Your Sales Problems Are in the Mirror
That’s a phrase that I shared with a gentleman that I met on an airplane recently. During the course of a coast-to-coast flight, he ranted and complained about the poor quality of his sales team. In asking him some questions, it became apparent that his lack of leadership was causing the problems with the sales team.
For instance, he had no written sales plan, nor had he established any objectives or goals. As a matter of fact, he said, “They’re on commission, they should be motivated.”
Well, between you and me, all of the studies show that there is very little, if any, correlation between compensation and motivation. Furthermore, he did not hold sales training sessions with his team nor did he follow through on his commitments to the team.
What I’m trying to say is that many of the problems that I see in sales organizations stem from the leadership or, more appropriately, the lack thereof. You can’t expect your sales team to perform, if your leadership is missing.
If you fail to follow through on commitments to your team, they will become disengaged.
Some recent studies show that as much as 78% of most sales forces are disengaged.
In other words, they show up for work but they don’t have a passion or a commitment to doing the work. They become, as a result of the lack of leadership, men and women who do the minimum to “get by“.
Take a look in the mirror and make sure that your leadership is up to the challenges of the 21st century. And, I’d say this is good advice for all management positions in all companies.
