How can I get greater productivity out of my salespeople? In one
form or another, that's a question every owner and sales manager
ponders regularly.
As a sales trainer and consultant, it is the basic question that
I confront. And it is the underlying question behind every
attempt to train salespeople. Investing in training and
developing your salespeople is always a good idea. But it isn't
the entire solution for many organizations.
Often, enormous improvements in sales productivity can be
achieved by sharpening the structure of your sales organization.
The structure is the sum total of all the policies, guidelines,
procedures and tools your company uses in its sales effort. It's
everything about how your company sells, other than the people
themselves. For example, your compensation plan is part of the
structure. It doesn't matter (hopefully) who the salesperson is,
the compensation formula is the same for everyone. Your sales
automation system is part of the structure. Whether you use palm
devices, laptops or paper to manage customer information - the
way that you do it in your company is part of the structure. How
you manage your salespeople is part of the structure. Do they
report to branch managers or sales managers? How many salespeople
are there per manager? How often do you have sales meetings? What
forms are salespeople required to submit to their managers?
All of these decisions you have made about how things are done in
your sales organization have gradually been codified into a
structure. That structure forms the rules for the salespeople,
and tells them what to do and how to do it. That structure
stimulated certain behavior, and the salespeople create practices
and habits that reflect your structure.
Here's a list of the major components of a typical sales
structure:
* Sales tools
* Information systems
* Sales process design
* Sales training program
* Sales territory design
* Sales compensation plan
* Sales automation systems
* Sales management practices
* Sales administration/support
* Job descriptions for salespeople
* Assignment of markets and customers
* Processes for continuous development of salespeople.
Why does all this matter? Because of a powerful truth of human
behavior: Change the structure and you change the behavior of the
people who operate within that structure. This is true for any
organized group of people, whether it be a family, a school, a
volunteer organization, a business, or a sales team.
Here's an example. For years my wife and I were foster parents.
We cared for 19 foster children over a fifteen-year period of
time. Most of these children came from miserable home situations,
and were out of control when they came into our home. Over the
years, I watched my wife impose a structure on them that always
resulted in the kids responding positively.
On the first day they came into our home, my wife would show them
the bed where they would sleep, and let them know that they were
expected to sleep in that bed. They were expected to wash their
faces, brush their teeth, eat three meals at the table with the
family using silverware and plates, go to bed at certain time,
get up at a certain time, etc. She imposed a clear and
comprehensive structure on them.
The responses were predictable. At first they would test the
limits. But once they discovered that the rules really were the
rules, that there was a clear and understandable structure, they
began to blossom within that structure. They knew what was
expected of them, they sensed that the rules were good for them,
and they began to develop within the rules. That shouldn't be any
surprise. Because, when you change the structure, you change the
behavior of the people who operate within that structure.
This fundamental principle of human behavior is just as true when
it is applied to sales efforts. From my experience as a sales
consultant, I can assert, without a shred of hesitation, that you
can expect significant and measurable improvements in the
productivity of your sales efforts if you will sharpen your
structure. For example, we're often involved in helping to revise
a sales compensation plan. Let's say we create a plan that
provides an additional incentive for the salesperson to acquire
new accounts. We've changed the structure. What happens as a
result? The salespeople modify their behavior and call on more
prospects, acquiring more new accounts.
Here's another example. We'll often work with branch managers or
sales managers to help them institute a certain kind of sales
management system. Part of our system requires a highly
structured monthly one-on-one meeting between the manager and the
salesperson. As part of this meeting, managers discuss the coming
month's plan with their salespeople.
When this system is implemented, it represents a change in the
way things are done - a modification of the structure. Since
we've changed the structure, we can expect a change in the
behavior of the people. What kind of change do we normally see?
Typically, salespeople become more strategic and less
extemporaneous. They spend more time planning because the
structure requires that of them.
We can go on and on with countless examples. But you get the
idea. When you change the structure, you change the behavior of
the people who operate within that structure.
So, now the question becomes, "How can you use that insight to
improve the performance of your salespeople?"
Typically, most sales structures have evolved over time as a
result of specific decisions that were made in years gone by.
Over time those decisions have been hardened into the real rules
of how things get done in your organization. Some aspects, like
compensation, are often finely articulated, while other portions
of the structure, like how samples are distributed, are rarely
written down.
Some of these structural rules are positive, in the sense that
they are well thought out and designed to stimulate certain
behavior on the part of the salesperson. Unfortunately, much of
the structure is not positive. It developed unconsciously instead
of thoughtfully, and detracts from positive sales behavior. For
example, your salespeople may have developed the habit of coming
into the office every Monday morning for a few hours to start
their week. No one told them to do that, it's not part of any
management plan, it just happened. Somewhere, some time in the
past, some one started doing that, and it became part of the
structure. No one has ever considered whether they ought to do
that, or whether that practice is wise and time effective.
If you want to make measurable changes in the productivity of
your sales team, refine your sales structure. Here's how to go
about it.
Four Steps to Sharpening Your Sales Structure
Step one: Identify and clarify your current structure.
Since much of the sales structure is composed of unspoken rules
and habits, you may not even be aware of it. So, you need to
identify and clarify exactly what rules and procedures your
salespeople operate within.
You may want to gather a task force for this project. Enlist the
involvement of a couple of your most insightful salespeople, and
add in some bright managers and executives. It's also helpful to
have someone from outside your company be a part of this process.
Charge the group with identifying the real structure. Write it
down. What are the procedures that govern the communication
between your sales managers and salespeople? What are the routine
practices of your salespeople? How about your sales managers? How
are samples and literature distributed? What computer-related
skills do you expect of your salespeople? What is your sales
compensation program? How are your sales territories configured?
How are proposals written and tracked? What training do you
provide your sales force?
Take all the pieces of your structure - the rules, procedures and
tools, and describe them in writing. Use the list at the
beginning of this article to guide you. Now you have a starting
point. Pay attention to what really happens in your organization,
not what is supposed to happen. For example, you may have a
policy somewhere that says that branch managers will have a
monthly meeting of the entire sales staff. The reality may be
that it rarely happens. You want to record the reality.
Step two: Analyze the structure.
Look at each piece of the sales structure and ask this question,
"What impact does this have on the productivity of our sales
efforts?"
Does that straight commission sales compensation plan really
encourage salespeople to acquire new accounts? Does the common
practice of salespeople starting every week with two to three
hours in the office on Mondays really help them be more
productive? Are those irregular sales meetings well designed and
helpful? Is learning "on the job" really the best way to create a
professional salesperson? Is the practice of salespeople
reviewing every big order to make sure it has been keypunched
correctly really necessary? Are geographically defined sales
territories the most effective organization?
Step three: Prioritize the revisions.
If you've never attended to the structure before, you may
discover that you have unearthed a huge task, with an
overwhelming number of practices, procedures and rules that need
to be changed. Best to prioritize and start with those that will
make the biggest difference first. From my experience, here are
the areas that hold huge potential for stimulating
transformational change:
* your job descriptions for salespeople (not that piece of paper
you have in some file drawer, but the reality of what you
expect your salespeople to do)
* your sales compensation plan.
* your sales information system (sales force automation) or
lack thereof.
* your sales management system - the procedures that govern the
way in which salespeople communicate with their supervisors.
* your system for training and developing salespeople (or lack
thereof).
This may not be true for your business, but typically the list
above contains the five major pieces of sales structure. And,
while the task of articulating and clarifying every piece of your
sales structure is daunting, every well managed, productive sales
team needs to have well thought-out, clearly articulated
policies, procedures, practices and tools regarding these major
five components.
If you have these things in place, then move on to other issues,
prioritizing them according to their potential for stimulating
positive behavior change in the salespeople.
Step four: Make changes as necessary.
If only it were this easy. Some of these practices have been
around so long that many of the salespeople consider them sacred.
How dare you change the compensation plan that you inherited from
the previous administration ten years ago?
If you've gathered a task force earlier, that group can be a
powerful tool for change management. Gather their input on
priorities and the best way to implement and announce changes.
Start with those issues about which you are most passionate, and
that you know will make the biggest change in sales force
behavior. If you've not made major changes in your sales
structure recently, you are likely to meet some passionate
resistance. It's not unusual to lose 5 - 10% of your sales force
when you make significant changes in each of the five issues
mentioned above. Make sure you count the cost before you act.
Give yourself time to carry out each initiative and to guarantee
the success of the change before you start on the next one. It
typically takes a full year, for example, to refine and implement
a new compensation plan.
In some organizations, this project is so large it becomes a
permanent job - managing structural change in the sales system.
In others, it's a periodic task. Regardless, it is one of the
best things a sales executive can do, almost guaranteed to return
sales and profits far in excess of what it costs to carry it out.
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