A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

The problem most sales managers have when doing joint field work is they end up taking over the call completely. Some even forget the sales person is in the room! Taking over a sales call does nothing to train or develop the sales representative. The real purpose of doing joint field work today is so your sales representative won’t need you on sales calls in the future.

Remember, the true mark of a great sales manager are the teeth marks on his tongue.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, The B2B Sales Coach B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Whether you are dealing with customers or managing a sales team, if you keep saying yes to exceptions, they will become expectations.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Coach from B2B Sales Connections

www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, www.facebook.com/B2BSalesConnections, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

I used to work in an industry where the summer was a dead time for the sales team. The customers would shut their production down for a week or two. Contacts were on vacation and nothing moved. Then late August and early September would come and sales would start happening. This resulted in the sales people moving too fast and mistakes happening.  I effected both the sales person and the customer.

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Do you always have to wait for a few stragglers to show up before you can start your sales meetings? The key to fixing this problem is to start your meetings on time, every time, no matter what. Nothing rewards tardy behavior more than making those who showed up on time wait for those who are late. When the meeting start time rolls around, just shut the door and start the meeting. You will only have to do this once or twice before your entire team will be in the board room 5 minutes early waiting for you to start the meeting.

Ultimately, in order for everyone show up on time, they have to want to be there.  Although most sales managers hold regular meetings, few actually conduct productive sales meetings.  Unfortunately, most just end up being a waste of valuable sales time, therefore making it a chore to attend for the sales representatives. 

For specific action items that you can use to take your next sales meeting from a deflating group complaint session to a revenue increasing, motivational team development hour, download Action Plan for Sales Management Success. 

Aim Higher!

If you would like some more ideas as to how to make your sales meetings more interesting and productive, register for our free webinar Sales Meeting Ideas at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/webinars.php.  Webinar doesn’t fit your schedule?  View the presentation video in our Download Centre at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/download_centre.php. 

Do you need an expert sales management coach who is affordable and accessible?  For less than an average dinner out, you can consult with us every day and receive the personal direction you need.  For more information, check out www.b2bsalesconnections.com/coaching_services.php.

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/susanenns

Does your team really need to memorize your product’s technical specs?  It is far better for them to know how the spec relates to a customer benefit than the spec itself.  For example, stating that a machine operates at 60 cycles per minute is just useless trivia unless the customer has identified the need and will benefit from faster cycle speeds. 

As a general rule, if it’s listed on the back of a brochure, they don’t need to memorize it!

Aim Higher!

If you would like some ideas as to how to make your sales meetings more interesting and productive, register for our free webinar Sales Meeting Ideas at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/webinars.php.

For a copy of our free white paper “How To Recruit The Best Sales Professionals” visit our Download Centre at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/download_centre.php.

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/susanenns

Do you require your sales reps to submit sales reports?  Do they like doing it?  Probably not. 

That’s because they probably think your sales reports are nothing more than a policing action.  In reality, you want them to think of sales reports as a GPS navigation system to help them get to where they want to go.  To do this, you actually have to use the sales reports. 

Don’t just file them away without looking at them.  Write some comments on the report and return it to the rep.  Sometimes a comment like “Wow, you really worked hard last week.  It’s just a matter of time until it pays off!” can go along way in terms of keeping members of your team motivated.  Remember, your team has to know that submitting sales reports is not just as an exercise in futility.

Aim Higher!

For a free copy of our white paper “How To Recruit The Best Sales Professionals“, visit our Download Centre at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/download_centre.php.

Looking for ideas for your sales meetings?  Join us for our free webinar!  Check out www.b2bsalesconnections.com/webinars.php for more details.

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Do you need ideas for discussion topics for your sales meetings?  Create a file folder labeled “Sales Meeting Ideas” and keep it handy.  As discussion topics pop up during the week, just place a reminder note into the file.  On the day before the meeting when you are preparing your agenda, review your file and choose a theme for your next meeting. 

For example, if a new order process procedure is resulting in a number of questions from the sales people, you could write a note for your file to remind you to arrange for someone from the Order Processing Department to speak at your meeting.  Or if you read a newsletter with a great sales tip, put it in your folder so that you share it with your team.

As a general rule of thumb, if you receive the same question from two different sales people in a short period of time, it is an excellent topic for a sales meeting.  It’s not that the others on your team don’t want to ask the same question, they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Answer a question individually, and you will have to answer it several times, but answer it in a sales meeting, and you answer it only once.

Aim Higher!

Need more sales meeting ideas?   Join our free webinar where we discuss quick and easy ways to make your sales meetings more interesting and productive.  For more details, visit www.b2bsalesconnections.com/webinars.php.

For some sales tips that you can use in your sales meetings, check out our free sales resources at www.b2bsalesconnections.com/sales_resource.php.

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Before you place a job ad and start to interview candidates, ask yourself if you know exactly what you are looking for.  What are the sales skills required to be successful at selling your product?  What are the personality traits of your top performers?    Take the time to clearly define your perfect sales professionals so that you will recognize it when you see them.  There is not one definition of the ideal sales candidate that fits everyone, but there is one definition that fits you! 

To download a free copy of our white paper How To Recruit The Best Sales Professionals which includes “11 Telephone Interview Questions to Find Top Performers”, visit our Sales Download Centre.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Looking for some ideas for your sales meetings? Join our free webinar where we share quick and easy ways to make your sales meetings more interesting and productive. Webinar doesn’t fit your schedule? View the presentation video here.

For automated tools to help you with your sales recruiting, check out our Recruiting, Hiring & Human Resources Tool Kit at http://www.b2bsalesconnections.com/automated_tools.php

It was Spencer Johnson and Larry Wilson who said “I will have more fun and enjoy more financial success when I stop trying to get what I want and start helping other people get what they want.”  The most successful sales managers, those that produce the best results, not only know this, the live it! (more…)

When you point your finger at a sales rep telling them they are doing a bad job, there are three fingers pointing back at you.  A mistake or customer complaint is just as much our fault as managers as it is the sales representatives. If we are not giving the tools to do the job right and not training the employees how to use them, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We always have to remember to teach, not preach!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com or www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns