…

…

…

…

…

If you’re not satisfied with your sales status looks to the coach of your team - your sales managers. Here’s a way to check how good they are.

First, does your sales manager know where his/her sales will come from by account, by product / service for 2008? Or is it about, “Here is my number, let’s go out there and sell, sell, sell.” Ask each one to explain where the sales for 2008 will come from.

Second, does your sales manager know how to motivate each of his/her people? Yes, the key is money, but money goes to the family. Money is about survival but, what really gets the sales person going? See if your sales manager can answer this question about his people.

Third, does your sales manager coach and mentor. Coaching is telling his people what to do, i.e. get to the ultimate decision maker. Mentoring is showing them how to do it, i.e. show how to use your main contact to network you to the ultimate decision maker.

This requires discussing sales call plans and pursuit strategies. Then making calls together - not for the sales manager to sell, but to observe, give feedback and lay-out a behavior modification plan. How often does your manager do this with each sales person?

Fourth, does your sales manager turn-over and recruit effectively and timely? In other words does he purge the bottom 10% each year and constantly seek new recruits. Most managers are reactive. When someone leaves, they then seek a replacement. Unfortunately, because of 1-3 above, the better people (maybe not the best) leave and then the manager starts recruiting. This leaves you with the poorer performers and the new hire becomes whatever was available.

Like a college football coach, your sales manager must be good at recruiting good talent and then showing this raw talent what to do and how to do it. Don’t ever get sucked into the “experienced sales person”. Experience only means someone has been doing it before. It says nothing about how good one is, especially selling your products and services. That’s where the coaching and mentoring becomes critical. As in football and all sports, coaching and practice is critical and ongoing.

The relationship between motivation and performance is often mentioned, but not many organizations, efforts to study in detail, and ends up in the cul-de-sac, instead of the decision, on the basis of the findings and instigators.

Manager believe that the motivation of students is just psyching employee to give excellent performance. It is not greater than the old method of continuous monitoring, after a time that is no longer a worker is very pleased with the prep talk about the carrot dangling for histrionics or strengthen incentives, such as the organization makes the World to their future career.

The tools for measuring the relationship is also rudimentary, most organizations believe their strategies motivation to work when there are fewer dis-satisfaction of employees and a high turnover rate.

…

Maybe you the best and the detailed business plan, but unless you have the right software for small business, your business is the lack of profitability and productivity.

Take the example of accounting. Try to you and to all of your accounts and records in hand, and you know, as long job can be. I am not saying that it can not be done. Only in this way that we will succeed in time and requires a lot of discipline.

Contrary to what most people believe, accounting software is not difficult to use. It is also economical. So why should not small businesses in your accounting software?

I heard all kinds of answers to this question. Some say it is too small to choose confusion business software. Others say they do not want investment in staff training on how to use the software.

Anything to do with your employment is political anyway and if you have been selected to make a presentation at a sales meeting you can bet your bottom dollar that it is not intended to make you look good it is intended to make the sales manager or one of his pets look good. And remember, by the time you have arrived at the podium every one else from the Managing Direct to the sales manager has done their bit and everyone is waiting to get to the bar so no one is listening anyway.

They say keep it short and start with a joke if you were the star act and being paid several million for the finally then you might just attract someone’s attention. Remember, you are the butt of the joke it was intended that you be embarrassed as you struggle to be heard over several hundred raised voices preparing to leave the room if many of them have not done so already. There are a couple of your colleagues who have been seeded with questions intended to embarrass you so any attempt at making a serious presentation is doomed to fail.

Keeping in mind that no one is listening anyway, that is until you are bushwhacked, start by taking control and asking the sales manager if he would have the decency to stop talking whilst you are making your presentation. Get the mob on your side: The sales manager started this conference with two jokes, he mentioned the commission structure and next years targets I am going to end the conference with one joke and ask the sales manger to close the conference.