SMT: Center for Sales Excellence

Sales Leaders

by Susanne Conrad

I came across an article on developing leaders in Workforce Management that got me thinking about a  conversation with a Sales Training Manager who talked about "developing leaders" in their sales organization. The gist of it went something like this:

"We really want to create sales leaders instead of sales people. In other words, a sales force that acts like this is their own business. Entrepreneurial types. People who think outside the box. People who take initiative and make the right call on the spot and have the background, knowledge, skills and abilities to do so. So, we're going to create a development program that gives them instructions and steps to act as leaders and to be entrepreneurial within the parameters we set out along with the forms and tools needed to do so."

I don't know about you, but my first thought was, "You can't prescribe/lay out steps for acting as a leader or to be entrepreneurial/creative." In my opinion, leadership is a quality, not a series of steps. And laying out a process for thinking creatively/outside the box is just forcing people into another box. Besides, leadership and creativity are two different, although very often linked, issues to address. 

Let's hone in on the "leadership" aspect - many of our clients are focused on developing sales leaders. In fact, many of them have used "sales leader" somewhere in the name of their development initiatives (e.g., "Sales Leader of the Future" and "Sales Leader Development"). It's absolutely true that some sales people need to be sales leaders given the nature of their customer/account/sale type/industry/marketplace/competition, etc. It's equally true that not all sales people need to be leaders. Some sales people just need to be extremely good transaction-focused sales people. It's like having an entire army made up of generals - it wouldn't work. An effective, efficient army definitely needs great generals, but it also needs great troops.

I think that it is extremely important for an organization to define exactly what it means by "sales leader" and who/where/when they need these leaders. Then, the organization should make sure they understand which customers/accounts really want/need a "sales leader" calling on them. Developing programs for sales leaders and exceptional/effective sales people are different animals.

THE QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
> Does your organization have a focus on developing sales leaders?
> Does your organization distinguish who needs to be a sales leader and who needs to be an exceptional sales person?

How to Hire a Client

by Susanne Conrad

This week I thought I'd specifically address those in our SMT membership who are service/product providers to sales and marketing L&D folks.

There isn’t a provider I know of who doesn't want to grow his/her business. But, if you’re working with a client that is difficult, unappreciative or impossible to satisfy, etc. there’s little room for fulfillment or satisfaction and very often a significant probability that you'll be unable to make a profit on your work. So, it's important to keep in mind that although a potential client is deciding whether or not to purchase your services or product, you too are making a choice and in the position of saying "yes" or "no" to taking that person or company on as your client.

The question becomes: "How do you, the provider, determine whether or not to work with a client?"

Let's put aside the most obvious qualifiers like: Do they actually have the funds to pay for the work they contract for; is there a good match between what the client needs and the solutions you can provide, etc. Instead, let's delve into the more subtle aspects of the provider-client relationship.

Heed the red flags!
While it's often difficult to spot problematic situations in advance, there are often tell tale signs - signs we may ignore in our haste to get another client or because we're not paying attention. 

Certainly we can all be fooled into thinking we’ve connected with a great client only to discover we’ve made a mistake - that's true from both sides of the consultant-client relationship. But, experience and attention are great teachers of the signals and indicator for whether your potential client is someone you want to work with.

Red flags? What red flags?

Level of Trust - Do you sense that despite your providing robust background information, references, work examples, case studies, etc., they seem to doubt your ability or expertise? Do they respect your time and efforts? Do they extend you the same courtesy you show? Do you sense they're giving you a real shot at the work or are they "on a fishing expedition" for material/solutions?

Respect for Your Intellectual Capital - Do you sense (or worse yet, have evidence) that the potential client will share your work, your methodology, your tools, etc. beyond what is acceptable within the scope of the "purchase" they're contracting?

Good Style Match - Is your working style and energy level and the potential client's congruent/productive/complementary?  Is the potential client open to mutually adjusting work styles to ensure a good outcome?

There are, I'm sure, many more "red flags" we should we watching for.

THE QUESTION FOR YOU
What indicates to you that you're about to hire a great client?