This is for the most part a decision made by the individual. Power is from the Latin verb “medical device sales ” which means “to be able.” When we share these words, we unknowingly share different beliefs and consequently different behaviors are the result. The Sales Management Study, Edition One, 2009 shows that outside of the ability to identify and acquire talent, the way sales teams are led and managed ranks #2 in terms of sales management’s impact on sales team productivity. The only thing you can be sure about is that you can’t be sure about anything.
The Sales Management Study, separates the “coaching” competency and the early returns indicate less than half will be in the top two box, with the preponderance being “neutral” to “weak”. The investment to do so doesn’t have to be exorbitant; there are resources out there that provide this type of programming in perpetuity. So what are you doing to prepare for the game of your life? Sales managers, what are you doing to prepare your team? They are your only game in town right now? Are you planning your strategies and conditioning yourself for your upcoming season, or should I say your ongoing outsourcing sales challenges? Is that not the way you would want your salespeople to be with your prospects and customers – engaging and buying from you versus telling and selling where there is no ongoing relationship.
Then, get in the practice of preparing and keep preparing for every game, performance based outsourced sales as I indicated above. So this is the beginning — a new year, a new quarter, a new month, new week, or new day. Are you happy with your past performances? Sales managers, are you happy with your team’s performances? Top executive management are the leaders of the sales force and need to be constantly demonstrating the appropriate behaviours for their salespeople to follow. Are your sales leaders demonstrating appropriate behaviours? For example, if sales executive management is always telling their salespeople what to do, who owns the idea and who is committed to making it happen?
