Agenda
Overview
- Time allocation
- Setting clear performance standards and expectations
- Strategies to accelerate sales growth and increase sales
- Setting and measuring sales goals
Hiring
- Candidate sources
- Interviewing techniques
- Testing and validation
- Selection process
- Getting new hires started right
Coaching
- Target your coaching time
- Assessing an individual’s coaching needs
- The coaching technique: isolate, exaggerate and integrate new behaviors
- Providing positive and effective feedback
- Developing “self-coaching” sales people
Workplace Motivation
- Using the top four sales motivators to motivate employees
- Identify and measure resistance to change—utilize a change management process
- Learn how belief systems affect behavior
- Engaging your team in change
Day 1: Morning Session
The course starts with an overview of the sales manager’s job, responsibility and organizational impact. Primary responsibilities include generating top-line revenue, selling at prices that generate desired gross margins, managing the sales budget and aligning the sales message with the company’s strategic direction. Secondary functions are hiring, training, coaching, setting up territories and territory sales quotas, monitoring sales activity and measuring team and individual effectiveness, assisting in sales activity and securing internal support for the sales effort. These responsibilities are discussed and “best practices” in each area are evaluated.
An update on the changes in buying and selling behaviors over the last five years is offered as a catalyst for discussing the changes in sales organizational structures, personnel and procedures.
Sales management must also assist and support the sales force in the three primary areas that most influence sales effectiveness: territory management (knowing where to call), selling skills (knowing how to make a sales call) and development of key account strategies (knowing what’s most important to growing the account). Best practices and application to the sales force in all three areas is discussed through group activities.
Day 1: Afternoon Session
This section starts with a coaching overview; coaching is defined and the benefits and challenges of coaching to the organization, sales person and sales manager are discussed. The sales managers’ dominant coaching style is identified and contrasted with the coaching styles required by their direct reports. A complete analysis of the sales persons’ skills, experience level, ability, willingness to be coached and motivation are then used to determine the appropriate coaching style and objective for each individual.
The methods of coaching normally available to sales managers are event or sales call coaching, problem resolution coaching and informal coaching.
There are three types of sales coaching calls: lead by example, joint calls and observation calls. Observation calls provide the sales manager the best opportunity to observe sales performance and provide constructive feedback. In-depth coaching role-plays bring the concepts to life, create behavior change and provide a through examination of coaching techniques and practices.
Problem resolution coaching is used to change a problem behavior. The coach must confirm the facts of the situation and assess their implications. The coach will then set a meeting time and agenda with the individual. Preparation, emotional maturity and the willingness to confront unproductive behavior are critical to conducting a productive interview. Action plans with a clear follow-up system are essential to assure behavior change or the case for dismissal.
Informal coaching is the fastest growing form of coaching because it is less likely to illicit a defensive response from the recipient. Informal coaching consists of providing brief, timely and consistent comments about an employee’s performance.
Day 2: Hiring
The hiring process starts by defining a clear set of criteria that predicts sales success in a company’s specific sales environment. The list of criteria is then divided into “hire” versus “coach” to establish more precise hiring criteria. A variety of sources and processes for candidate identification are judged based on effectiveness and cost. A detailed screening process is presented and methods of bias-free implementation are practiced. The role of standardized testing in the hiring process is discussed and example test results are interpreted. After a candidate is hired, the critical first six months of employment are structured to optimize the new hire’s chance of success and accelerate their productivity.
Day 3: Motivation
Building an effective, flexible and progressive sales team requires that each member of the team feel safe participating in problem-solving discussions and process improvement projects. Without open and full participation, the team will be limited to existing paradigms and processes that cannot achieve increasing sales goals or execute shifts in strategic direction. Creating a safe and participative environment is therefore the first goal of the sales manager.
Motivation is an intrinsic value and a key hiring criterion in sales. However, many aspects of the sales job create doubt, de-motivation or the belief that increased quotes cannot be achieved. Such external de-motivators are resistance to accomplishment. The sales manager must first identify the specific issues which cause the resistance and then create a new perspective that enables the sales team to view the resistance as an artificial limit that they can overcome. Once accomplished, the intrinsic motivation and belief that success is possible will catalyze the sales team into successful action.
The final session on motivation deals with the need for continuous behavior change. Old behaviors cannot yield new and improved results. The sales manager therefore has to be an agent of change in the company and in the sales force. Developing trusting relationships and taking responsibility for results are critical to continuous improvement and change.