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Motivate Your Sales Team Through the Obstacles
July 30, 2008
O.C. Tanner Director Mark Cook, author of Sales Blazers, discusses what it takes to be a leader in sales
By Jonathan Tannenbaum
After a great performance year, sales professionals can feel overwhelmed. Companies, who are overjoyed to see their teams' success, usually respond by throwing down a huge new annual or quarterly quota. On top of this new and demanding goal, sales managers still need to face other common industry challenges—such as key product development delays, the need to coach and ramp up new sales hires and mending broken customer relationships. But, despite these problems, sales leaders can see their quotas shattered if they execute the right strategies for generating revenue and motivating their sales force.
In his new book, Sales Blazers, O.C. Tanner Director Mark Cook, clarifies these strategies by drawing upon years of research, as well as his own experience as a sales executive for the employee performance and recognition solutions company.
S&MM: You talk about leaders starting with a clean bill of health, so their sales teams will be free of small problems that might spread, as well as ones that are potentially serious. How can leaders develop their ability to detect these issues?
Cook: One way is to simply ask. I've had several readers tell me they ask their team members, so they can determine serious hindrances in the sales process. Generally speaking, problems arise from two main sources: client obstacles and personal work habits that prove harmful. In terms of client obstacles, we come across numerous issues that we have to identify. They don't let us meet the actual decision-makers. They tell us that budget is not an issue when it really is. They have us respond to RVPs that a competitor that has written. When it comes to personal work habits, salesreps and management always blame each other for whatever's going wrong. Instead, they should act like business leaders and say to themselves "What can I do to get this problem out of the way?" If you're thinking like a business leader and you make it clear that you're perfectly willing to address areas where sales reps may feel unsure of themselves, you'll go a long way towards fixing serious issues.
S&MM: Given that salespeople desire more than good salaries and job security, you advise leaders to gain a sense of people's larger aspirations. What kinds of aspirations should leaders concern themselves with?
Cook: I have sales leaders come up to me and say, "I'm not going to learn the grandchildren's names of all the people who work for me." And I let them know that is absolutely not the point of the research. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. The point is to find people's motivations that are relevant to their work. For example, when a team member has a flood in their basement the last day of quota, it's a problem. By stepping up and alleviating such problems, great leaders produce tremendous loyalty, even by just being aware of these things. Of course, you need to do this task genuinely or else it will be counterproductive.
S&MM: What larger aspirations do sales leaders often encounter?
Cook: There are a few I hear a lot. One is obviously raising a family. The other one I often come across is what I call a "passionate pursuit." To give you sense of what I mean, there's a difference between a business golfer and an enthusiast who travels to Scotland every year to play the old courses. The second person devotes an enormous amount of time and energy to golf, so it's critical to his sense of fulfillment. As leaders, we want people to take the principles they follow in these pursuits and apply them to how they execute work.
S&MM: In the book, it talks about how sales reps can win over potential buyers if they're attune to a prospect's needs, as well as those of a prospect's company. What are some needs that sales reps should think about when trying to get priority from potential buyers?
Cook: Find those particular role players and ask them, "What are the initiatives that are going to dramatically impact your mission?" Find out the vital statistics around the company and the dollars that describe that change. Your whole goal is to lead client growth, but this is counter-intuitive since that's the exact opposite of what quota pressure often dictates. If you take this approach, you're going to find real urgencies—urgencies that are more urgent that your quota pressure. Now you’re helpful—you’re a co-leader instead of a threat with an agenda.
S&MM: The book also talks about the benefit of adopting a flexible structure that involves sales reps collaborating more. What are some strategies leaders can use to get team members to really come together in order to close accounts?
Cook: It's more a mindset than it is a structure. The mindset should really ask "Who, regardless of position, can help me close this deal?" Instead of thinking, "I sell, contact buys," you need to seek out people on the other side of the table— committee members, various decision-makers, prospect implementation people, etc. Concentrate on the best talent for making an initiative a success.
Here's a point not in the book: Companies have found the cost of sales actually goes down when you get other people involved. It's easier to assimilate the customer even though the upfront costs might have gone up a little bit.
S&MM: You note that coaching is central to being a great sales leader. In your mind, what does it take to be a successful coach? What are some key skills that leaders need to focus on?
Cook: There are three main ones:
• The first is that you must be highly respected. But this doesn’t mean a feared manager or an intimidating salesperson. The phrase “highly respected” is the definition of the word “honorable.” Could your actions with clients and your team be described as honorable? Are you George Washington or Attila the Hun?
• The second item is being able to demonstrate the right action. You can't just know the right action. You have to get people in a situation where they're learning the action is a real 3D context. Today's generation tends only understand and learn in 3D.
• The third area is that you have to be able to motivate in any situation. And this isn't just hype in sales meetings. This is leadership regardless of circumstances, whether it's keeping morale high in discouraging moments or regaining focus after a large success.
S&MM: In the last chapter, you bring back the concept of appealing to a team member’s larger aspirations, suggesting that sales leaders come up with rewards that allow people to achieve their more individualized pursuits. How does a sales leader go about being able to provide these kinds of rewards?
Cook: There are two ways. Rewards programs often disenfranchise people because leaders tend to only focus on the front line. You need to reengage these people by finding items within the commercial program that will really resonate with them. Let’s say you have a person who actually competes in cycling. This person gets up at 4:30 a.m. to train and wins serious competitions. A $250 bike or a water bottle isn’t going to mean much to that person. But if you offer a helmet cam, that’s a different story. Most bikers don’t have a helmet cam. The fact is you found something in that program that has meaning for that person
Finally, I want to discuss how to tie this all together. What overarching vision does a leader need in order to carry out these strategies successfully? What do you emphasize when describing the mindset and attitude of a great sales leader?
They need to change the mindset of their salespeople. They need to remember that they’re no longer salespeople… They’re leaders leading client growth.
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