Kickfannie SalesEdge
by Allan Barmak for Kickfannie Sales & Marketing
Sales people have a reputation for having large egos. Is there a good way to funnel egos for positive results, without having to fire my entire sales team?
You’re right. Salespeople have big egos and we love them for that. I love that a good salesperson is competitive, that they track their performance, and most importantly, that they want to bring in a ton of money for the company. But salespeople are part of a sales team, and that’s the important word- team. Just like the players on any team, each individual is going to have different strengths and weaknesses. However, it’s the manager’s responsibility to bring all of those diverse talents together and focus them so that the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
A great way to leverage the different strengths of each member of the team is to organize into vertical categories and then adjust their comp plans accordingly. It’s all about incentivizing the behavior that you want. For example, let’s say you have one sales rep on your team who is a more senior sales executive and he is comfortable meeting with and pitching to the CXOs of companies. You want him to bring in the big fish. So, focus him on the top prospects in the territory but make sure his comp plan reflects the higher dollar value of each sale but also the longer sales cycle. Then, you might have a salesperson who has a great rapport with clients but isn’t as strong at prospecting and cold calling. I would recommend focusing that person on customer retention, and compensating them accordingly. For example, assign their goals relative to the dollar value of accounts that they keep and grow over time.
Think about any successful sports team- each player isn’t the best at every skill that is required to play the game. On a football team, an offensive lineman might have trouble kicking a 40 yard field goal, and the kicker would certainly have a tough time blocking a 350-pound defensive end. However, each player has their specific responsibilities on the team based on their skill set. Without each player performing their task successfully, the team as a whole can’t succeed. Recognize the necessity of a division of labor within your sales staff and you will soon find that you will increase your revenue by realigning to leverage each salesperson’s strength.
About the Contributor
Allan is a national speaker and author of “The Accidental Salesperson”. His live training events have been sold out all over the country. He leads a sales consulting and training firm which leverages his 20 years of sales experience in digital media. Over the years, he has worked with a variety of different companies, across a wide range of industries, helping each of them expand their sales operations by optimizing existing revenue streams as well as building new ones.
Throughout his career, he has an extensive history of success selling online advertising, including 10 years at AOL, and a total of 7 years with other digital start-ups.
For additional information on Allan check out his website at www.barmakgroup.com
Submit Questions for Allan to answer at SalesEdge@kickfannie.com