The majority of my sales career has been in sales management at various levels, with several major companies.
I have been through countless sales management training seminars, taught numerous sales training classes and have hired, trained, coached and worked with some extremely talented sales reps.
Nothing is more gratifying to me than hiring a new sales rep and developing them into a sales machine... a revenue generator! Whether you are a new Sales Manager or a seasoned veteran, you just never get tired of that feeling!
One of my favorite stories is of a young sales guy that I inherited several years back when I was hired as a General Manager for a major Telecom company. This guy was so clueless about what he was supposed to be doing it was almost comical. He was on a Performance Improvement Plan when I started working with him and he was on his last breath, but... he was still battling!
After working with him for about 2 weeks, I uncovered something that is not easily found these days. This guy had HEART and he had the burning DESIRE to Succeed. Once I realized his determination and will to succeed, it was game on, and I was all in.
We met on a daily basis to go over his pipeline, the objections he was facing and the obstacles that were keeping him from closing the business. We of course spent a lot of time in the field and on appointments as well.
His desire to learn and his willingness to try new things along with his commitment to the process was inspiring! He was coach-able.
This guy had never made more than $50k a year in sales and when we began to work together, it became obvious that his vision of himself was that of an average sales rep, happy to make $50k, because that was what he was "worth".
After a couple of months I sat him down and said; "You are a $100k guy and you need to believe that starting today". He laughed at first, thinking I was joking, but when he realized I wasn't kidding, he got real serious and suddenly got even more focused than he normally was. (I actually think he might have soiled himself!)
It took some convincing, but he finally embraced the concept of being a top tier sales rep and I can tell you proudly, that he is now a consistent six figure sales rep and is a regular at all of the Presidents Club trips.
Sales Manager satisfaction? Off the charts!
I learned very early on that those two characteristics, Heart and a burning desire to succeed, are the core ingredients that determine the success or failure of a sales rep. Without both of these traits, it really doesn't matter how much time or effort you put into the rep, it isn't going to work long term.
Does your team have these two characteristics?
What I quickly learned in my Sales Management career, was that I only had a limited amount of time in my day and to be successful, I had to prioritize that time to maximize my effectiveness.
Translation... don't waste your time on reps that don't have the heart and burning desire to succeed. You just CAN'T want their success more than they do and there is no amount of coaching or "inspiration" that you can give to someone that doesn't have the drive inside to be successful.
Do you have a success story you would like to share? If so, submit your story here, and it just might show up on this blog!
If you follow this blog, I will do my best to share some insights I have on hiring the right sales reps and how to get the most out of your stars. But for now...
Now Go Sell Something And Make Some Money!!
John M.
