Lead Management - How to Turn Cold Calls Into Hot Customers

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A Few Essential Ways to Perfect Lead Management Process

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Sales Management Excellence: 5 Ways to Increase Sales Today

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Management - Skills Needed For Managing People

In order to achieve the success that you want to reach it is vital to follow a strict time management schedule. This will allow you to manage your time as effectively and efficiently as possible.

The first step is to follow a written plan such as a daily or weekly plan matching it with your monthly or quarterly plan as this sets realistic goals for each day. Review the plan the night before as you will be fully prepared for what lies ahead.

What is found generally is that, following the Pareto's rule 80% of unfocused effort generates 20% of results while the remaining 80% results are achieved with only 20% of effort. Therefore many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity but achieve very little because they are not focused on the right things. Talk to a colleague, business partner or your sales manager about what you should be focused on.

At the heart of successful time management it is an important shift in focus - concentrate on results, not on being busy as this will ensure you are getting rewarded for the time you spend on daily activities (Not been a busy fool).

The purpose of time management is to adjust the balance of time spent during the day in favour of high yield activities, especially true today as time is money and we need all of our energies focused on yielding a return on investment (ROI), in this case time and money is what we are investing - determine what you are getting in return?

Shift your focus

To shift the balance, first of all you need to analyse how you really spend your time during an average day. In order to ensure that most of our working day is spent on focused effort, think about your focus.

Question

What are the three most important activities that generate the greatest returns for you in your business and or sales role? And how much time do you spend in these activities in total per day?

Using your time wisely

Research has also shown that individual energy levels vary enormously throughout the day, depending on the blood sugar levels, lighting, temperature etc. each person has a set pattern that can be predicted and so by analysing your day more closely you can plan to be doing appropriate tasks at a time which best suits your energy levels. For example high return activities when your energy levels are at their peak and research when your energy levels are at their lowest.

You should ideally have a whole month planned in advance, with your goals set out clearly and it also helps to break the month down into weeks so that you can work towards your weekly targets very clearly.

Tips

Plan your day tomorrow - today this way you know exactly how your day should pan out and what to start on immediately as soon as you get into the office.

Time is money so spend it wisely ensuring you are getting the best return every time.

Proper Planning and Preparation equals success

P+P+P = a great return every time

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Coaching A Sales Professional on Time Management

Sales isn't an easy line of work to master - it takes a resilient person, with a lot of patience, confidence and tenacity to make it in sales. So, if you're a coach, how would you coach someone who's hoping to become a sales guru?

This is where your capabilities as a coach are put to the test. How do you plan to pull every last bit of potential out of someone who's just starting in sales? Well, I am going to walk you through the first 7 steps to this process. These won't cover every detail, but they'll get you started. These steps will help you hone in on critical components to any salesperson's skill set. In this article, I will cover the first: TIME-MANAGEMENT ABILITIES.

Do your best to understand your client's time-management abilities. Most of a salesperson's schedule is managed personally, so if she isn't organized, disciplined and motivated internally - this is where you will need to begin. You will want to encourage her - these are skills she can learn, they do not have to be inherent. She just has to bedevoted to developing them.

To assess a client's time-management skills, consider asking these questions:

Are you a self-starter or do you appreciate when others tell you what to do?On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your level of self-discipline? (10 = incredible, 1 = poor)How do you organize your days when you don't have any pressing priorities?When do you find yourself feeling bored?How do you feel and spend your time when you don't know what to do?

Asking these questions will reveal where a client's at, in terms of motivation, organization and prioritization. In sales, these skills play a serious role in one's success. If you discover your client does this process well, great - move on. If she doesn't, it would be well worth your time to work on fostering her time-management abilities. A few simple things that will help:

1. USE A CALENDAR. Help your client determine what sort of schedule would work best for her. A visual schedule, on a phone, computer or planner will always work better than relying on one's memory.

2. CREATE REMINDERS. Work with her to setup a process, so that when important dates are around the corner, she's alerted, far in advance, so that she can take the right steps to prepare for whatever it might be. This way, she's aware and ready instead of sadly surprised when deadlines emerge and meetings pass.

3. TRY TO PRIORITIZE. Identifying what's most important to complete is critical. So, maybe helping her start with a simple to-do list, so that she outlines what needs to be done, stars what's business critical, and starts there. By doing this, she will ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and will always have something to work on, even when things are slow.

If you're a coach and you care about your client, helping them understand and manage their time efficiently will benefit them in the short term and the long term. This is a skill that pays it forward, personally and professionally.

Looking for more insights about coaching a sales professional? Download a complimentary coaching article at http://wcwpartners.com/free-coaching-for-excellence-article/.

Doug C. Watsabaugh, senior partner at WCW Partners, understands how to meet your unique performance challenges. You can reach Doug at: dwatsabaugh@wcwpartners.com or 1-888-313-0514.

Check out WCW's latest book, The SuperSTAR Leadership Model: Good Boss, Bad Boss - Which One Are You? http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model/.

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15 Ways to Acknowledge Your Sales Management Team's Efforts

You may think that you have the best sales management team around. But do they know how you feel? Finding little ways to acknowledge your employees' performance can go a long way to decreasing turnover and increasing the success of your organization.

1. Create a bulletin board in a highly visible place, e.g., the board room where your sales team meets, the staff room or kitchen, where you can post positive customer testimonials.

2. Ask the star members of your sales group to provide junior team members with sales training. It will show them that you appreciate their skills.

3. Did your team impress you with a new sales strategy this week? Why not recognize their efforts by organizing a "Chair Massage" day in the office. Hire a massage therapist to come on site to offer your sales management team their reward for another job well done.

4. Bring in a tin of homemade cookies. Leave them in the office kitchen with a note saying, "For my sales team, in recognition of your work this week on such and such an account."

5. Even simpler still, stop by the desk of someone on your sales team who has outdone themselves. Ask to shake their hand.

6. Make a donation to a charity in the name of someone on your sales group.

7. Ask your sales management team to give a noon-hour lecture on their sales strategy. This is a way of acknowledging the special knowledge that they bring to their work.

8. Ask your sales team for advice on a problem that has been troubling you. You may find your answer at the same time as you show your respect to your employees.

9. Let your sales management team manage their own schedules.

10. Recognize the accomplishments of your sales management team in your company newsletter. Mention employees by name.

11. Dedicate your annual report to a deserving member of your sales group.

12. Surprise a member of your sales team with a round of applause from everyone in the office at a pre-determined time.

13. Don't just acknowledge the successes of your sales management team. Also take the time to recognize efforts - even those that didn't quite pan out. Consider handing out a "Behind the Scenes" certificate of accomplishment to someone who has been working hard, but may be feeling discouraged.

14. At the end of the year, write a personal note to each member of your sales team, highlighting how they have contributed to the organization in the past twelve months.

15. Do you have a weekly or monthly meeting attended by everyone in your organization? Why not let different members of your sales team take turns chairing this event. At the beginning of each meeting, you can take a moment to explain why you have chosen to recognize the day's chair in that way.

Visit Fusion Learning for more information on their sales management courses.

Percey Evans is a freelance writer who works for Higher Education Marketing, a leading Web marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Mobile SMS Alerts, Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click Marketing, among other Web marketing services and tools.

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Sales Management - How Good Are Your Motivation Skills?

Our fellow human beings are the most delicate, fascinating, unpredictable factors we encounter in business.

They are also the most important means and anything you can do to improve your management skills is a giant step towards success.

Treat them like peopleHarness their desiresTeach them howCriticise constructively

Pat them on the back

The person who is immune to the power of a sincere compliment has yet to be born, but make sure it is true and well placed. There is something praiseworthy about everybody; it is limited only by your knowledge of the person and your power of observation.

Examples
Anything they do well - tell themWhenever possible - tell them in public

Why? - did you ever get a compliment in front of your peers, and didn't you feel extra special when you did? That is the power of public praise.

Have you ever been pointed out or been introduced as - meet one of our best people and do you remember how good you felt. Everybody gets a" boost" out of being brought to the attention of others that is human nature and every person is human.

Remember to make a person feel important.

Pat them on the back and show respect for their knowledge and skills.

Everybody is ignorant only on different subjects, in fact every person you supervise knows in various cases more about specific things than you do.

By asking their opinion in matters on which they are an authority, you can cash in on their know how. It's an opportunity to show your respect for their knowledge and expertise, and you will give them the excellent feeling of having thought the boss.There is another advantage, that you are not above listening to your people but you are for idea swapping and that will encourage the kind of teamwork that gets things done.
Another way to show respect for a person's knowledge is to repeat one of their previous remarks, there is no greater tribute to a person's intelligence than when you repeat to them word for word what they had said.

So the third way to make a person feel important is to show respect for their knowledge.

Technique

Think of one of the people under your supervision, probably the least productive, now write you answer's.

Name__________________________________________________________________

What specific skill or achievement of theirs can I sincerely compliment?

In front of whom would they most appreciate being praised?

On what are they an authority?

What have they said recently that I can repeat to them?

Remember it is not enough to know the answers; you must use them at the first opportunity, because a knack for making people feel important is vital for the development of your managerial ability.

As important as it is to make a person feel like a human it is more important to know in what specific ways they are an individual.

Whatever their strong points are, it is your duty as a manager to identify it, encourage it and nourish it. It is equally your duty to know their undesirable traits in order to handle them better.

Why is everybody unique or different?

Each one of us is a product of altogether different forces, different upbringing and different experiences.

We are what we are because of two major influences.

Hereditary (The quality we are born with)Environment (The things that have happened to us in the process of growing up)

No two people have the same traits or the same experience in life, so the results over 3 billion individuals. Therefore you will never understand another person completely but you can do the next best thing - get acquainted. If you want to treat people as individuals then you will have to get to know them and that means you have to search and identify the broad outlines of their personalities by looking for typifying characteristics.

What are their traits?What makes them different from others?What are their basic attitudes?What are their special sensitivities?What are their needs and feelings?

These are the questions you must ask yourself in order to understand any human being.

Three ways to get the answers

Talk to them- nobody can tell you more about them than themselves

Talk in a chit chat level when guards are down and the real person comes out. Be alert for tips to the person's goals in life, their current problems, how they feel about their job their fellow workers and their family and listen carefully.

Be observant- study their actions, their behaviours and how they handle themselves.

Search for what is unique about the way they tackle a problem, react to criticism and follow through on an assignment.

Let them know you- mutual trust based on mature knowledge.

Be yourself in front of the staff.

Once you know something about what makes people tick you are ready for the second principle.

Second principle will follow next week - Harness their desires

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5 Fallacies of Sales Management

Sales management can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Over the years, I have seen both management styles succeed. Since there is a significant variance in the way in which sales managers operate, it stands to reason that there are misconceptions both by observers and managers themselves. I would like to list the 5 fallacies of sales management that tend to surfaces often in the workplace:

Must be the best sales person in the group. How often have you heard this? How often have you seen this implemented? Many times! Well, this concept is simply not true. So often though, the best sales people in a group surfaces as the front runner and eventual winner of the promotion to a sales management post. I equate this to sports. Was Vince Lombardi the best football player at his position prior to revolutionizing his sport? Scotty Bowman won 9 Stanley Cups as a coach but never performed above the minor league level in his sport. There are countless examples of my point. Placing the best sales person in the management position will often demoralize the candidate and rob the company of an important sales asset on the front lines. High level sales people tend towards tactics were as this talent is only a portion of the sales management role.
Needs to be the "Closer-in-Chief". This could be one of the most important of the 5 fallacies of sales management. We have all heard sales managers remind us to "bring me in when you are ready to close the deal". I am sure that there are many managers who excel in this area and their talents should be leveraged when appropriate. The truth is that closing, just like every other stage of the selling process, should be lead by whatever resource gives the team the best chance to win. Presuming that you, as sales manager, is the go to person for one specific aspect of the sales plan is a mistake.
Adopts the Cheerleading Principle. Motivation is crucial to any organization but is particularly true of a sales team. Given the high level of rejection they experience, plus the importance of many of their sales projects to the health of their company, maintaining a positive state of mind is important. Although I agree, that the leadership of the group must take some responsibility for this, I hold that as a professional, each sales person must take ownership of their own state of mind. Some of our motivation must come from within. The confidence to succeed ultimately can not be totally reliant on the sales manager's pep rallies or performance related rewards. Sustained confidence and determination to win eventually must come from within each of us.
Must approve all tactical sales plans. This may surprise some of you. It is a considerable responsibility to become the gate for all sales plans. Now, I'm not saying that a sales manager shouldn't participate in the sales plan development of the team. In fact, sales management absolutely must oversee the planning stage of any significant sales project. But do all strategic/tactical aspects of a plan require the sales manager's approval? I would argue that some leeway should be given the lead sales professional in terms of plan ownership. It would be very easy for a rep to relegate the responsibility for success to a sales manager who insists on approving every aspect of a sales process. Let the account managers have some ability to "make the call" on how the sales team should proceed in a given situation since they generally have a more intimate view of the details at work as well as the players involved. Delegate but checks, check, check as the Marines are famous for saying!
Fix only what is broken. No. No. No. This strategy turns a sales manager into a fire extinguisher, moving from problem to disaster. Before long, major aspects of a manger's responsibility suffer for lack of attention and become problems in the making. Sure, when things go wrong, we are expected to step in and guide the team to a solution. The visionary sales manager, though, is looking to expand on the positives. This manager takes a winning process and considers how it can be bettered or replicated. Authorship is unimportant whereas leveraging proven processes regardless of where they came from can be the key to consistent success.

Do not let these fallacies define your management experience. Know your strengths, get out of the way when it makes sense, and leverage the positives that can be reproduced. Do this and you will have side stepped the 5 fallacies of sales management.

If you are interested in or immersed by the sales profession, you may be interested in our articles and musings at Maximum Sales Solutions. We fuse decades of sales and management experiences with current innovations in technology, social media and advanced selling techniques. The result is an opinionated, informative and educational experience. Join Us!

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Sale Management Leadership Styles - Napoleon Vs Roosevelt

Your style as a sales manager literally will define you. Whether you consciously nurture it from within, copy it or have it refined via education, the approach you take with respect to all aspects of the management position you hold, will become your sales management leadership style. If you have been part of the sales profession for any length of time you have experienced what seems like an endless array of manager types. Remember the gruff guy you were assigned to on your first sales job? What about the button down, three piece suit that had all the numbers all the time? Who can forget the graduate of "fill in the gap" business school, with a case study for every problem? In some ways, we are very much molded by the sales managers that have cross our paths as we develop our skills. So, it stands to reason that the type of manager you are will, in fact, have a considerable impact on, not only your career, but the careers of those you manage.

Surely, libraries are full of tomes about this topic. Much research and yes, many case studies have been done, defining sales management leadership styles. Are you the expressive outgoing type who likes to be involved in all aspects of the sales cycle or the more analytical manager, equipped with all the data necessary to make whatever decisions come your way? After many years of observations, I have come to the conclusions that there are two basic styles of sales management: the Napoleonic style and the Teddy Roosevelt style.

Napoleon, as you may know, was a brilliant military commander who rose through the ranks during the latter portion of the French revolution. He later became Emperor of France.

Teddy Roosevelt was also a military leader, forming the famed Rough Riders and distinguishing himself in combat. Later, he became the 26th President of the United States.

Both men have these similarities but their leadership styles were quite different.

Napoleon relied on the loyalty of his warriors. He gained their trust by knowing, intimately, the roles of each rank below him, often doing their jobs if need be to succeed. He knew this loyalty would propel his armies into the most intimidating combat imaginable. He was known for his unconventional strategies and tactics, still studied extensively today. Napoleon was known to seek the highest point in the battle field and visibly direct the various components of his forces. This observation/direction approach allowed him to be flexible, react to changing situations and have a continued sense of his army's strength at any given time.

Translated to sales management leadership style, this approach has the manager fully aware of each step of the sales cycles, ensures the proper training and equipping of the sales force and willing to be flexible. The approach has the manager engaged when necessary but primarily providing support, direction and guidance. There is no question that the manager is willing and able to become part of the "fray" at any time though.

Teddy Roosevelt also had the loyalty and admiration of his troops. He often spoke of walking softly whilst carrying a big stick. He was known to lead by complete immersion into the battle at hand. He is famously remembered for his charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill defeating a Spanish garrison. He lead his Rough Riders atop his horse, sword extended, charging forward. His men knew he had as much to lose as they did and so, fought heroically.

This, in terms of today's sales management leadership style, has the sales manager fully engaged in the sale process by leading upfront. The manager is confident, knowledgeable and willing to lead by doing. Whether that is by participating in many sales calls, establishing relationships with key decision makers, taking a key role in important sales presentations or simply being visible for support.

Both these style can be very successful. They both rely on developed skill sets, willingness to be flexible, establishing a strong relationship with your team and developing a loyalty. Each approach can be dependent on circumstances, personalities and preferences. That said though, it seems to me that ultimately you are either one or the other.

It would be easy to begin a discussion to determine which sales management leadership style is the best. The arguments for either would be many and even emotional. That is not the intention here.

We did intend to define these styles and for you to consider the merits of each. You will be the best judge of how your style fits with the above and how successful your style has been.

If you are interested in or immersed by the sales profession, you may be interested in our articles and musings at Maximum Sales Solutions. We fuse decades of sales and management experiences with current innovations in technology, social media and advanced selling techniques. The result is an opinionated, informative and educational experience. Join Us!

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Effective Sales Management

Sales are the lifeblood of any company. Bringing in new business is essential for companies to grow and maintain their profit. Successful sales people are often among the highest paid employees of companies because they are responsible for generating new leads and business. There are some key skills that are required in order to be a good sales man and additional skills in order to manage a team of sales men.

Time Management

Having good time management skills is vitally important to be a good sales manager. Planning and organising your team is essential for a successful team. Having regular sales meetings and having a system of receiving your sales reports on time is important for the manager to know how the team is doing and if anything needs to be done about the performance of sales team members.

Daily to do lists for the manager and the team are a good idea to make sure there is a focus on the most important tasks. This will ensure things get done as you tick the items off one by one.

Set daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual goals. This will make sure you are focussed on the most important things and have a target to meet and work towards. These are often linked to the money a sales person can earn which is a good motivator for salesmen.

Education

It is important to keep up to date with the latest industry trends and techniques. This will ensure you are able to get the most out of the tools you use and be able to find new ones to help you perform well. Getting new ideas from other successful sales managers would be beneficial and even from others outside your industry where you can use their ideas and see if they work in your business.

Motivating Your Team

It is going to be vitally important to make sure your team is motivated to sell. There are many options available to you and some will involve a strong performance based remuneration scheme. However, there are other ways to motivate employees. Perhaps you offer a leader board where the top sales person will earn a reward. You could simply keep telling your team that they are doing a great job and give them the freedom to make decisions for themselves. Often staff feel unmotivated because their ideas are not listened to or they feel unworthy.

Team building activities once a quarter are a great way to bond the team and reward them for a good previous quarter. There are many to choose but perhaps let the team decide what they want to do.

It is vital to a companies that their sales team are performing well and it's the sales managers that will drive the success of the team.

Tim Tavender is a writer with ten years experience running his own businesses. He has written for National Newspapers and Magazines. For Sales Management Training he recommends the Influence Business

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Positive Thinking in Sales Management: Cut the Rope That Holds Back Your Sales!

Throw a rope around a calf's neck and it's caught. It may struggle and kick to get away, but it can't because someone else is in control, holding the other end of the rope. Have you ever felt like you have a rope around your neck? Have you ever felt like you weren't making any progress in your job? Have you felt like the rope pulls you back every time you try to move forward? Let's face it, customers complain, sales are missed, sales reps are upset, your friends don't support you, the competition is rough, your company changes, there are quality problems, and so on. You become frustrated, confused and tired.

Right & Wrong Forces

In every person, there's an odd combination of right and wrong thinking. For the purposes of this message, right means what works and wrong refers to what doesn't. For every dream, there's darkness; for any ounce of confidence, there's an equal amount of doubt; for every mountain of hope, there's a valley of despair; for every mile of determination, there's the same amount of apathy. Too often people let the wrong thoughts dominate their thinking, or they let the right thoughts pass by unnoticed. Which pattern will control one's life? Which will prevail? Each person experiences this struggle that never ends. Right living is like the game of golf. Hit a few good shots, and you feel great, but once you flub a few, your concentration and confidence slip. Now, do you take it out on your team?

Right living has to be worked at, again and again! In the sales business, there's an unlimited opportunity to do well. Yet, many well-intentioned people fall short of their potential. Sometimes, the idea of doing business with integrity and providing excellent in sales and customer service can seem foreign to people in business, particularly when it comes to applying these principles daily. It is one thing to talk it, and it's another thing to walk it everyday! Their negative habits and poor images from the past stop them in their tracks. Yet, there are a few enlightened leaders that are propelled toward success. In spite of obstacles, their vision of professional selling is brilliantly executed, which attracts customers and attention from all angles. Think of the salmon that swims upstream every year to spawning waters. The trip is difficult and often fatal, but an inner echo drives them forward to their goal. Isn't every experience in life a possible victory or failure? As Shakespeare said, it's your choice: "Nothing is good or bad, except thinking makes it so."

Choose Right Thinking

Think of a time in your life when you did your best work, closed your largest sale, cared for a friend, laughed hysterically, or romanced your spouse or significant other. How did you feel? How did time pass? You might have been elated, satisfied, happy and energized. Time most likely passed without notice. Now, think of a time in your life when you did poor work, neglected your friends, cried mournfully, or argued with someone? How did you feel? How did time pass? You might have felt rejected, disgusted, sad or exhausted. Time most likely moved at a snail's pace. Any of the situations recalled have a number of common characteristics. First, your mind was filled with thoughts about each experience. Second, you experienced feelings. Feelings are just there, they don't need to be good or bad. Third, the passing of time was as constant as the heavens, although you may not have experienced it that way. And fourth, you responded in each experience. What did you do during and after each experience? That is the key to sales leadership success and the golden ticket to inspiring your team to excellence.

Did you reach up and pull down the best there is to offer, or did you curl up in a ball and let the world push you along? When things didn't work out, you may have focused on the problem and took minor action, if any. But, when things triumphed, you probably envisioned all of the possibilities and let the creativity flow. You had right thoughts about the experience, and then you took action to make positive things happen, rather than lashing out in fear or frustration. What you think - you become! It's always pure choice.

Professionally and personally, your greatest gift is your ability to choose your thoughts and actions. We must do this in good times and bad to be true champions in life. How? Take a break and think, review your goals, remind yourself of your purpose in difficult situations, and remember to focus on the customer's point of view and needs. Think of your sales team's needs. By learning to think right, you'll do what's right more often. Once you do, you possess the ability to cut the rope that holds you back from achieving excellence in sales management.

Take Right Action

A prophet was on a hill one day. He told his followers, "I quit." They were aghast and cried out that they needed him; they would do anything for him, they would die for him. The prophet smiled and requested, "Live joyously." But the followers put their heads down and walked away slowly. That was too hard to do. All they wanted was to talk and dream about it. If you're not willing to take action, you're no better than the man who starved in a kitchen full of food because he didn't have the sense to cook it.

Our customers define what's right for them. By listening and paying careful attention to them, you'll know the right actions to take. That's the only way to overcome objections, rejection, complaints and dissatisfaction. Do your work with a smile. Be polite and say thank you. Think innovatively about how you can help customers and coach your reps. Solve problems, quickly and kindly. Work cooperatively. Give customers the value they deserve.

A frog once let a scorpion hitch a ride on his back to get across the stream. Somewhere along the way, the scorpion stung the frog. The frog cried, "Why did you do that, now we'll both drown?" The scorpion replied, "I don't know, I guess it's just in my nature." What's your nature? Is it to be positive or negative in your efforts to motivate others and sell to your customers? You will generate premier results by choosing the right thoughts and actions.You will make a difference!

By the way, do you want to learn how to sell more effectively? If so, download our free sales guide: http://wcwpartners.com/free-sales-training-article/

Or, do you want a proven gameplan for leadership effectiveness? If so, check out Rick's new book, http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model/

Rick Conlow is the CEO/Co-Founder of WCW Partners, a global management consulting and training firm. Rick has helped organizations increase sales 218%, improve repeat-and-referral business by 20%, increase customer retention to 99%, reduce complaints by 60% and achieve 34 quality awards. You can reach Rick at: rick@wcwpartners.com or 888-313-0514.

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Over Management and Too Much Paperwork For Sales Staff a Huge Mistake

Those who are extroverts and very good sales are probably not too good at writing or various forms of mathematics. They probably wouldn't work too well on the factory floor or in any of your other business units such as accounting. Nevertheless you must manage your sales staff to make sure that they are in line with their expenses because there is a cost to doing sales. Although they are the team that brings in the revenue, as a business you must do it as efficiently as possible. Okay so let's talk about this for second shall we?

"FORM" is a four letter word to salespeople. If you are constantly making them fill out expense reports, itemizing every single thing they do and micromanaging them to that ninth degree, then you will actually be hurting sales because you are wasting their time. Time that they could be doing what they do best. Happy salespeople are not the ones who are busy filling out forms all day, or trying to mold their sales processes into your nice neat categorized formatted system. If you make them do too much paperwork, they will eventually leave, and you will have defeated the purpose of having a sales staff in the first place.

It's easy to over manage or micromanage a sales team into oblivion, and perhaps it is the need for authoritative control of those who have MBAs and wish to be in charge of everything. You should never have a salesman fill out any form that you are not actually going to look at, or data input any information you don't really need. Often they will write right in the form; "are you actually reading all this crap" and if you never catch that, they won't take it seriously ever again.

Why collect information you don't need anyway? You might think you will need the information later, but chances are you don't. What you are concerned about is lots of sales, and as long as those salespeople are meeting their goals and their expenses are line, you should be happy.

If you really want them to fill out forms and if you really want to measure everything they are doing perhaps so you can duplicate the sales staff in another region of the country, then I suggest that you get them a secretary and have the secretary work closely with each salesperson filling out the forms and putting the data input for them. It's getting tougher and tougher these days to do face-to-face sales because more things are being done online.

Nevertheless, you probably do need a sales staff so you shouldn't be wasting their time. You should allow them to do what are good at, and as long as they are staying within the boundaries you should be happy and encourage their sales goals each consecutive month or quarter. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Managing Sales Teams. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Sales Management - Commission Based Jobs Available, Very Few Takers It Seems

The other day, I was talking to a business owner who needed to hire some salespeople, so he put an ad in the newspaper. He had done sales management before, he knew what was involved, but he also knew he had a limited budget, and didn't want to take any risks. He'd been burned before by salespeople that didn't pull their weight, promised that they were the best salesman in the world, and had a resume with all kinds of glowing reports. He's not so easily duped these days.

So here is what he did, he put the ad in the newspaper, and on his website which gets a lot of traffic for local and regional salespeople. When people called, he told them that it was a commission only sales job, and he was surprised how many people were interested, but they also demanded and wanted a base pay and the ability to take a draw. He decided to hire three people. He hired one gal who agreed to his terms for commission only, and he hired two other people with a very small base pay.

The gal he hired for commission only kicked butt, and sold all sorts of deals all over the place. He later asked if she wanted to have a draw or get a base paycheck because she had proven herself, and he didn't have a problem with that. She said; "no, thanks." She felt as if she didn't need a base pay, and that might make her weak, whereas the other two folks didn't sell anything, and sat in coffee shops all day, and made about two appointments per day "working" on average, if you can call it that, 3-days out of the 5, without ever making a sale for the first two weeks.

Needless to say, the used up all their base pay without making those sales, and then they duly quit when he told them that wasn't good enough. It seems there are a lot of people out there who want to make money without doing anything. That's not the way the world works. Had they applied themselves, worked hard, and done what they needed to do, or had the sales experience they promised as per their resume and interview, they should have not had a problem. They just wanted to get something for nothing.

Indeed, anyone who is in business knows these things happen, and it takes time and energy to find the right people. If someone isn't willing to put in, and trust themselves and their abilities, then why should you? The gal he hired trusted herself, took the job, and was unfazed by the lack of base pay. The other two failed to make the grade, but they probably knew that in advance, that's why they wouldn't take the all commission only job, even though they claimed to be great salespeople. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Sales Topics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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