Today I met with one of my sales reps after he returned from his vacation. Jerry’s (fictitious name) vacation week started on a Tuesday due to the long Labor Day weekend, so I decided to have our weekly sales meeting on the Friday prior to his vacation ... Not a great idea. People by nature are just not as attentive on Fridays and tend to be in “winding down” mode.
After a review of Jerry’s sales calls for the week, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. A very professional sales person had turned into a finger pointing complainer. I quickly had to remind him of some A B C’s (fundamentals) of sales.
A. Don’t treat every lead as equal value.
There is nothing wrong with being smart and qualifying a potential buyer to make sure you’re using your time wisely. As Bryan Tracy says, “Fish for whales not minnows.” Jerry had been running all over the State this week without qualifying his potential buyers. This just leads to frustration and no sales.
B. Put your goals in writing and track them.
When I looked at Jerry’s goal board which tracks leads run, closed sales, average ticket, total volume sold, and total volume goal for the month, there was nothing written on it for the month. Not even Jerry’s total volume goal for the month. If you don’t have a goal and track your sales calls, you’ll never succeed. It’s like deciding to take a trip across the country from New Jersey California
C. Remember even your top performers need to be coached.
Let’s not forget “Us” Sales managers out there. When one of your sales people has been away for a week or more, meet at the start of his or her week, this includes long-time top performers. Remind them of the fundamentals that have made them so successful. Remind them of their short and long term goals and coach them to get their month off to a strong start.
Those are some A B C’s of being a great Sales manager and a great leader!
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