations to assess managerial behaviors associated with these competencies. I analyzed the results of the 360-degree assessments of nearly 1,000 managers in a large government agency and found that the most successful managers (in the top 10 percent) did not receive high scores on all of the 21 designated leadership competencies. In fact, the best managers had a much smaller set of competency strengths that differentiated them from the rest.

Improving Certain Leadership Competences Can Increase Leadership Effectiveness  Similar to the results of both the performance management and employee development surveys, managers have a much better chance of vastly improving their leadership effectiveness by targeting their development efforts on a much smaller list of leadership competencies. For example, by focusing on improving the behaviors associated with the “Developing Others” and “Communication” competencies, managers can increase overall leadership effectiveness scores by 50-60 percent. The associated behaviors of these two competencies relating to employee development and performance management are: 1) creates an environment and strategy to support continuous on-the-job learning, and 2) strategically uses communication to produce enthusiasm and foster an atmosphere of open exchange and support.

Build Profound Strengths  My analysis also uncovered interesting insights into the most effective methods of improving leadership competencies. Traditional leadership development efforts focus on correcting weaknesses and, at best, achieve only small incremental improvements and do not offer an effective strategy for making “good” leaders “great,” since evaluation respondents identify the best leaders not by a lack of weaknesses, but by the possession of a few profound strengths. However, by identifying and focusing on competencies in which the manager is performing strongly, though not exceptionally, small amounts of improvement tend to dramatically increase a manager’s overall leadership effectiveness.
In addition, focusing on “competency companions” (closely related competencies that support those targeted for development) can improve a manager’s overall effectiveness even more. In fact, building a few of a manager’s existing strengths to even higher levels through developing “competency companions” can achieve behavioral improvements as much as 8 times more effective than traditional methods because, according to respondents, profound strengths in a few areas overshadow perceived weaknesses. Since this study also correlated increases in overall leadership effectiveness to employee engagement results, I discovered that correcting weaknesses only raised employee engagement scores a paltry 2-3 percent, while building a few profound strengths offered the potential of increasing employee engagement by nearly 80 percent.

Employee Engagement 
Many organizations conduct periodic surveys that probe employee, and sometimes customer, attitudes and opinions relating to productivity, profitability, retention, and job/customer satisfaction. In their groundbreaking book, First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization argue that the number one reason why people thrive in an organization is their immediate supervisor and it's also the number one reason they quit. After studying the most successful companies and the factors that reveal loyal and productive employees, Buckingham and Coffman devised a set of twelve questions that most accurately measure the strength of a workplace (employee engagement). I studied the results of a Gallup Q12™ employee engagement survey with over 80,000 respondents in a large government agency and discovered that only 5 of the 12 questions differentiated the best workgroups (top 10 percent) from the rest.
Similar to the results of the previously cited surveys, managers have a much better chance of vastly improving the workplace environment for their employees by targeting efforts on a much smaller list of performance drivers. By listing the 5 key differentiating questions, we clearly see patterns of what survey respondents are telling their managers to focus on.

Q4: In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

Q7: At work, my opinions seem to count.

Q6: There is someone at work who encourages my development.

Q12: This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Q11: In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

Two of the questions relate to conversations about performance, two others speak directly to the value of employee development activities, and the last implies an atmosphere of open exchange and support.


Managers and Employees Have Different Perceptions on Employee Engagement 
By separating the survey responses by managers and employees, we see some disparities in perceptions concerning employee engagement. A vast majority of employees want someone at work (usually their managers) to conduct dialogues on performance, mission importance and alignment with organizational goals, emerging work trends, and career development. On the other hand, many managers do not believe that their employees want them to discuss these issues. The implications of this disparity clearly stand out when we compare the business results of the highest scoring workgroups to those with the lowest scores (remember, managerial effectiveness is the number one reason that employees thrive in an organization). In one retail chain, Buckingham and Coffman found that workgroups who scored in the top 25 percent ended the year almost 5 percent over their sales budget while those scoring in the bottom 25 percent were nearly 1 percent below budget, which amounted to a difference of $104 million. Profit/loss sheet and employee turnover comparisons pointed to an even more dramatic impact of scoring in the top 25 percent. The results of the surveys that I have cited begin to coalesce around a compelling business case for concentrating effort on managerial activities with the most impact relating to performance management, employee development, and communication.
By Jim Trinka

8 Rules For Good Customer Service

Good Customer Service Made Simple
By Susan Ward

Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won't be profitable for long.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy - happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

If you're a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue.

How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; "You will be judged by what you do, not what you say."

I know this verges on the kind of statement that's often seen on a sampler, but providing good customer service IS a simple thing. If you truly want to have good customer service, all you have to do is ensure that your business consistently does these things:

1) Answer your phone.

Get call forwarding. Or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. (Notice I say "someone". People who call want to talk to a live person, not a fake "recorded robot".) For more on answering the phone, see Phone Answering Tips to Win Business.

2) Don't make promises unless you will keep them.

Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, “Your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don't say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise - because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.

3) Listen to your customers.

Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn't been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer's point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.

4) Deal with complaints.

No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, "You can't please all the people all the time". Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.

5) Be helpful - even if there's no immediate profit in it.

The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band – and charged me nothing! Where do you think I'll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I've told this story to?

6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be always helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.

Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn't) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, "I don't know, but so-and-so will be back at..."

7) Take the extra step.

For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, don't just say, "It's in Aisle 3". Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.

8) Throw in something extra.

Whether it's a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And don’t think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated.

If you apply these eight simple rules consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service. And the best part? The irony of good customer service is that over time it will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!

Reading People

A topic that often comes up in business and sales is one’s ability to effectively “read people.”  Those who are the most gifted at reading people seem to have clairvoyant, telekinetic, extrasensory powers.  They appear to have a crystal ball which provides them with insight and the ability to see into the future and know what a person will or won’t do in a given situation.  This gift saves them time and makes it possible for them to figure out quickly how to move forward with a prospect.  Essentially it gives them an unfair advantage in sales!

People are habitual and in most instances they don’t change over time unless they have a strong outside influence or they face a major life challenge and they decide they must change and then take action to do so.  With this power you can tell if a prospect will act quickly or slowly.  How the client will be influenced.  How much information and what specific information will be required.  What will be most important to them.  Based on the prospect’s character you will know whether they will be open, honest and forthright with their feedback, questions, comments and concerns.  You can even tell if you can trust them.  Generally speaking, what kind of person they are.  You’ll understand how you can create a stronger comfort with them.  You’ll know what messages and meaning is apparent in their body language, facial expressions and hand gestures.  If they have a clear understanding of what they really want and freely express themselves.  If they are cautiously guarded or they seem at ease with themselves.  What they are like under varying conditions.  How they handle pressure and stress.  What they are like when they are experiencing extraordinarily good conditions.

In the days of the philosophers, they began noticing patterns in people’s behaviours and actions.  They began to study these patterns and record their findings and observations.  Then they categorized specific behaviors, characteristics, human qualities, traits and tendencies.  They narrowed what they discovered into four primary personality styles.  In more recent times, recognizing the validity and value of this knowledge, companies like Xerox created training programs designed to teach their sales force about the four primary personalities.  They determined that if they empowered a sales representative with the necessary tools they could be me more self-aware of their natural tendencies, strengths and weaknesses.  They would gain an understanding of their personal likes and dislikes, needs wants and desires.  Then, they would be able to recognize a prospect’s personality style and the sales representative would be much more in tune with how to adjust their approach and deliver what the prospect wanted and needed in order to advance the sales process and successfully secure the business.  In essence, they could teach them how to read people and determine what it was going to take to turn them into a customer!

In ancient times the names that were used for the personalities were Choleric, Sanguine, Melancholy and Phlegmatic.  Today (in the same order) we use Driver, Expressive, Analytical and Amiable.  Over the years, many training organizations and individuals have developed their own version of the four primary personalities model.  The basic principles are the same, the only difference is the degree of depth that they may go into and the names they use to label each personality type.  Some use colours to distinguish, others use animal names and so on.

Both simple and elaborate testing is available today that is designed to determine which personality type an individual is.  Typically, a subject will score higher in one category compared to another.  This high scoring category is referred to as your primary personality, the second highest score your secondary personality and so on.  It is highly unlikely that a subject would score 100% in any one category in the testing results.  People are made up of a mix of the traits and qualities but one style usually stands out above the rest.  Understanding the four primary personalities give sales professionals a huge advantage in the sales arena.  There are many books available that go into greater depth on the subject and many companies offer training on this to help people better understand the subject and apply it in their field.

“To understand the world, one must not be worrying about one’s self.”
- Albert Einstein

By: Marshall W. Northcott 

Playing to win: Being a top-producer is about winning the game, not just playing

Winning athletes win games and winning sales professionals close business. In the games Michael Jordan scored the most points his team lost. Are you shooting but not winning? Do you have too many leads in the pipeline and no way to gauge how to close them? Like athletes sales people have to win to be considered successful, and in order to achieve the success we desire we have to hone our skills daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly. The difference between being a top-producing sales professional and a sales person just getting by is the effort they put into the game. If you are not getting better at your craft then you run the risk of having someone with more innovative techniques come along and take your position. The bottom line is if a sales person can not close the deal then they can’t stay in the game.  

The biggest problems sales professionals face in closing business are: a fear of rejection; too much emotional involvement; tough time selling product/service value; being unable to talk about money; and excuse making. If sales people can learn to tackle these issues they can become top-producing sales professionals and won’t need to be concerned about being cut from the team. 

I’ve been in this business over two decades and I’ve spent the last five years training sales professionals, sales managers, and CEO’s on achieving results. In all of these years I’ve never seen a company let go of a top performing salesperson. I’ve also never seen top performing sales professionals that aren’t constantly perfecting their technique, improving their attitude, and developing new behaviors. Unless you go outside of your comfort zone you will never grow. 

Technique
Perfecting your technique involves learning new ways to achieve better results. You should constantly be pushing yourself to exceed goals and expectations. The only way to exceed goals is to practice. Write new cold-calling sales scripts and rehearse them with a recorder, role-play with your manager or co-workers. You should map out scenarios so that when someone gives you an excuse you have your rebuttal. Long gone are the days where you can get back to a prospect in a few days with an answer to their question. The time it takes you to figure it out someone else will come along and snatch the sale. The marketplace is cluttered and no one dominates anymore, you have to be better, smarter and more efficient than the competition.  

Attitude 
Improving your attitude is about the way you view your company and your position within the company. If you don’t have a positive attitude towards your company then why do you still work there? How much more would your commission check be if you worked for a company where you believed in the products/services you were pushing? And even more important how much happier would you be? 

Behavior 

Changing your behaviors starts with having a plan – a map for your life. You should build your plan, track your results and fine tune as you go along. Everyone wants to win at work, in relationships, and in life but few sit down and map out where they want to go and how they want to get there. Living day to day without a plan is wondering around aimlessly. What team goes into the championship game without a playbook? Everyday we are playing in a championship and we need a plan before we step foot on the court. 

Once you have your plan, you need to set goals, both long-term and short-term. We should all be setting 90-day goals every 90 days and yearly goals every year. When you know that you must achieve a certain goal by a certain time frame you can focus on what you need to do, settle down and do it. When you truly focus on your goals your behaviors will change to mimic the results you desire. We are not talking about saying you want to do something or thinking about it, I mean actually writing down what you want to achieve in the long-term and short-term and putting them in a place where you will be reminded daily of the goals you set for yourself. 

Goals provide your why. Why are you doing what you’re doing, all of your actions should have a purpose. Goals provide your motivation. If you know that you want to own a certain home in a certain neighborhood by a certain time you will be motivated to succeed. Goals provide your energy. To be successful you need to be energized and the adrenaline you need to finish the game will come when you see that you are almost at your goal. Then when you reach your goal, it’s time to set a new one.  

In the process of improving yourself through techniques, attitudes and behavior you must ask yourself key questions:

• Am I mentally and emotionally tough?

• Is my self-esteem bullet-proof?

• What causes my comfort zone?

• Do I continuously challenge myself?

• What are my fears?

• What doubts do I have in myself?

• What destructive self-talk do I have?

• What limiting beliefs do I have?

We all want to win, but many of us don’t know how to get there. I see professionals every day who tell me they aren’t seeing results; they have a ton of prospects but aren’t closing business. I tell them they aren’t perfecting their technique, improving their attitude, and developing new behaviors. And without fail when they decide they want to get better and work on their technique, attitude and behavior they always see results

By: Karl Graf

What’s your Sales DNA?

Every company has a unique Sales DNA. This is the unique “sales code” that makes an organization perform at peak sales efficiency. Identifying your company’s genetic sales code is the key to achieving sustainable, profitable sales growth, the key driver for creating long-term business value.

Do you think that the ability to sell successfully is something that can only be found embedded in the DNA of the talent you hire? Think again.

Sales DNA is determined by a broad array of factors that go beyond each individual salesperson. And while we would all like to wave a magic wand and improve revenue, the reality is that building sustainable, great sales results requires the proper sales infrastructure.  Put another way, before a sales organization can consistently produce great sales results, it must in effect be “ready to sell”.

Experience shows that these sales readiness factors fall into five key areas:  (1) overall sales strategy, (2) sales methodology, (3) integrated sales & marketing, (4) performance management systems and (5) sales organization & talent. Great sales organizations have successfully identified, documented, implemented and optimized these areas; they have built a truly scalable sales infrastructure – rather than a collection of individuals – that will consistently produce superior sales results.

Unfortunately, identifying and, if necessary, changing the Sales DNA of a company is an extremely difficult undertaking. Sales managers have little time to think about revamping their sales processes (if they even know where to start) or developing effective sales tools, and sales professionals  are better utilized executing a sales strategy as opposed to developing one. Moreover, the key sales readiness factors mentioned above are highly interrelated and in some cases cut across multiple disciplines within a company. This means it may be necessary to involve representatives from Sales, Marketing, Operations, IT and HR when conducting an assessment of a company’s sales readiness. Given this level of complexity, companies that are committed to improving their sales readiness may want to consider using outside resources to help them manage this process.

So how do you go about understanding and improving your organization’s Sales DNA?  The best results come from a process that consists of analysis, prioritization and implementation.

Analysis: a company should begin by conducting a candid, comprehensive assessment of their current sales function. This includes an analysis of each of the key sales readiness factors that impact sales results, and identifying strengths as well as areas for improvement. Taking one of these factors, Sales Methodology, as an example, a company might start the analysis by asking the  following questions:

• Have you developed a sales coverage model that deploys your sales resources based on customer segmentation and profitability?
• Does your sales organization have a  documented  sales process that is consistently followed by the sales team?
• Are there clearly defined rules of engagement regarding how the sales team should interact with prospects?
• How effective does you sales team manage existing customer relationships?
• Are you satisfied with the effectiveness of your sales force automation system? Is your sales team using it consistently?

A similar sort of checklist should be used to analyze each of the other areas impacting sales readiness.

Prioritization: based on this analysis, a company should develop a prioritized action plan in which targeted areas for improvement are stack ranked by factors such as return on investment, resource requirements, and time to completion.

Implementation: implementing the prioritized action plan requires developing, testing, and refining new systems, processes, procedures and tools. While the implementation phase can often take significant time and resources, it will result in your company successfully selling based on its unique Sales DNA.

While analyzing and improving an organization’s Sales DNA should be a top priority in building revenue, the truth is sadly the opposite. A recent report from CSO Insights titled 2010 Sales Performance Optimization Study confirms many companies have been cutting back on investments in their sales organizations despite the strong need to support them.
Unfortunately, a sales organization can’t cut its way to success.  Nor can it look to build a sustainable organization around a few superstars.  The ultimate key to sales success is improving your organization’s sales readiness – its overall Sales DNA.

By Norman Behar

Up or Out: A Tactical Approach to Managing Sales Performance

The old “80/20 Rule” states that 80% of results come from the top 20% of our performers. Unfortunately this is also true when it comes to our sales force. What is also interesting is that too often the sales of the bottom 10% of a sales force do not cover the cost of their base pay, perks and benefit cost.  If this bottom 10% were playing professional baseball, they would be quickly released from the team. In pro sports, as in sales, it is all about what you have done for me lately. If the answer is, “not much” an established process to improve the sales reps performance must be consistently initiated. But remember to always start with the worst first and be consistent.  If the sales rep’s performance does not return to an established acceptable level in a predetermined period of time, this same documented process will be required to discharge the underperforming sales rep.

Managing a sales force is like “herding cats”. Top performing sales reps are high energy, high chargers, high maintenance and highly successful.  The poor performing sales reps are low energy, slow charging, high maintenance and seldom successful. These poor performers represent about 10% of a sales force but take up 90% of a sales manager’s time. Dealing with these people is drudgery. It is no fun confronting poor performers and their array of personal problems along with all the other excuses they have for not selling.

For this reason these performance people problems are continually pushed down our “things to do list” until the next thing we know we are telling ourselves we should have done something about them months ago. But the worst is yet to come and that is when the CEO starts asking questions. The best way to avoid hearing those dreaded words from the big boss, “why is this guy still here” is to simply have the right tools and a tactical approach to managing sales performance.

Sales Performance Expectations

To begin with sales performance expectations (sales activity and quota achievement) should be defined during the interview process and made part of the sales representative’s written and signed performance requirements along with their commission and compensation plan. This document should also be included as part of the new employee’s offer letter packet.

Corrective Action Guidelines for Sales Representatives

1. If a sales representative’s rolling month average falls below 80% of their quota, or he/she has two consecutive months of not achieving 80% of their quota, the manager should conduct a formal counseling session with a follow-up email or written memo to the employee that documents the verbal counseling.

At this point you may be asking why not 100% achievement of quota? In this example 80% was chosen to make the point that the optimum minimum threshold of performance should be based on a level that represents financial justification for keeping a sale representative employed. Not all sales people are created equal.  A few are capable of consistently performing at 100% of quota while most will consistently perform at a lesser yet acceptable level.  
Defining the minimum performance threshold is a simple process. After determining the cost of a sales rep to the company, add the minimum profit contribution you will accept to reach the minimum percent of quota a sales representative must sustain month to month to keep their job. Anything less is unacceptable.

2. If the sales rep does not make at least 80% of quota for the month following the Verbal Counseling, he/she should be placed on a Sales Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) which begins with a Written Warning.

3.  If an employee does not make 80% of quota for a 3rd consecutive month, further disciplinary action should be taken that will normally consist of a Final Written Warning.  Should the employee make no reasonable attempt to improve their sales performance the Manager may chose to discharge the employee any time during the PIP process.
Once an employee has been placed on a verbal warning or a PIP, they will not be removed from the warning until they have 3 consecutive months of at/above an 80% quota performance.

4. Once removed from a PIP, if an employee’s performance becomes unsatisfactory again, you should not go through each step to affect discipline, but you can intervene at a level appropriate for the situation.

Sales - Performance Improvement Plan

Our Sales Management team is committed to setting clear and specific performance goals and sales quotas, provide ongoing and meaningful feedback to help develop appropriate sales skills and to address performance issues on a timely basis.  In turn, we expect our sales representatives to meet and/or exceed their goals and sales quotas and to operate with the highest degree of integrity. Additionally, all sales representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that contributes to an effective team sales philosophy of achieving maximum operational effectiveness, productivity, safety and a harmonious working environment. 

(Check one of the following levels of Performance Management)

___ Written Warning -
___ Final Written Warning

TO:  

FROM: 

DATE: 

RE: Recap of Sales Performance Management Discussion 

At our meeting on _____________________, we discussed your sales performance over the past __________________ months (include specific months) has been unsatisfactory in the following one or more areas (please check and provide a description for one or more of the following):

___ I. Sales Activity Level – As we have discussed during our one-on-one meetings, I am concerned about your level of sales activity.  The average number of customer contacts per day (____ number of contacts) is not up to the criteria for success set for your position.
Comments:

___ II. Number of Appointments – In the last month you have only been on _____ new appointments, which is well below the standard of _____ new appointments per day.  In addition, based on your __ /__ / 2010 Forecast, I do not see an acceptable improvement.
Comments:

___ III. Failure to meet quota - You have failed to meet your minimum monthly sales quota for the following month(s) of ________, __________, __________.
Comments:

IV. Other-

Based on my observations, I am placing you on a __written warning __Final Written Warning and want to see immediate positive improvements in the following areas:

1. Maintain an average of _____ calls per day.
2. Make _____ cold calls per day.
3. Set a minimum of _____ new appointments per day and/or an average of _____ per week.
4. Sell a minimum of $_______ for the months of ________, ________, ________.
5. Other:

We will meet weekly to review your compliance to these performance requirements and to determine if further corrective action is necessary.  A meeting to further discuss your performance will take place no later than, ___/ ___/ 2010 (indicate the date of the follow-up review; should be no later than 30 days from the date of this warning).  However, further discussion and corrective action may occur prior to that date if you do not take immediate corrective action. 

If you do not take immediate corrective action necessary to meet the performance requirements as described above, the next step in this Sales - Performance Management process will be:
___ Final Writing Warning (final step prier to discharge)
___  Discharge

Reinstatement of a Sales Performance Management Plan
Once you have met or exceeded the requirements of your monthly quota for three (3) consecutive months this document will be deemed inactive but will remain as part of your employment record. If at any time in the six (6) month period following your successful release form this plan you fall below your minimum monthly sales quota for two (2) consecutive months you will be placed back on a Sales Performance Management beginning at the second level with a Written Warning.

I believe that you have the talent and skills to be a valuable member of our team and I will assist you in any way possible to help you achieve the goal outlined above.

________________________________________
Sales Manager’s Signature           Date

I have received a copy of this notice, and understand the specific requirements explained above.

________________________________________  
Employee’s Signature Date

CC:
President/ CEO
VP Sales
Director of Human Resources

CONGRATULATIONS - Closure of Sales Performance Improvement Plan

To:  [NAME: EMPLOYEE]     CC: President/ CEO
VP Sales
         Director of HR
      
From: [NAME: MANAGER] 

Date: [DATE: DATE PRESENTING TO EMPLOYEE]
____________________________________________________________

Congratulations on your improved performance! You have met or exceeded your quota for the past three months.  As a result of your meeting and sustaining the specific objectives outlined in your Performance Improvement Plan, dated [DATE OF LAST PIP], I am removing you from Performance Improvement status, effective [DATE]. 

Your removal from Performance Improvement status is with the clear understanding that you will continue to meet or exceed the performance objectives outlined in the Performance Improvement Plan referenced above, other Company documents, or as stated by your manager. If, in the future, you fail to meet the acceptable performance levels, the Company may place you on an additional Performance Improvement Plan or apply additional corrective action, up to and including termination of employment.

I look forward to your continued progress and sustained quality work performance.

M. Jonathan Hackett has a BS in Business Administration from Christian Brothers University in Memphis Tennessee and MS from Auburn University. Hackett has five years experience in business to business sales and sales management.

By M. Jonathan Hackett Michael E. Hackett