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Sales Competence Isn't About Quota Performance!
Compounding the problem are two myths regarding measures of competency in sales. Myth#1: Quota performance does not equate to sales competency A salesperson's quota is usually determined by management. More often than not, the quota is set as a way to attain a goal of an increased share price or its just pulled out of the air as a "nice-to-have-number" that is bigger than last year. It's a rare organization that can articulate how a quota was set. It's even rarer to find an organization that sits down to do the sales math and determine the realistic quota and stretch quota for their salespeople. Without this understanding, how do you know if the quota is too high? How do you know if it is too low? You don't! Therefore the salesperson that hits quota in an organization that doesn't know how to set one is not proving his or her competence. Myth#2: Activity level does not equate to sales competency - Many organizations set sales activity goals. They will ask their salespeople to accomplish X sales calls, X phone calls, and X proposals a day. These types of measurements, and constantly hitting them, do not mean the person can sell. Sure, there is a positive correlation between activity and selling, but if I play the lottery every single day I probably won't win. If I play X lottery games, in X states, and with X amount of money, it doesn't mean I'm driving towards a win. It simply means I'm increasing my chances. I'd rather have someone that knows exactly what they are doing and not playing the lottery with their sales territory. So what exactly is sales competency? Competence is defined as someone's knowledge, skill and internal motivation. Knowledge is the building block of competence. Effective sales professionals are continuously learning and they have developed a framework and process for accessing their knowledge. They have a solid knowledge foundation and they understand their strengths and weaknesses. Skill is determined by the knowledge a salesperson has gained plus their experience level. The most skilled sales professionals have stayed in one vertical market or industry for a longer period of time. They have also stayed in the same sales role for a longer length of time (such as outside sales). They have also followed a defined career path with increasing levels of responsibility and complexity of sale. Internal motivation is someone's self talk, drive, and purpose. Their passion for the product, zeal for the organization where they work, and their positive attitude form the cornerstone for the ability to overcome objections, handle rejection, or deal with poorly set sales quotas. A competent sales person has the ability to move into any organization and gain the trust of the decision-makers. They work to create a situation where buying can occur within an ethical environment at a fair price. They have the knowledge to speak to a CEO, the front-line manager, or the newest employee about what issues and challenges they face. Most of all they strive to increase their knowledge, skill, and motivation so they can be the best at what they do. Brian is the Chairman and Founder of the the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA). UPSA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington DC that has addressed the concerns and challenges of individual sales professionals. Brian has authored the world's first universal selling standards and open-source selling framework for free distribution. This 'Compendium of Professional Selling' containing the commonly accepted and universally functional knowledge that all sales professionals possess. The open-source selling standards have been downloaded in 16 countries by over 300 people. Over 30 people have made contributions. Because UPSA is not owned by one person or any company, it is a member organization and guardian of the global standard of entry into the sales profession. Find out about the membership organization and understand the processes and framework of professional selling at the UPSA Website at http://www.upsa-intl.org. Find out more about Brian at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Brian_Lambert
Sales-Management - Google News |
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Careers and Employment The Achilles Heel of Management Coaching While heading home at day's end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance. If not, you feel that your only remaining alternatives are to give her a poor performance evaluation or demotion or may even fire her. You're reluctant to do either of the first two things because you know these would disrupt the positive work relationship you've had with Chris. And you don't really want to fire her. On the other hand, you are running out of patience; this is the fourth time you've said something to Chris about the situation. Admittedly, the first few times, your comments may have missed the mark because you gave her only some casual feedback. But about a month ago, you held a formal coaching meeting with Chris, in which you discussed the situation in depth and came away thinking that she understood the need to change her behavior. In fact, she did change. But after a week or so, she was back to her old behavior. How to Keep Projects From Spinning Out Of Control Are you involved in projects that seem to go nowhere in a hurry? The Benefits of Catalog Sales For Your Business Things to watch out for when selling your product in catalogs. Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice. A commodity is any product or service where the target prospect is likely to be thinking: Do You Know How to Fire Up Your Sales Staff (When Money Isnt Everything)? Money is the only thing that motivates a salesperson, right? Well, maybe it is time to give your sales staff a little more credit. All Small Businesses Need to Gather Community Intel How well do you know your community? As business owners it is essential that we know our communities intimately. Have you ever made the effort to learn more about your town; Do you even know where to look. Lets discuss some ways to gather intel for your community based marketing efforts. How To Have A Successful Retail Sales Event In the 30-plus years I spent working in advertising and marketing, one of the most frequently asked questions I got from retailers was "how can I make sure I have successful sale?" While there are no hard and fast answers to this question, there are some guidelines you can follow to maximize your chances of that sale being successful. To Increase Your Sales and Revenue Make Sure To Add Value What are you and your company's services and products worth to customers? What is the value you and your company bring to your customers? When working with customers and organizations, it is important to distinguish the difference between worth and value and to set a baseline value for the contributions you bring to the table. To illustrate, following is a simple example based on a company that provides training to other companies: Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales? Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing. For example, 'Your pipeline should be at least three times of your annual sales target'; 'Your conversion ratio of opportunities to closed orders should be 60%', and so on. Nothing like a bit of statistical analysis from the bean counters to motivate the sales team is there? Remember that old saying?'You can prove anything with statistics'. Here, we see it applied for real, albeit on an unconscious level. Sex, Drugs, & Rock-n-Roll: Trade Show Traps and Tips Sex, Drugs & Rock-n-Roll Promoting Your Private Label at Industry Trade Shows So everyone thought you were crazy when you announced 6 months ago that you were quitting your "real job" in hopes of chasing starting your own Private Label Clothing Line. Your house is a disaster, blank shirts and line sheets everywhere, your living room has been transformed into a makeshift production lab. You've bled and sweat, investing every last of ounce of time, effort and inevitably?your life savings. At last, you are first sample line is complete and your line sheets are nothing short of spectacular. Congratulations! But wait?better take a deep breath as the real work has only begun. What next? Snowflakes Improve Holiday Sales Snowflakes are beautiful! Management by Osmosis Sales managers are an interesting breed, effective sales managers are a rare breed. Managing a sales team is entirely different than managing other groups; their role requires them to have not only above average management skills, but also above average ability to manage the overall sales process. However, in many organizations, the weak link in the sales chain is the front line management. The Art and Science of Managing Expectations in Selling It is very easy to fall into a trap with the customer by extending offerings beyond that of what the company infrastructure is able to supply in a reasonable timeline. How Many Salespeople Should I Hire? One of the most asked questions I get is how many sales people does it take to get the revenue numbers needed. Personally, I believe in large sales forces because in highly competitive situations the largest army wins. That doesn't mean, however, that you can go out and hire 100 sales people if all you can possibly sell this year is a million dollars if everything goes right. So how do you decide how large a staff you need? How Exhibitors Can Move More Attendees Closer to Buying Q. What's the single, biggest change exhibitors can make to move more prospects closer to a buying? Not Enough Fresh Sales Leads? Marketing is the New Sales Your sales are down and leads are rare. The phone's not ringing. Let's blame marketing! How to Organize a Seminar or an Event Seminars and events have always been implemented as a holistic experience to participants. Thus, organizing an event requires extensive planning and preparation with most work implemented at least a few months before the actual event. Most of the time, seminars seem to run like clockwork with all events flowing smoothly according to schedule. In reality however, much groundwork has been worked on with the purpose of developing the right atmosphere in addition to a beneficial experience to partipants. Five Steps to Maximize Success in Targeting For Growth Targeting is the process of selecting high potential customer accounts to receive intense sales focus. Goal setting translates that high potential into achievable numeric objectives, i.e. revenue and margin growth. Determining Sales Fit; the Key Growth Process for Your Business Help your organization grow by assessing the right indicators in individuals slated for revenue-generating positions within your company. "Growth Talent", such as sales, account executive, consultant, sales engineer, or other individuals responsible for top-line revenue growth. The SalesFit processes addresses the individual uniqueness of your organization and the candidate. The power of the methodology is its ability to ensure an objective understanding of where the candidate is a good fit within your company.
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