A typical salesperson falls into one of two categories: someone who makes excuses as to why they are not succeeding or someone who executes their own success, and by extension the success of their customers.
But truly exceptional sellers—the mythical 20 in the 80/20 rule—go deeper, driven to experiment and, as a result, continuously extend their skills.
It sounds simple enough, but it’s difficult for many salespeople. This is an instance where you have to get past the “messaging” and explore the action.
It’s easy to look at the front line and find fault. But an organization’s ground work, expectations, culture and accountability derive from the leadership responsible for the company’s success. Often, a lack of experimentation results from leadership’s inability to distinguish between focus and limits. But one can focus on outcomes for buyers without limiting execution—especially when winning deals is about helping buyers achieve objectives, not differentiate products.
Change is key to sales success. Front-line salespeople try to get buyers to change the way they see and do things, as well as what they are willing to do. One of the biggest barriers to this objective is the seller’s own reluctance to change. Why would a customer make a change with you when your actions reinforce the fact that you yourself are closed to transformation?
One way to approach change is to establish and maintain a dynamic, continuously evolving sales process. This will not only allow leaders to demonstrate change, but drive it through every level of the organization. Central to this is a deal review process—we use one called the 360 Degree Deal Review, which allows organizations to identify and capture movements in the market and respond accordingly. The front line can expand according to findings, sales and marketing while leadership can support that change by introducing initiatives that both support them and make the organization as a whole responsive to its market and clients.
Tibor Shanto is an author, speaker and trainer with 25 years’ experience in the B2B sales industry.
Another area where leaders can experiment and expand? Hiring.
I once knew a vice president who hired only employees with “industry experience.” After some arm twisting, he hired a successful salesperson from a different industry with a different style.
Many of the habits rubbed off and managers actively encouraged others to follow suit. We built coaching plans to help willing salespeople change and grow and replaced those who did not like the experiment with individuals with varied backgrounds and styles. The culture and success continues to expand. —T.S.
