This advice is only for seasoned and relatively successful sales people. Not you newbies that see top performers like me come in at 10:00 and leave at 2:00 and are green enough to think you can do that too. Until you are on top of your game you need someone to tell you what needs to be done and when. Period. YOU should be in the office at 7:30 AM and back at 5:30 to wrap up until you get it down.
This is for top sales people that are feeling stressed or resentful about working from 8-5 every day and wishing they had more time to themselves sometimes.
I work when there is work that needs to be done and that is rarely Monday through Friday from 8-5. No one has to tell me to work, what work I need to do, or when I need to do it. I work when there is work that needs to be done.
5:00 AM
Through lunch.
Late into the night.
Holidays.
I also come and go as I please and plan my work around my life and not the other way around.
I live in California, so we have plenty of beautiful days. Today was one of them. I woke up at 6:00 and sent an e-mail back to a frantic customer in Ireland. (It was 2 in the afternoon there) then I went back to bed for another hour.
I sat through a dreadful conference call and webinar then I went to the DR. Did some shopping. Came home made lunch, screwed around on Facebook, and now I am writing to you. I did take care of a couple of urgent customer care items for one of my largest international customers, (which I did at home while prepping dinner) but that was about it as far as "work" for me today.
Top sales people are top sales people because they instinctively know the difference between what is critical and what is important and they take care of what really needs to be done when it needs to be done.
It is easy to be self managed if you work at it. Start your day with a plan and get the things done that need to be done. I know a lot of people think using "to do" lists is "old school", but they really help me stay on track with what is critical to my day.
Being self managed also means not getting sucked in by things that will pop up through out the day that seem important but really aren't urgent and don't need to be dealt with the minute they pop up.
I never put anything off that is going to bring me closer to my professional goals because it is after 5:00, the weekend, whatever.
I think one of the biggest shifts that happened for me that really propelled my sales success was seeing myself as a consultant for my company and not an employee. I don't work for them, they work for me so to speak. Being a consultant is very different than having a job. People hire consultants to help them get better at something, or to drive more revenue, etc. That's where I come in. I am the best in my area at bringing in net new customers. Now, my Manager requires most of the other people on our team to use my methods for prospecting.
The point is, take time to evaluate what you are doing during the hours you are putting in. If you are working 9-5 but not really doing anything to generate revenue for yourself, consider making some changes. Take more time to yourself sometimes. If you are having an "off" day, go to the beach, or to a movie. Once you start to feel like you are in control of your time and what you do with it, and that it is OK to work during times other than 9-5 I believe you will start to see a shift in the way you feel about yourself and position as a sales professional. Our customers don't work from 9-5 so why should we?
I hope this is helpful!
Sales rocks!
Trish
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Bad Sales Managers 1
Here is a little rant I wrote after talking to one of my friends about his awful Sales Manager...
I must start by saying that I currently have one of the best sales managers out there. Despite having 30 years of experience in our industry he is still going with the flow and keeps his methods (almost) current. Luckily for me, my manager does NONE of this stuff...
If you are a sales manager, here is some advice from the people on your team that are too chicken to tell you this stuff themselves.
Stop asking for updates on account activity every time you see me. (By this I mean every time you walk through the bull pen pretending like you are there for some reason other than to hover.) I know that closing the deal is important to you and I am not so forgetful that I'm not going to tell you if I have an update. My cell phone still works, my e-mail still works and so does my mouth, if I have "good news" you will be the second to know after me.Stop deciding that my time isn't as valuable as yours.
Don't schedule meetings, trainings, one on ones, conference calls, webinars, on line training classes, "BLITZES", the day before or worse the day OF and expect me to be anything other than annoyed with your lack of consideration of my time. It is very likely that I already have some revenue generating activity planned during that time, so stop being so rude. If you want to have a meeting, be a professional and ask when I am available.
While I am on that subject... Stop having "Blitzes" period. They are a waste of my time. I HATE them and so does everyone else on the team. Yes, EVERYONE. Even that kiss ass who always manages to magically meet whatever absurd "goal" you set for your impromptu blitz. Since you are always locked in your office during these time wasters, you don't know that the kiss ass never makes a SINGLE call unless you are hovering. She just magically sets three net new appointments every single time without calling a soul. Let's look at her revenue numbers again shall we? Maybe she is kissing your ass because she isn't selling anything to those magic prospects created from your "blitz" HMMMM
Stop shoving month/quarter end down my customers throat. The customer doesn't care that we don't get paid on the deal unless it delivers by the end of the month. Stop making me stalk my customer ten times a day the last two or three days of the month. Giving them a discount to get them to buy during YOUR time frame just lowers my commission. News Flash! People buy when they are ready! Forcing me to lower the price to try to get them to take delivery early just means I have to lower my price and my earnings while the customer still buys when they are READY...
Stop wasting my time with lame Monday morning sales meetings. If you don't have anything useful to share each week, break the habit.
Stop asking me to make down the street cold calls. There are VERY FEW industries left where this is a viable marketing tactic. It is rude and tacky. The only deals people ever get from traditional cold calling are so lean they aren't worth it for anyone anyway. The very thought of walking into a company in my base and interrupting the receptionist to try to give me information makes me shudder. Here's another news flash... There's this thing called a computer and this place on there called "Google" I can find out more information about a company in five minutes using current technology and methods than you will ever find "pounding the pavement." JUST STOP
Try to remember that I don't get paid to do anything other than sell. There are no bonuses for the number of "dials" I make, etc. Your salary is probably more than double mine, so here's an idea. YOU have all of the meetings and fill out all of the useless tracking forms. I will be busy trying to SELL something.
Please attempt to stay current in your understanding of our company, it's policies, and procedures. No one respects a "Manager" that doesn't have a clue about what the sales people actually do. If you can't help with that stuff you are useless. And just like "car phones" of the past, you may find yourself quickly replaced by an iPhone.
If you are a sales manager, or know someone who is. Do everyone a favor and pass this message on. I think we can start a movement!
Lovin Sales,Trish
I must start by saying that I currently have one of the best sales managers out there. Despite having 30 years of experience in our industry he is still going with the flow and keeps his methods (almost) current. Luckily for me, my manager does NONE of this stuff...
If you are a sales manager, here is some advice from the people on your team that are too chicken to tell you this stuff themselves.
Stop asking for updates on account activity every time you see me. (By this I mean every time you walk through the bull pen pretending like you are there for some reason other than to hover.) I know that closing the deal is important to you and I am not so forgetful that I'm not going to tell you if I have an update. My cell phone still works, my e-mail still works and so does my mouth, if I have "good news" you will be the second to know after me.Stop deciding that my time isn't as valuable as yours.
Don't schedule meetings, trainings, one on ones, conference calls, webinars, on line training classes, "BLITZES", the day before or worse the day OF and expect me to be anything other than annoyed with your lack of consideration of my time. It is very likely that I already have some revenue generating activity planned during that time, so stop being so rude. If you want to have a meeting, be a professional and ask when I am available.
While I am on that subject... Stop having "Blitzes" period. They are a waste of my time. I HATE them and so does everyone else on the team. Yes, EVERYONE. Even that kiss ass who always manages to magically meet whatever absurd "goal" you set for your impromptu blitz. Since you are always locked in your office during these time wasters, you don't know that the kiss ass never makes a SINGLE call unless you are hovering. She just magically sets three net new appointments every single time without calling a soul. Let's look at her revenue numbers again shall we? Maybe she is kissing your ass because she isn't selling anything to those magic prospects created from your "blitz" HMMMM
Stop shoving month/quarter end down my customers throat. The customer doesn't care that we don't get paid on the deal unless it delivers by the end of the month. Stop making me stalk my customer ten times a day the last two or three days of the month. Giving them a discount to get them to buy during YOUR time frame just lowers my commission. News Flash! People buy when they are ready! Forcing me to lower the price to try to get them to take delivery early just means I have to lower my price and my earnings while the customer still buys when they are READY...
Stop wasting my time with lame Monday morning sales meetings. If you don't have anything useful to share each week, break the habit.
Stop asking me to make down the street cold calls. There are VERY FEW industries left where this is a viable marketing tactic. It is rude and tacky. The only deals people ever get from traditional cold calling are so lean they aren't worth it for anyone anyway. The very thought of walking into a company in my base and interrupting the receptionist to try to give me information makes me shudder. Here's another news flash... There's this thing called a computer and this place on there called "Google" I can find out more information about a company in five minutes using current technology and methods than you will ever find "pounding the pavement." JUST STOP
Try to remember that I don't get paid to do anything other than sell. There are no bonuses for the number of "dials" I make, etc. Your salary is probably more than double mine, so here's an idea. YOU have all of the meetings and fill out all of the useless tracking forms. I will be busy trying to SELL something.
Please attempt to stay current in your understanding of our company, it's policies, and procedures. No one respects a "Manager" that doesn't have a clue about what the sales people actually do. If you can't help with that stuff you are useless. And just like "car phones" of the past, you may find yourself quickly replaced by an iPhone.
If you are a sales manager, or know someone who is. Do everyone a favor and pass this message on. I think we can start a movement!
Lovin Sales,Trish
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