With the pace of business today, there is no time to rest on your laurels or to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Save that for your retirement. As a sales manager in the current business environment, you must always strive to improve performance through well-defined initiatives to strengthen the sales team. The competition is either becoming different or getting better, customers are changing their wants and needs (even if they are not aware of it), your own company is changing its focus and directions regularly, and the general business context is shifting

The Strong Grow Stronger

There are two ways you can approach this need for continuous improvement. First, you can look at the process needs of the sales team as it relates to the rest of the organization and to the customer base. This is usually, but not always, a matter for the technologists.

Second, you can look at ways to improve the individual skills of the sales team members. How can you help them perform at their individual maximum potential when the world seems to want to hold them at an average performance? Training is too often standardized; compensation plans allow for very little variation; and customers drive products and services to a commodity offering format to reduce risk. Let’s take a look at ways to improve your teams

Linking Organizational Processes

If you sometimes feel as if you’re not a part of the whole organization, you’re not alone. Some of America’s best business analysts and writers have talked about the sales organization being a separate and distinct operation of the business that is poorly linked to the other departments. Whereas purchasing, receiving, warehousing, operations, shipping, research and development, and marketing all seem to share a sense of oneness, sales seems to be a different animal.

As much as you would like to put the blame on others for this behavior, the cause is usually rooted in the sales mentality. Since one of the greatest attributes of successful salespeople is creativity, they will probably describe themselves in much the same way as other creative people describe themselves. When you ask a painter how he painted a great painting, he will tell you that’s just what he does—he is an artist. This response really doesn’t help us understand what he did to be successful. The same goes for salespeople. When asked how they achieved a great sale, they probably say it is just what they do—they are great salespeople.

The result is an organization that has very little understanding of the sales process or of how hard a salesperson must work to reach the pinnacle of success. Sales processes are very rarely linked to the rest of the organization, nor is the rest of the organization linked to the sales process. If you are to achieve great things as a sales manager, you must integrate your sales team into the overall operations of the business, just as you have linked your sales effort into the overall operation of your customer’s business. Let’s explore some areas

Selecting and Implementing Critical Technologies

Any printed discussion of technologies is skating on thin ice. At the current pace of development, technologies will probably have evolved into something new. There are, though, some things to consider.

• Technology has never made a poor salesperson a better one. If a salesperson doesn’t have it in him or her to sell, technology won’t help.

• Next, your information technology department or IT vendor should not be the one to select the technology for the sales organization. That does not mean the people in IT don’t know their job. They just don’t know your sales job. Their world is very different from the typical sales world, and they need proactive guidance from the sales team.

• Never implement technology just to look sophisticated. Make sure it has some benefit for the sales personnel and for the targeted customer base.

• Never implement technology that will place such demands on the sales personnel that they will have less time to sell. Focus instead on technologies that will give them more time to do what they do best.

• Always stay alert to what the competition is deploying in technology. That doesn’t mean you must follow it. Evaluate it carefully and determine its strengths and weaknesses.

• Always explore the technologies that your target market segment is deploying to identify opportunities for connectivity.

• Look for technologies that are evolutionary, not revolutionary.

As you look for technologies to implement, consider the personality preferences and values of your team members. They are not all at the same stage of technology acceptance. Allow for some small variations

Understanding Evolving Technologies and Software

Technology can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For the purposes of the discussion, we’ll refer to two primary areas: software and hardware and transmission media.

The software/hardware configuration is becoming a less visible part of our technological world. It was around 1984 that desktop computers were first deployed across the general business environment and became a tool of sales forces everywhere, usually in the early applications of proposal writing and spreadsheet analysis. They were incredible machines for their time, but somewhat limited. Exact lines of words, special codes, and odd assortments of characters were required to direct the computer to do a specific task. Its predictability and reliability were sometimes difficult to align with human thinking.

Just a few years later, desktop computers are in their last generations and will become extinct in the next couple of years. Their offspring, the laptop or portable computer, is within a few more generations of seeing its demise. At the time of this writing, the personal digital assistant, or PDA, is taking over many of the sales support roles performed by its predecessors. But there is something coming over the horizon that will probably replace much of what you know today.

If you look at the history of analysis and communications, the primary role of computers, the major leaps were the interfaces available to the human user. Certainly when humans were first able to record their thoughts by applying charcoal or pigments to cave walls, it was a great leap forward. Data, in the form of animal drawings and handprints (probably recording group or family members), could be stored and was not so reliant on memory and word of mouth.

Even though these cave walls eventually became rock or clay tablets, their usefulness was based on their staying in one piece. If you dropped a record of the data, it might all shatter away, limiting its effectiveness. The invention of early rice papers and papyrus, along with writing devices, greatly advanced the control and flow of information. This newfound ability to store data on something that could be conveniently moved around was the next generation of mobility (sound familiar?). Data could be recorded, rolled up, and transported on the nearest caravan.

When the QWERTY keyboard, the standard keyboard we all know, was developed, humans had a consistent method for interfacing with a machine to record and communicate. As a matter of fact, it was so good that it made the transition from the mechanical world of typewriters to the electronic world of computers.

The next big leap was the graphical user interfaces and the associated mouse. No longer linked to command lines based on another’s reasoning, users could begin to personalize their movements. Rather than the old DOS lines of command, all that was now required was to move a cursor across the screen and click on a cute little character icon. All the necessary commands were hidden out of sight. Computers became user friendly.

We are now at the next stage of human to machine interactions: voice recognition. Voice recognition has been limited by the size of memory chips that would store the algorithms to not only remember the meanings of words, but to make assumptions as to the intent of the meaning. For example, if someone spoke the phrase ‘‘bare facts,’’ it could be recognized in diverse contextual formats that would have several different meanings. Until very recently, chips could store only enough variations to capture a few individual slang words and accents. This is no longer true. Voice recognition systems, along with proximity devices, are available today that will move technology in a whole new direction. Users will, for the first time, not be required to be physically connected to a ‘‘box.’’ Once there is no longer a physical connection, why do we need a computer in our sight at all? Let’s move it out of view and incorporate it into the Internet. Then, anywhere we go, an environment will recognize us and provide all the intelligence necessary for daily business and personal activities.

One interesting side effect of this new virtual computing reality is that those who hate or dread computers and technology will no longer find the need to use them. They will just speak to a familiar and user-friendly environment that has been personalized to feel more like a friend than an electronic device.When you combine the three elements of voice recognition, the Internet, and wireless technology, you have the basis for the dream technology for sales organizations.

1. Voice recognition=Personalization of computing

2. Internet=Unlimited information

3. Wireless technology=Mobility

Sales professionals, within the very near future, will have personalized accessibility to all pertinent information stored across the Internet, irrespective of where they are or when they might need it. For all intents and purposes, the technology will be invisible since you will no longer require a linkage to physical hardware. Office buildings, public places, and private residences will all be connected to the Internet—all the time. All sales professionals will need to do is identify themselves (verbally or through a personal identifier proximity chip) and request data that they will then filter into the information required to make wise choices.

How this is organized and stored, though, will become more a matter of the software sciences. This, too, is a rapidly evolving field. Let’s take a look at three variations of software that could and will impact the sales team.

1. Contact Management Software (CMS). This software has been around for a while and has evolved from a hardware-based program to a shared Internet-based program. The concept behind it is to capture as much information about customer interactions as possible. From very simple to very complex, these packages collect and organize information on customer profiles, previous contact data, future contact schedules and expectations, sales, pricing, and other issues.

   CMS may, if sophisticated enough, help sales professionals analyze and prioritize their territory. Individual results can also be blended with the CMS results of other salespeople to help the sales manager improve performance and forecast results and to provide senior managers and executives with pertinent and timely sales information.

2. Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM). A more recent development in software for the sales professional has been the growth of the CRM programs. This is a major advance over contact management software because of its ability to link key customer processes across the organization to enhance the level of customer intimacy. For the first time, sales professionals have access to all interactions that have occurred between their customers and their company. For example, they can see the usual contact management information and, in addition, gather data on their customers’ interactions with their service, finance, and customer care departments. Additionally, they can connect sales with marketing campaigns, advertising, etc.

   This modular software allows an organization the opportunity to purchase and deploy only the pertinent modules required at the time, thereby providing a financial savings that links to usability. At a future date, additional modules may be added when deemed beneficial.

3. Enterprise-Wide Software. The top end of the spectrum is enterprise-wide software. This very advanced software connects all parts of the business, including sales, to measure performance and plan more effectively for resource requirements. In essence, for the first time, all departments of an organization can be linked to a common platform for analysis and exchange of key information.

   Although not thought of as a sales software, most of the programs have sales modules that link exceptionally well with the rest of the organization. No longer will the sales department be considered a separate and distinct organization, but one that is now linked strategically to all components of the business

Using Technology as a Point of Differentiation

There are several good reasons not to implement new technologies. The truth is, though, that there are several great reasons to do just that. Some benefits include:

• The need to cut through an overwhelming amount of information to get to the knowledge you need to be successful in sales

• The need to keep up with advancements in your products and applications that are coming faster and faster

• The increasing number of virtual or home-based offices

• National sales organizations that cross different time zones and geographies

• Global sales that involve different cultural perspectives and languages

When selecting a sales force technology, one question is crucial: Will this hardware or software help differentiate my sales team and my company in the eyes of the customer? If yes, proceed with your analysis. If no, reconsider. When asking for help from your IT organization, have the answers to these questions ready to make more efficient use of their invested time:

• What information would help the sales personnel to be more successful?

• How would the sales personnel prefer to receive that information?

• Are there limitations or restrictions the IT folks need to know?

Now you have some information to take to your subject matter specialists

Effective Development and Training Initiatives

There is a significant change going on in corporate America pertaining to the development, implementation, and measurement of knowledge and skill-set improvement. No longer is training conceived with the same perspective we had in our high school or college days, when we sat in stiff chairs and had theory after theory pounded into the our heads regardless of their value to us at that moment in time. Sales professionals know that to be successful in today’s world, they must learn content that matches immediate needs and that, at the same time, aligns with the overall objectives of the organization. This has presented a conundrum for the sales manager. Internal training programs are costly and sometimes lack the freshness of knowledge necessary for external success. External training organizations often lack the unique industry or customer focus necessary for the participants. What to do? That will be up to you.

You, the sales manager, are assuming a greater and greater responsibility for the developmental success of training programs. That doesn’t mean you have to go it alone, but you are the one who best understands the needs of the overall organization. Where do you get this knowledge from? Your strategy! First, you analyzed the goals of the organization and where its priorities might be. Next, you determined what your short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals for the sales organization should be. Finally, you developed a series of competencies and attributes necessary for sales success. With these in mind, training should be deployed to meet these objectives and goals. As such, follow this thinking:

• Translate strategic priorities into competency training.

• Have a clear vision of desired outcome and success measurements.

• Identify the level of resident competency within each salesperson.

• Place the desired training within a business context of sales success.

• Link training with rewards and evaluations.

• Develop training partnerships that can support your unique requirements, and develop programs that will commit to provide current, accurate, and applicable knowledge that will improve, and be aligned with, your organization’s goals and objectives.

• Consider multiple approaches to learning (audio, visual, tactile, etc.).

• Develop a post-training coaching methodology to cement the desired behavioral change within the day-today performance.

• Develop a measurement for training evaluation

Determining Strengths and Weaknesses of Individual Sales Team Members

Most likely one of your key activities as a sales manager is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each sales team member. In performing this process, you must make sure you don’t just base your views on personal feelings. Be objective. Don’t base your opinions on an overall positive feeling for the person or an overall negative feeling for the person. Don’t base them on rumors or unconfirmed information and don’t base them on comparison with others on the team. Instead, base your opinions on the needs of the business and on your strategic plan. Additionally, base them on your short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals, as well as on territory potential and the continuously changing needs of the target customers. Just as important, base your opinions on your coaching experience with the individual team members and observed behavior and on the continuing S.W.O.T. of the salesperson.

Watch the areas in the sales process that seems to present the greatest challenge to your salespeople. Through funnel management of the sales process, you will usually find that there is one point that gives sales professionals the most problems and that is often the point where they lose the majority of their opportunities.

When reviewing the training needs of the sales personnel, analyze their strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the specific competencies required for success. Recognize that every day the salesperson is smarter than the day before, and incorporate these changes into any plan

Creating Individualized Plans for Growth

The frustration in preparing a training plan for the individuals on the sales team is that they are very different from one another on the outside, and even more different from each other on the inside. They have different values and belief systems, different personal and professional goals, and different ways of learning. The three primary learning approaches to keep in mind are:

1. Audio: Those who prefer to learn by verbal instruction and listening techniques.

2. Visual: Those who prefer to watch others sell or watch videos on competency skills.

3. Tactile: Those who want to try it out for themselves to see how it ‘‘feels.’’

Additionally, don’t attempt to move the entire organization through a training program at the same pace and from the same starting point. They are all starting from a different degree of understanding and mastery. As such, they require an individualized plan for development that will take into consideration their preferred style of learning and the stages of advancement.

The typical trap is to choose a standardized performance model and try to mold everyone into it. This is not effective and fails to bring to the table the unique individual talents of your team. Remember, a team is a collection of individuals pursuing the same goals.

One last point: Sales managers are great at coaching and counseling. Formalized training is a specialized skill that sales managers should probably hand off to another person. It is not as easy as it looks, and sometimes the sales manager is too close to the situation to be objective. Also, salespeople will find additional stress in studying under their own sales manager. They need a risk-free environment. Save your knowledge transfer sessions for coaching

Getting the Sales Professional’s ‘‘Buy-In’’

Sending salespeople off to training, in whatever form it takes, is often not successful for several reasons. Among them are:

• They may not feel they need it.

• They may not feel it is important.

• They may think they are being discriminated against.

• They may feel it conflicts with their personal life.

• They may be afraid that their ignorance of the subject will be ridiculed.

• They may feel that they are going to be hurt financially.

Work through the process with the identified salesperson. Make it a part of his or her yearly plan, in addition to quota objectives. Take the following steps:

• Review the strategic plan with each salesperson.

• Get each person’s input of the competencies required to succeed.

• Ask for each person’s evaluation of where he or she is in regard to each competency.

• Ask for supportive evidence (as measured by what?).

• Tie rewards to competency attainment.

• Create a risk-free training time.

• Make sure you show how the training will support each person’s personal and professional goals.

• Help tend the home fires while the salespeople are away, and make sure their customers are taken care of