Sales Training Blog | Colleen Stanley

One of the nicest Christmas cards I've ever gotten was from a former colleague I will call Joan.

At one time, she was brilliant in her profession. Unfortunately, due to an illness, Joan wasn't able to recapture her former level of excellence. The problem was that no one was willing to tell Joan.

She continued to get hired -- and six months later, get fired. Friends kept telling Joan to continue her pursuit, declaring she was still qualified. I finally pulled Joan aside and gently explained that life isn't fair. It wasn't fair that Joan was sick, not recovering and unable to execute with her former flair.

I also shared with Joan that she wasn't being fair to herself. By going after the same positions, she was setting herself up for failure. It wasn't fair; however, it was the truth.

The Christmas card I received in 2003 thanked me for being understanding and upfront with her. In Joan's words, she thanked me for being a "truth teller" when others weren't.

I often have thought more sales teams would be more productive, be more genuine and close more sales if they would just learn to be truth-tellers.

Here are just a couple of examples:

Example A -- The prospect asks you to put together a proposal. The salesperson hasn't heard any dissatisfaction with the prospect's current vendor.

Truth-telling response: "Mr. Prospect, I would be happy to put a recommendation together for you. However, I haven't heard any reasons why you would need to leave your current supplier. They seem to be giving you excellent service, fair pricing and are good at anticipating your needs. What am I missing?"

Isn't this the truth? Why should the prospect switch? Why should you spend hours on a proposal for a prospect with no problems?

Example B -- The prospect asks you to put together a recommendation but won't allow you to speak with other decision-makers. The salesperson knows input from other members of the organization is necessary.

Truth-telling response: "Mr. Prospect, I am going to decline turning in a recommendation. I can turn in a proposal; however, without input from the rest of the team, the proposal will be insufficient and miss hitting all company objectives."

Isn't this the truth? Missing data equals poor solution.

The above examples sound simple. So why is truth-telling hard on a sales call?

Salespeople are afraid of the truth. We don't want to hear the prospect is happy and satisfied because that means we may have to go out and find a new prospect. It's more comfortable spending time and energy creating proposals than creating new relationships.

There is lack of conviction in our sales process. For example, a good surgeon goes into surgery with the correct instruments, technology and nursing staffing. They don't compromise or skip steps. They have a process for surgery.

Good salespeople need to be just as convicted in their sales process and not compromise or skip steps. They need to be truthful with prospects about their process for doing a "sales diagnostic" in order to provide an effective recommendation.

Truth-telling doesn't stop with sales and sales calls. It extends to sales management and leadership roles. I have had good mentors in my business and sales career. Many of these mentors were truth-tellers holding up a mirror to my weaknesses.

One such mentor was Kline Boyd, my former boss. He was a gracious, Southern gentleman. I was a young, brazen Midwesterner climbing the corporate ladder. More than once, Kline pulled me aside, pointed out how my direct style offended others, suggested I slow down and reminded me to treat others the way I wanted to be treated.

Did I always like truth-telling? No. Did truth-telling make me grow as a person and professional? Yes. Truth-telling is a great gift.

So why don't more leaders engage in truth-telling?

It's not always comfortable and may create conflict. Many people equate conflict with hostility and anger. What most people don't understand is that a relationship with any depth to it probably has experienced some kind of conflict. (Anyone reading this article married?) Conflict often provides an opportunity for introspection, growth and change.

Truth-telling isn't a popularity contest. I strongly believe the sales manager's main role is to develop and grow people, both personally and professionally. That growth may come from teaching a salesperson how to work on a team to being more effective on a sales call to developing good work habits.

It may not be easy to tell the truth about someone's attitude, lack of sales skill or poor time-management skills. But keep in mind you may be the first sales manager to tell this salesperson the truth. You may be the first sales manager who cared enough about the salesperson to confront him or her with the reality of the situation. You may be the first sales manager who is helping this salesperson grow.

Truth-telling is a great gift. It's free. Pass it on.

They are top producers and rainmakers. They are also carriers of Golden Handcuff Syndrome. Golden Handcuff Syndrome (GHS) occurs when a top sales producer handcuffs the sales manager and holds the company hostage. Hostage situations vary. The Golden Handcuff salesperson may not honor company mission statements, follow process, complete reports or participate in meetings. All of that is for other members of the sales team, not them. They might also dump work on other departments.

So why do companies keep GHS salespeople? There are many reasons. Here are a couple:

It's lonely at the top.

The vice president of sales and/or CEO is the driving force behind the vision of a sales organization. They are charged with looking to the future and making the changes needed to keep the company competitive, viable and healthy. Sometimes the problem is that no one else sees or shares the vision. There is pushback, the leader is alone in their conviction and self-doubt sets in. This is when sales leaders are tested to hold firm to their vision and convictions.

I can think of two examples of great leaders holding firm to their convictions.

The first is Jack Welch. In his book, "Straight From The Gut," he tells the story of changing the GE culture to a boundaryless environment, in which the team is placed ahead of individual ego, and leaders are encouraged to share the credit for ideas with their teams rather than take full credit themselves.

Welch was convinced this type of culture was necessary for success in a global economy. He started the initiative in 1990. Expectations were set, education provided and compensation plans rewarded managers who grew boundaryless environments. Welch let go of five corporate officers in 1992. One was removed for numbers. The other four were asked to go because they didn't practice GE values of a boundaryless environment.

I'm sure it was tempting for Welch to keep these top executives because they were hitting their numbers. Instead, he honored his convictions, and the rest is history. GE revenues went from $70 billion in 1995 to $130 billion in 2000.

The second example is football coach Lou Holtz. While at Notre Dame, he benched two top players before a crucial game with the University of Southern California. The reason: They were consistently late for practice, which disrupted the rest of the team. After numerous warnings, reprimands and lectures, Holtz honored his conviction of not making short-term decisions that can jeopardize long-term gains. Holtz knew he was building a team and a culture.

Again, the rest is history. Holtz led the Fighting Irish to a national championship.

Measuring top line, not bottom line.

Here is an example from the world of manufacturing and distribution. The Golden Handcuff (GH) producer dumps work and responsibility onto other departments in the company. Orders are missing information. (They manage so much volume they can't possibly pay attention to detail.) Customer service is charged with following up with the client to get missing information, complete the order, touch base with the GH rep to inform him of changes and work overtime to catch up on work not completed because they were playing executive assistant to the GH rep.

The problem with this scenario is two-fold.

The first is profit. While the GH rep may be hitting top-line dollars, the dumping of their work and responsibility affects the bottom line. Customer orders are delayed because of missing information. The warehouse is expediting the order overnight because of delays caused by the front end. A discount is given to the customer to keep them happy after the delay. Is the GH rep helping or hurting the bottom line?

The second problem is a morale issue. Each salesperson is paid to perform a role, which carries accountabilities and responsibilities. How does a sales manager justify the customer service representative being the executive assistant for one rep (initials: GH) and not other top-producing reps? How does the sales manager justify paying the same compensation plan when the GH rep is not fulfilling his responsibilities while other top producers are doing so?

Reward and consequence programs are one of the most effective ways to cure Golden Handcuff Syndrome. Such programs are easy to discuss but often hard to implement. Many sales organizations have a reward program, but few have put in a consequence one.

Here's a simple formula for setting up such a program. (Remember, your personal conviction may be the biggest obstacle to implementing this program.)

Define high performance for your sales team (type of customer, margin, activity, values, process). Reward high performance through compensation, recognition, incentives and perks. Deter poor performance through decreased compensation, recognition, incentives and perks. Call a peer for encouragement when your conviction starts wavering because the GH rep is threatening to leave and take away business.

Sales team realizes you are serious. Top producers not suffering from Golden Handcuff Syndrome enjoy being rewarded for their efforts, thank you and start producing more. Enjoy your new sales culture -- one that ensures a profitable future for your company. Pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for breaking out of sales jail.

PS. Stay tuned for SalesLeadership's new EI Sales Management Program launching in January 2010!

Labels: "impact training" "sales meetings" "sales management" "emotional intelligence selling", "managing a sales team", "sales managment"