Turning Order Takers into Salespeople
Turning Order Takers into Salespeople
How did he do? He missed the first 10 pitches. He missed the second 10 pitches. Then he made two adjustments. He moved back in the batter's box, began his swing earlier and began making contact. Then, as his confidence grew, he made better contact until finally, he was hitting baseballs with the same authority we saw when he hit whiffle balls.
At six years old he is way ahead of where I was when I was ten years old - very cool. Now the sales analogy.
Lesson #1 - Salespeople need to make adjustments. New competition, new buying strategies, unfair competition, price competition and the resistance brought on by the recession all change the way they need to play the game and they need to make adjustments too. They need to be quicker, sharper, more strategic and much more effective with their use of selling tactics (skills, not tricks).
How do your salespeople make these adjustments? Some, as many as 30%, can't and/or won't make changes and what you see is what you will continue to get. For the remaining 70%, change can be as easy as showing them the way and as difficult as pulling teeth. Few have the strengths and skills required to simply sell differently and even fewer in management have the skills required to help them make these changes. You'll have to bring in help from the outside to help an entire sales force make the complete transition from order takers and account managers to effective, proactive, impactful salespeople. Your expectations must be realistic too. You can't simply tell them what you want and show them how to do it and expect them to be able to go out and execute. It could take a few months of telling and showing before they'll be comfortable enough to try it themselves and even then, they'll probably be ineffective the first few times. There will be a need for repetition and you won't see the impact on revenue for about six months plus the length of your sales cycle.
Lesson #2 - New salespeople ramp up at different speeds based on their ability to figure it out. Some of the more talented new salespeople will quickly figure it out and out-perform your veterans, who failed to make adjustments to the changing sales challenges. You can read more about new salespeople ramping up in this comprehensive post from June 28.
Six-year olds are conditioned to change - they're expanding their sights and abilities every day. Veteran salespeople are conditioned for complacency - taking the known way, the comfortable way. Are you ready to challenge them?
Turning Order Takers into Salespeople - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Last week we brought our six-year old son to the batting cages where, for the first time, he hit against little league pitching. Big deal? You bet. Up until last week, he was clobbering whiffle balls with whiffle bats from about twenty feet away. At the cage, he was wearing a batting helmet, swinging a heavy metal bat, and seeing baseballs thrown at 35 MPH from 45 feet away. It was a huge difference.
How did he do? He missed the first 10 pitches. He missed the second 10 pitches. Then he made two adjustments. He moved back in the batter's box, began his swing earlier and began making contact. Then, as his confidence grew, he made better contact until finally, he was hitting baseballs with the same authority we saw when he hit whiffle balls.
At six years old he is way ahead of where I was when I was ten years old - very cool. Now the sales analogy.
Lesson #1 - Salespeople need to make adjustments. New competition, new buying strategies, unfair competition, price competition and the resistance brought on by the recession all change the way they need to play the game and they need to make adjustments too. They need to be quicker, sharper, more strategic and much more effective with their use of selling tactics (skills, not tricks).
How do your salespeople make these adjustments? Some, as many as 30%, can't and/or won't make changes and what you see is what you will continue to get. For the remaining 70%, change can be as easy as showing them the way and as difficult as pulling teeth. Few have the strengths and skills required to simply sell differently and even fewer in management have the skills required to help them make these changes. You'll have to bring in help from the outside to help an entire sales force make the complete transition from order takers and account managers to effective, proactive, impactful salespeople. Your expectations must be realistic too. You can't simply tell them what you want and show them how to do it and expect them to be able to go out and execute. It could take a few months of telling and showing before they'll be comfortable enough to try it themselves and even then, they'll probably be ineffective the first few times. There will be a need for repetition and you won't see the impact on revenue for about six months plus the length of your sales cycle.
Lesson #2 - New salespeople ramp up at different speeds based on their ability to figure it out. Some of the more talented new salespeople will quickly figure it out and out-perform your veterans, who failed to make adjustments to the changing sales challenges. You can read more about new salespeople ramping up in this comprehensive post from June 28.
Six-year olds are conditioned to change - they're expanding their sights and abilities every day. Veteran salespeople are conditioned for complacency - taking the known way, the comfortable way. Are you ready to challenge them?
Turning Order Takers into Salespeople - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Understanding the Sales Force - Objective Management Group, Inc. is the pioneer and industry leader in sales force evaluations and sales candidate screening. Spearheaded by leading sales industry expert, Dave Kurlan, Objective Management Group, Inc. can help you measure sales effectiveness, execution and potential.
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