subject: Drive 20% More Sales in 2010? [print this page] Drive 20% More Sales in 2010? Drive 20% More Sales in 2010?
For many sales managers 2009 has been a very challenging year. With 2009 almost behind us, we need to look ahead at 2010. Have your sales targets increased for next year? How are you going to ensure that you team can deliver?
To help you and your team develop some strategies for increasing sales we have brought together three sales specialists to share specific ideas that you can implement in 2010 to get and stay ahead of the curve. Over the next few days we will present strategies to help you impact how you sell, and how sales managers can help their teams succeed.
In my experience with leading sales forces and working with sales leaders I have found that too many sales organizations operate well below their potential. The regions that do the best are the ones that are lead by STAR front line sales managers. Studies show that:
The #1 performance factor for sales people is the quality of their manager. A high quality manger has far greater impact than skills training or compensation according to CEO's across the globe.
The #1 manager activity associated with rep success is coaching. Coaching is the single most impactful activity that front lines sales managers perform. Studies show that effectual coaching can impact sales performance by as much as 20%!
The #1 reason why top performing sales reps leaves an organization is their relationship with their manger. Great front line sales managers do a far better job retaining top performing sales people.
OK, sales managers are you convinced that you are the key to unlocking the performance of your sales team?
Do you want to know what STAR trained sales managers do differently? To that end what do STAR sales managers have in common. What are the factors that make them more successful than their counter parts?
To me the short answer is focus. STAR sales managers will tend to focus more of their time on key activities that drive sales performance. STAR sales managers are very strong at coaching. They spend more time coaching and helping their reps get better. STAR coaches will focus on working on one key area (skill, competency or behaviour) for improvement for each of their sales people. They will continue to focus on coaching a specific skill until there is a marked improvement in that particular skill. Not until the sales reps demonstrates an 8 or 9/10 in the area of focus will the sales manager re focus their area of coaching.
Without a doubt STAR sales managers spend more time than their counter parts for two reasons. Firstly they realise that this is they get their biggest ROI on time spent when they are coaching and secondly they are good at coaching. Sales managers who are great coaches naturally spend more time coaching because they are good at it and they really enjoy seeing their reps develop. Sales reps who receive more coaching have higher levels of engagement and have been shown to have better sales to quota than their counter parts who receive less coaching.
One of the take aways for managers who want to be STARS in 2010 is the quantity and quality of coaching will have a major impact on your results. You can be the driver of your own success.
With so many competing tasks for managers, it is critical that more time is spent on activities/tasks that drive sales. STAR managers spend a greater portion of their time interacting with customers. It is not the manager's role to complete the sale but they focus on supporting their sales people through the selling process. Managers who are actively involved in supporting their reps through the selling process deliver far better results.
On the flip side average managers spend a greater proportion of their time on non revenue generating activities. The average sales managers manage from the comfort of their office. They are focused on administrative work, approving proposals and reviewing reps activities.
If you want to be a top 20% performer and generate 20% more sales in 2010 you need to focus your time and energy on supporting revenue generating activities. The sales managers who decide they will spend more time coaching and less time pushing paper will be the ones who succeed. The choice is your.
