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Nightingale-Conant presents Tom Gegax

11 Rules to Manage a High-Flying Sales Team

1. Spend a bundle on a sales manager.
   Many CEOs study subpar sales figures, scratch their heads, and wonder, What am I missing? A field general, that's what. A creative sales manager sniffs out the right slice of the market, trains and inspires rookies and veterans, and herds volatile personalities. Volatile? Salespeople tend to be mavericks. They're more impulsive than cube dwellers. On top of that, physically and digitally pounding the pavement armed only with traditional, unenlightened sales techniques can exact one heck of an emotional toll. Unfortunately, the way many sales departments operate is negatively self-reinforcing — a lot of leaders simply promote their best salesperson to sales manager. Good luck with that. There may be some overlap in expertise — people skills, for instance, and all the aspects of sales success — but management is a different animal. If your sales wiz doesn't have noteworthy leadership experience, his supervising stint may be a short one.
2. Track down the best salespeople.
   You won't make the big leagues without an all-star sales force. The best are probably already employed — but don't let that stop you. Many are treading water, plying under adverse conditions — a mediocre product, poor merchandising, scant inventory, shoddy support. Those roadblocks are curbing their earnings and steering them toward greener pastures. Fling that window of opportunity wide open. Ask yourself, your people, and everyone in your Rolodex: Has anyone knocked your socks off lately? It's a fishing expedition, but it often nets great leads.
   
   Be your own search firm. Ask yourself, If I was a great salesperson, where would I work? Then start dialing. Express interest in the company's offerings: "I want the complete picture, so have your best salesperson give me a call." When you get the star on the phone, tell her you heard she was a great rep and you figured she could refer you to other talented salespeople who might be interested in a great new opportunity. If she gives you leads, great. If she asks for details, she's on the hook. Does she sound intelligent and experienced? Would you buy something from her? One more proactive move: Ask the firms you do business with for permission to pick their best reps' brains. To each one you get on the line, say, "Your boss says you're the best. I need a top gun, too. Where can I find somebody like you?" If he expresses interest, take the high road ("Thanks, but I can't do that") and be satisfied with a good referral.
3. Go deep with your hiring M.O.
   Salespeople are a unique breed. They need thick skin and a Kevlar ego to survive the battering ram of rejection. During the hiring process, ramp up your personality-probing and roleplaying exercises. Make sales aptitude and psychological testing mandatory (assuming legal issues aren't a roadblock). Look beyond numbers when reviewing applicants' accomplishments. Did they build a territory from scratch or inherit it? Remember, you've gotta sell them, too — on your mission and vision for the company and the rewards that follow.
4. Offer seductive incentives.
   Dangle a fat carrot in front of salespeople, and you'll find them racing around the track long after the nineto- fivers have gone home. Big hitters prefer a generous commission arrangement with a get-the-bills-paid base. That's fine. Higher commission rates equal lower impact on your fixed costs. I always tell salespeople I want nothing more than for them to make a lot of money because that means my company is making money, too. Commission caveat: Hire only ethical, caring people who would never sell anything wrong for the customer. Preach incessantly that financial rewards flow naturally when they have the customer's best interests at heart.
5. Set performance goals.
   Settle on reachable, yet challenging, goals. Sit down together and analyze current sales, historical cycles, and the rep's track record. Benchmark her versus her peers. Make sure she walks away with goals she can call her own. There's not a lot of life in arbitrary numbers handed down from on high. Be patient with newbies — but not too patient. Build an exit strategy into your agreement ("If you fail to reach 70 percent of the goal after four months, we'll shake hands and go our separate ways"). That helps you cut your losses early and prevents uncomfortable terminations.
6. Train your force.
   Don't give up on your current players quite yet. With the right system (my favorite, the Sandler Selling SystemSM), even chumps can flower into champs. Invest in your salespeople by enrolling them in a great sales course. The cost is a pittance compared with the extra revenue it's sure to produce.
7. Measure results.
   Where there's measurement, there's motivation. Sales folks are fierce competitors who aren't satisfied being an Avis when a few more deals can land them in Hertz territory. Healthy — repeat, healthy — competition within the ranks leads to healthier profits for everybody.
8. Demand input from salespeople.
   As Dad used to tell me, "Appreciate and listen to your salespeople — they bring in the bucks that pay everybody else." Think about it. Your sales force is a direct pipeline to customers. They're the first to know when your customers' needs and desires morph — and they're an earlywarning system for what your competitors are doing about it. Require your sales manager to tap that rich source of intel via regular sales team meetings and one-on-ones — and then work with other departments to incorporate adjustments on the fly. For example, I own a stake in a technology concern that hired two battle-tested salespeople with broad industry experience. Their former employer had completely tuned them out. So they were shocked when we treated their input like sage advice, adjusting our product offering, training, and customer service just as they recommended.
9. Embrace "Big Brother."
   Weekly one-on-ones have limitations. The only way to ensure a salesperson is following protocol is to monitor her on a prospect call. Compliment her on what she's doing right and address her NTIs (needs-to-improve areas) — tell her, show her, watch her do it, and offer feedback; watch her do it again.
10. Advocate for your sales team.
    Drum up support for your sales staff via employee communication channels — email blasts, executive meetings, employee meetings, one-on-ones. If it arouses resentment from the cubicles, nip it in the bud by encouraging empathy for the sales force: Hey, man, it ain't easy hitting the bricks every morning and getting doors slammed in your face every hour. Make sure your sales manager stays on top of technology trends so his team has all the hardware, software, and tracking reports it needs to stay dialed in and a step ahead of competitors.
11. Create material support.
    To present a first-class image, you've gotta have first-class business collateral. That's everything from business cards, stationery, and brochures, to websites, newsletters, and trade show booths. Make sure they all deliver the same brand message. They're your silent sales force, at it 24/7.

The nature of the work demands that salespeople embody certain characteristics. Fine-tune your hiring and training processes to spot and develop these seven qualities.

1. Goal-oriented.
   Show me a five-star salesperson and I'll show you a go-getter with a track record of setting goals and achieving them. Real-world experience is the number one predictor of sales success. Look for takecharge people who can rattle off case histories of how they set a goal, formulated an action plan, overcame obstacles, executed the plan, and got what they wanted.
2. Self-acceptance.
   Self-esteem is the best form of rejection protection. The greats don't take losses personally. They stay confident in their abilities and recognize that circumstances beyond their control sometimes influence outcomes. Take every opportunity to remind your reps they're great people, regardless of what the week's numbers look like.
3. Empathy.
   Great salespeople are great listeners. Customers sense the difference when a rep tosses aside the plaid sport coat and slips into the role of caring consultant. You can't fake it — the greater the suspicion, the lower the commission. Come to think of it, the term "sales force" is something of an oxymoron because a sale will fail if you force it. Bottom line: If your salesperson does right by his customer, he'll do right by himself.
4. Zeal. If your sales reps don't believe your offering is the greatest thing since email, forget about revved-up customers. You got a guy missing passion for what he's selling? Help him connect the dots between what he's providing and how he's helping people. If he can't access his passion — and express it genuinely through verbal and nonverbal cues — he's dead in the water. Counterfeit enthusiasm kills off more sales careers than tacky menswear ever will.
5. Education-obsessed.
   The best salespeople settle for nothing less than complete mastery of their offerings. They consume every scrap of literature as if it's a map to buried treasure. No nuance is lost on them. They know that customers are drawn to the magnetic pull of expertise.
6. Friendliness.
   It's human nature. People do business with people they like. Never underestimate the likeability factor.
7. Hunger.
   The best salespeople thrive on the thrill of the hunt. They're never complacent or satisfied. Oh, they celebrate when they score big, but only briefly. Then it's on to the next quest. There are always more prospects to find, more appointments to make, more people to help. Great hunters require only cursory supervision — just throw plenty of red meat their way and watch 'em run.

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