Who’s in your Community?

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Who’s in your Community?

Written by Bill Sayers

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A New Sales Managers' Experience

Your new job comes with a new energetic morning routine. You hit the gym, grab some Starbucks refreshment, and get to the office pretty close to 9am. You check your messages, drop off your brief case and with coffee in hand, walk into the boss’s office and sit down.

You got that long desired promotion to Sales Manager. You competed with others across the company and after an exhaustive process, won. You have already told your family and friends, have packed up your personal things and have moved into a corner office. Your new business cards are on order, your name is on the door, and your email salutation properly identifies you as Sales Manager.

On your desk is a blank pad of paper, pencil in hand you begin to identify the things you want to do. Yes, you did prepare a list for the interview process, but that was an academic exercise. Now it is for real. You have a very large sales target to make and your team is already behind.   You want to be at the top of the sales leader board within a month. You have many ideas to implement and begin to write.

Soon you have an impressive list of things you want done. You will correct some wrongs, fix some long-standing problems, and shape the sales team toward a new vision. That new vision includes some long overdue organizational and operational changes to better align with your sales goals. The sooner you can make these changes, the greater the confidence to achieve your goals.

You call the team together for a meeting the following day. Your enthusiasm and confidence are evident as you address the team. You politely asked your boss not be here for this meeting because you are eager to establish your new role and authority. The prior sales manager got too close, played favorites, ignored conflicts, and was not actively involved in account situations. You made a promise to yourself not to be guilty of those same things. Instead, you will provide strong, confident and fair leadership.

You boldly announce your overall plan and begin describing the changes you are making. In your excitement, you quickly go through the first 3 changes, without pause or interaction. Recognizing this, you slow down, pause, lift you head and ask for comments. What was next said by your team you were unprepared to hear.

The meeting deteriorates into a free for all. Everyone offers his or her complaints. There are complaints about money, territories, sales targets, technical support, and, of course, marketing. At times, it seems the team is challenging your authority. You grow concerned you are answering too many questions with, “I don’t know”. You cannot believe they are putting you on the spot, asking difficult account specific questions.   This meeting is going nowhere fast.   You abruptly break off the discussion, run through the rest of your list, adjourn the meeting, briskly head for your office and close the door. You just cannot believe your team behaved like children. You are not sure if you are more angry or disappointed. Either way, you will be tougher at the next meeting.

You avoid the team all afternoon as you call your old customers and announce your promotion. You introduce the replacement sales rep and wish your old customers good luck. Later that evening, before your celebratory dinner party, you notice an email from your boss and open it. He wants to know how the first team meeting went.   He asks that you meet with him in the morning to talk about it.

Your new job comes with a new energetic morning routine. You hit the gym, grab some Starbucks refreshment, and get to the office pretty close to 9am. You check your messages, drop off your brief case and with coffee in hand, walk into the boss’s office and sit down.

Your boss is a very experience sales leader. His Rolodex is as impressive as his resume. Part of the job appeal was the opportunity to work for him. People that have worked for him are always prepared for promotions and more responsibility. Your boss finishes the phone conversation he was having and bids you a good morning.

Here is where we break with this story, because I would like you, the reader, to think about the situation and make a note of what you believe will be said in the next 15 minutes of this meeting.   What advice and guidance will his manager offer? When you are ready, read on.

Your new boss has a reputation for asking good questions, and he is demonstrating it now.   He asked how you prepared for the meeting, what you expected from the meeting, what you did to profile the personnel, how you opened the meeting, how you addressed the senior members, and lots more. He was kind, but direct with his input. Here are the notes from that meeting.

Never go to the boss’s office without paper and pencil so casually. He sent you back to your office to get them. You will not make that mistake again.

New Sales Managers show up on the job with credibility. It is always a matter of how much of it they will give up in the first 60 days. Even a little faith in the selection process will help the employees believe their new manager is skilled and qualified for the job. Beginning your relationship with a list of immediate changes eroded your credibility. Rebuild your credibility by meeting individually with your team members, starting with the most senior person.

Your initial priorities are employees, customers, and transactions. Address them in that order. Get to know your employees first. They are your greatest assets. Then concentrate on getting to know your key customers. Then you can focus on the sales transactions. Without knowing both your people and your customers, your assessments and coaching will not be on target.

Seek to understand the situation more clearly before proposing changes. A doctor who prescribes before completing a diagnosis would be labeled a quack. A new manager proposing changes before understanding the unique situation will be similarly labeled. Your team has invested in their current environment and success. Your list of quick changes are viewed as threats to their continued success. You must build a case for the changes.

Not everyone on your team has the same skills and experiences. Do not treat them like they do. You can likely bring your senior people into your manager deliberations. Your junior people are likely more fragile and not all information is suitable for their discussions. Your authority is not based on what you know. Share all that is appropriate. You cannot be their Pal, but you can be friendly, empowering, and inspiring.

The organizational changes you want will affect other managers. You do not build a collaborative environment with your peers by imposing changes on them. Work with your peers. They are a great resource for you. If changes are required, build those recommendations collectively.

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What is the make-up of your sales community?

Community is important for your development, your tenure and the health of your business. So who is in your circle of influence? Who do you need in your circle? You need someone for moral support, you need someone to be a mentor, you need someone for advice, you need professional help from lawyers and accountants, you need people to fulfill and complete your orders; the list can go on and on. Everyone has a different list.

How do you create community? First you have to believe that community is important and serves a purpose. Once you understand and believe there is a purpose – you now want to know what your group looks like and what purpose it will serve. From a sales point of view that means how you want to serve your customers, what their experience will be and who you want on your team.

What makes a community?

Your team is put together much the same way as your customer teams. In fact it may be the same team. Your community is built on a base of trust and respect. It is built based on talents and the sharing of the responsibility of providing you with what you need to be successful. It is built over time. It is also fluid. Your team will change as you change and grow as a rep.

There is always a core of people that make up your community. I have a group of eight men (The Boy’s) that I have known for over 30 years. This core group has remained the same during that time. Others have come and gone during those years. During that time a bond and friendship has developed that is very special. A big part of that bond is based on the time we have known each other. It is that core group that you want to have with your team.

What does your core team look like? In the next week, make a list of the people you want in your community. Now that you have the list; who is already on your team? Who do you need to find? Now your focus will be on creating the community you want. Talk to other successful sales people and find out who the people are that support them and make them successful. As you build your team give your community the time to mature, grow and bond as a group. If you are changing jobs each year, changing your core team each year and not giving time a chance to build the bonds you need, then you will never have a strong team.

Communication

A big part of your success will be in your communication with your team. There is work involved in keeping your community working. What are you sharing with the group in terms of what is happening with your business, where you need help and what your strategy is? With all the technology and social networking we have, people have begun to lose the art of communicating effectively.

What is the single message you want to communicate, are you communicating on a regular basis and with a frequency that is appropriate. Communicating this way will keep your team focused and together. They will know what needs to be done and work as a community to make it happen.

Sayers Says…

Who is in your community? What are you doing to build a community? How are you communicating and keeping your team focused? How much time are you prepared to give to your group’s growth? What is the purpose of your community? What is the vision of your community?

Who’s in your Community?

Bill Sayers
		About the author:
		Bill Sayers speaks, coaches, leads education sessions and provides management consulting services to a variety of companies. For the past five years Bill has run his own sales consulting practice. He has recently completed the writing of his new book – “Funnels and Forecasts – The Great Game of Sales”. He has been a professor at George Brown College teaching Personal Selling Skills to the Sports and Event Marketing Graduate Program, and is on the faculty of Canadian Professional Sales Association and Canadian Management Centre. .