How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?

26 Responses to “How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?”

Keith Bossey, on May 4th, 2009 at 12:35 pm Said:

Dave – great post. I don’t have all the answers but one thing I do know is that most people don’t want to be in sales, so the profession is probably unable to attract all of the star performers it deserves. Secondly, sales compensation is broken. A lot of sales jobs have low pay, with a high degree of uncertainty. That makes it tough to view yourself as a professional. Look at Wall Street where there is high pay and (before recently) there was prestige. Together, that was a recipe for success. There is a lot more to this issue, but I think this is one answer.
Dave Stein, on May 4th, 2009 at 12:37 pm Said:

Thanks, Keith. I agree with your points.
Jim Klein, on May 4th, 2009 at 3:23 pm Said:

Dave, Who really knows the answer to that question, however, let me give it a shot.

I believe it boils down to the desire of the individual salesperson. Companies can spend billions on training, you and I and the rest of the sales trainers can get on our soap boxes and preach to the masses and it won’t do any good if the salespeople don’t want to put in the time and effort to be their best.

It the old 80/20 rule all over again. Most of the people don’t want to accept responsibility for their own results. They would rather play the victim and blame their company, the economy, or even the weatherman.

One other problem is anyone with a pulse can get a job some where in sales. No education, no testing, just here’s your desk, here’s your phone now go getum. You even have to have a license to cut someone hair and they can’t do as much damage as an untrained salesperson.

People don’t take sales seriously enough and it’s to bad because the sky truly is the limit. 5% of the population makes 95% of the income and 95% of the 5% are in sales.
Deborah Leff, on May 4th, 2009 at 3:47 pm Said:

Two words for you, Dave. Follow through.

If you took just one of the 29,469 books out there and really applied its teachings, you would see an improvement in effectiveness and an uptick in performance. The same is true for selling methodologies. All of the ones I have personally looked at are sound and could work. Unfortunately, marketers of these solutions characterize their products as “the silver bullet” because that is what sells their product. But the truth is, sales ineffectiveness cannot be fixed by a simple solution which is a problem since so many of us are wired to embrace the quick fix, the easy solution. And when that fails, we look for a different quick fix.

Improving effectivess takes steadfast dedication from the whole of the organization and consistent, ongoing reinforcement from front line managers. I work in this industry and it is just heartbreaking to see organizations fooling themselves into thinking there is an easy answer. There isn’t. I strongly believe that sales teams can successfully move the needle on effectiveness and I have seen it happen IF the changes a company makes are permeated throughout the organization and there is a commitment at every level to follow through. The follow through has to be clear and measurable so you can coach where you need to while adopting the new, new thing. If you cannot see who is having trouble adopting change and course correct, your efforts will be undermined. It’s hard work certainly, but those that have committed and followed through are reaping serious rewards (and eating their competitor’s lunch). They are the case studies for the industry analysts and the evny of their peers.

As I write this, I can’t help but think we could have this very same conversation about weight loss. There is no shortage of books, methodolgies, training or support groups to educate the masses on how to reach weight loss goals. The trouble is the follow through and consistently applying the prinicples that you know work which requires discipline and commitment. Okay. Enough said. Please pass the ice cream (I’ll start my diet tomorrow).

Fondly,
Deborah Leff
dleff@kadient.com
http://www.kadient.com
Dave Stein, on May 4th, 2009 at 3:48 pm Said:

Hi Jim,

You’re not wrong. Consider this. Would any other department manager in a company let their people remain in their position with below-par performance? Hire person after person that can’t get the job done? Who is it that doesn’t take sales seriously enough? The reps, sales managers, or the CEOs who haven’t put a stop to this insanity? By the way, I’m not a sales trainer, Jim. My firm, ES Research Group is a research and advisory firm that looks at the sales training/performance industry, its programs, tools and the companies that provide them. Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated.
Jonathan Farrington’s Blog » In Sales, Notes Are King, on May 5th, 2009 at 3:56 am Said:

[...] News: Over at Dave Stein’s Blog he asks “How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?” and he concludes: “What’s my point? The root causes of sales ineffectiveness are [...]
Niall Devitt, on May 5th, 2009 at 7:00 am Said:

There is a complex answer and a simple answer, but regardless of the route you take, the common denominator is leadership. Great sales teams have great sales leaders.

Jim is right about sales not being taken seriously by the wider business community and society in general, but again the fix is leadership from within.

However, I agree to a point with Jim on responsibility, he is right to say that salespeople often don’t want to take responsibility for their inaction but again who hired these people? surely much of this responsibility rests with the leadership function. This is very often what’s missing from this type of debate.

I think its important to not let sales training companies off the hook here. The objective of sales training intervention is to increase sales, so all sales training has to be set up and measured on this basis, before it can claim any level of effectiveness.

Salespeople are very often are the fall guys for lack of leadership, ineffective recruitment, lack of structure, lack of supports and ineffective training. It should be remembered that the first 6-12 mts of a career in sales are very often the most difficult, this is when salespeople need the most supports, yet many companies persist in operating a sheer numbers game.

Regards,
Niall
Santo Cuollo, on May 5th, 2009 at 10:00 am Said:

I will suggest two reasons, both management issues; One – good sales people often have to become sales managers in order to earn promotion. But, management and sales skills are not correlated. So we end up with good salepeople become mediocre managers, and mediocre salepeople staying where they are.
Second – despite the abundance of sales training resources, as you describe, the learning stays in the classroom and is not coached and reinforced in the field, where the real learning occurs. Sales managers often do not recognize the real skills needed to be an effective salesperson, and still consider sales a “soft skill”. When they use that word, I know they are placing less importance on it. This happens because when people managing sales people were not in sales themselves, but in marketing, and maintain their macro view of customers as segments, versus the micro view of customer as people with needs that a saleperson understands to be effective.
Jamie Bardsley, on May 5th, 2009 at 10:24 am Said:

An expansion on both Dave and Jim’s points re. sales person’s desire and who tkaes sales seriously.

I adamantly believe i’ts the sales manager’s job to ignite passion in the sales team. That means finding out what makes them tick, what drives them to perform and care – recognition, compensation, relationships, mentoring, a stake in the company, making a differnece etc. This also means setting up situations where they can use their passion. From there, yes it’s back to the individual’s drive. Added with training, you’ve got an unstopable team.
Dave Stein, on May 5th, 2009 at 11:16 am Said:

Hi Niall,

First, it was great meeting you in Dublin last week. I salute your philosophy, your integrity, and your commitment to sales excellence.

Personally I put little blame on sales people in all this. Sure, if a rep is deliberately deceitful, or uses their power of persuasion for their own, rather than their customer’s and company’s good, that’s unacceptable. And I really can’t blame the first line sales manager who is literally doing the best they can, having been promoted into a job they are not qualified for, nor for which they are provided any training, coaching or guidance.

It is an executive leadership issue. The whole issue of selling is grossly misunderstood by many senior executives.
Dave Stein, on May 5th, 2009 at 11:18 am Said:

Thanks for another thoughtful comment, Santo.

I agree with your position.
Dave Stein, on May 5th, 2009 at 11:22 am Said:

Thanks, Jamie.

Part of the problem (see my comment on Niall’s comment), is that the first line sales manager is often unqualified for the job. Too many first line sales managers can’t “ignite passion in the sales team,” or “finding out what makes them [the rep] tick, what drives them to perform and care – recognition, compensation, relationships, mentoring, a stake in the company, making a difference etc.” or “setting up situations where they can use their passion.” The first line sales managers have no idea!
Niall Devitt, on May 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm Said:

Thanks Dave, the pleasure was entirely mine. To clarify, I agree that first line managers are very rarely in a position to impact real change, hence we are in violent agreement that this issue is fundamentally an executive leadership issue. While there are many great sales leaders, in general there is a leadership void in our profession and there has been for as long as I can remember.
Dave Stein, on May 5th, 2009 at 2:38 pm Said:

Deborah,

Funny you should mention diets. I wrote this post last quarter. You and I are in alignment on that. You’re so right that “there is no easy answer.”

I do want to stress something here, though. You wrote, “Improving effectiveness takes steadfast dedication from the whole of the organization and consistent, ongoing reinforcement from front line managers.”

I’m not questioning first line managers’ dedication. I am questioning their ability. Although there are many positive case studies about companies that got it right, there are an equal number about companies that can’t get out of the sales ineffectiveness zone. Again, lots of reasons, but having first line sales managers with neither the skills nor the traits to get the job done is at or near the top of the list. All the dedication and top-management support won’t help them. For many, training and coaching will, but who’s got the time?
Chris Zdunich, on May 5th, 2009 at 2:45 pm Said:

Continual study and application are required after sales training.

Also, without innate sales abilities, for example, questioning and listening skills and the reading of body language, the salesperson will have a difficult time.
Sean McPheat - MTD Sales Training, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:24 am Said:

The secret to sales effectiveness is no secret!

Everyone knows what to do but they don’t do what they know. Now this can be down to many factors but in my book it’s most down to embedding the learning.

It’s all about how you implement all of the advice out there. And then you need to back that up with support from your sales coaches and sales managers and also be able to measure everything too.

Too many sales people simply do not have the back up in the workplace to improve their effectiveness whether that be when a sales rep comes back from a course or the ongoing development that your leaders supply their staff.

Training and knowledge is one thing but what’s the point if you can’t implement and embed the learning back in the workplace.

That’s why there will always be a million books and cd’s out there.

…………..how many books have you got that was a “good read” compared to “I’ve implemented 90% of what was taught”!!!!!!

Great post Jim

Sean McPheat
“The Sales Jedi”
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Dave Stein, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am Said:

Sean,

You wrote: “Too many sales people simply do not have the back up in the workplace to improve their effectiveness whether that be when a sales rep comes back from a course or the ongoing development that your leaders supply their staff.”

You’re right. Who is to blame (that’s right—blame!) and what can those of us interested in sales effectiveness do about it?
Michael Webb, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am Said:

Come on everyone! I don’t buy it.

Blaming sales problems on people who don’t want to work hard, sales managers who don’t know how to get more out of them, failure to follow through, and so forth all miss the point.

You are falling into the trap of believing “if only employees would do their jobs correctly, we would have few if any problems,” yet this belief has been shown to be incorrect time and again.

People are creatures of their environment. They behave the way they do for a reason.

The potential to reduce problems and improve productivity lies mostly in improving the system and the environment in which work is done. Not in changing the employees.

Want proof?

How often does it seem like your own company is working AGAINST the sales department?

(Likewise, how often does it seem like the sales department is working against the company?)

Please give those a moment’s thought!

Chances are, your experience supports what I’m going to say next:

Most companies do not understand what adds value and what is waste in their sales and marketing operations. They have no data, they can’t measure much of anything that causes their results. Decisions are made by seat-of-the pants.

THAT is the problem, the root cause. Some of the sales department’s problems might NOT be caused by the sales department. Some might be. Shouldn’t we figure out which is which instead of just sucking it up and working harder (again)?

Management’s JOB is to set up a system where average people can succeed. Not one that depends on the superhuman efforts of individuals.

How much better would life be if you could hire average people off the street and still beat your competition?

Toyota, Honda, and Mazda did it. (I made that point before on this blog, I think.)

IMHO, salespeople’s effectiveness can’t be fixed unless the sales process is fixed first.
Dave Stein, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am Said:

Michael,

Thanks for your comment.

I agree with much of it. “Decisions are made by seat-of-the-pants.” Bullseye. And, “IMHO, salespeople’s effectiveness can’t be fixed unless the sales process is fixed first.” I agree with that as well.

I don’t agree with the intention of your point, “How much better would life be if you could hire average people off the street and still beat your competition?” It would be great, but process can only take a person so far. The combination of traits and skills required for sales success in many (certainly not all) sales jobs wouldn’t be present in the “average” person.

For example, since few companies these days offer strategic learning and coaching programs to their salespeople, hiring a person who already has the requisite skills (planning, questioning, listening, prospecting, presenting…) is key. If someone comes up short on any of those, their productivity will suffer. Average people off the street don’t have those skills, nor do we have time to train them. So we are not seeking average people.

On the traits side we know that motivation, empathy, analytic thinking, courage, optimism, integrity, tenacity (to name a few) are required traits for many sales jobs. If a person doesn’t have some of those, process will be less effective in contributing to performance.

With all that being said, process is key.
Michael Webb, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am Said:

Dave,

I wasn’t clear in my answer … by “average” I didn’t mean an untrained salesperson. I meant an average – decent – salesperson.

When companies believe that results depend on finding the best people (to the exclusion of everything else, like they do in the sales department), they try to solve their problems by finding what they think are super men (and women).

That is a big mistake.

A well thought out process adds 20 or 30 IQ points to everyone involved. Especially in sales organizations. Without it, you’re just throwing people in to a meat grinder.

Come to think of it, that’s a great analogy for some sales organizations I’ve seen.

Sales managers don’t manage, follow up, or coach the way trainers and consultants want them to because THEIR management does not think that is important.

The executives don’t think it is important because they’ve never conceived of sales as a production system, where inputs and value add matter. They only think of it as a function where only the results matter.

I believe that’s all they’ll ever think, until they are presented with a credible, viable alternate.

Michael Webb
http://www.salesperformance.com
Dave Stein, on May 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am Said:

Thanks for the clarification, Michael.

Again, I’m with you. One definition of the noun “process” is defined as “a series of actions or operations conducing to an end ; especially : a continuous operation or treatment especially in manufacture.” Manufacture what in sales? An order! A sale! A strategic customer/supplier relationship! Predictable, ongoing revenue!
Probably the Greatest Illusion in Sales, Competitors - A, B and there is always C, on May 11th, 2009 at 12:29 pm Said:

[...] Stein asks “How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?”in a brilliant post that’s generated lots and lots of debate. Dave says “There is a [...]
Sales Leadership, My Caveat – SHOUTS from the Trenches!, on May 15th, 2009 at 5:06 am Said:

[...] you haven’t been tuning in recently, the whole question of sales ineffectiveness was brilliantly raised by Dave Stein. It’s not just a great question for sales professionals; it’s frankly the ONLY [...]
Jeff Ogden, on May 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 am Said:

I agree the fault is with senior management. But the opening statement of How to Find New Customers is “Sales is easy, but earning the trust of a total stranger is hard.”

That’s the conundrum — building trust and becoming seen as an answer to business needs takes time and patience.

It my belief that the whole world of sales and marketing has changed. Marketing needs to take over the early parts of the sales cycle. Sales is moving to an inside function — just working solid leads from marketing. High end sales will only work giant, global companies.

It will take real leadership to make this change happen.
Dave Mather, on February 11th, 2010 at 1:42 pm Said:

Great dialogue, Dave. No pat answer or one-size-fits-all solution seem to be available. My experience with Canadian sales organizations tells me most are poorly structured for sales performance improvements or market penetration. Very few are innovative – and seem more interested in flogging their canned stuff or hunkering down than actually listening to prospective clients. Sorry.

I see far too much reliance on individuals improving their performance and little attention to management’s real job – structuring the business to perform. The designer of the ship has much more impact on its performance than the captain. (Remember the dialogue betwen Kirk and Scotty on the Enterprise?) It’s management’s job to design the organization where the path of least resistance is towards performance improvement than away from it. Individual salespeople, no matter how committed, cannot do this alone.

In our market there is too much reliance on “incentives” that not only do not improve performance but actually hinder it.

Before I sound too “negative”, I see today’s climate as a tremendous opportunity to differentiate ourselves and get out there and truly help our clients deal with their issues. Sales, unlike other components of the organization, is directly tied to the customer base and can not only sell stuff, but offer hope and support to their clients in times of trouble.
Dave Stein, on February 11th, 2010 at 1:47 pm Said:

Thanks for jumping in Dave.

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26 Responses to “How Do You Fix Sales Ineffectiveness?”

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