Anyone who works in the commercial area knows that you need to bring in numbers.
Numbers tell a part of the story.
The other part is the effort, the difficulties, circumstances and everything else that can be counted.
Invariably the more stories, the smaller the numbers.
Those who have numbers to show don't tell stories. They speak for themselves.
Well, in a team of 10 sales professionals, 8 will tell stories and 2 will bring numbers.
What do you do with those who narrate but do not sell?
I know managers who take the human factor into consideration too much. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who are mechanistic and see the commercial team as a machine for producing results and each executive as a cog in the wheel.
Invariably there will be, in any system, averages and discrepancies (down and up).
What to do with those who produce little?
First
Check whether it is a temporary problem and whether the drop is due to a specific problem. Act as soon as possible by paying attention to signs such as late delivery of tasks, lack of responsiveness, superficiality in dealing with issues, detachment, lack of interest, etc.
At the slightest sign of a drop in productivity call for a chat, air your concerns and find out who the offenders are. What is happening?
If it is a private problem, give the person time to solve their problem.
According to
If it's not a temporary problem but a permanent one, i.e. productivity doesn't take off, check the following:
- Is this person clear about their role and deliverable?
- Is this person qualified (techniques, tools etc) to carry out the work?
If both answers are yes, then the problem is probably lack of focus because of erratic demands.
Isolate the person's diary protecting them from new entries, guard their workload and tasks. Do this for a month.
If, however, the person does not show ability to perform the role, work to re-allocate them if possible.
How long: In 30 to 60 days productivity needs to take off.
Third
Contingency. It is necessary to prepare your sales structure to deal with unforeseen events that have a high degree of probability of happening.
Examples: Departure of employees (holiday, resignation, leave etc), market crisis, lack of goods, delays in deliveries, loss of a large account etc.
Conclusion
These situations stress business productivity as a whole and further exacerbate the exposure of those who produce less, because as the crisis widens, they will be the first to be disconnected.
Therefore, it is necessary to contingency, create areas of redundancy and prepare for the cold winds and storms that are sure to come.
Two fronts in this regard:
- Even if you break turnover records, never stop prospecting and looking for new accounts. Never. It's your independence. Believe in it.
- Keep your product and solution development area in action at all times. It doesn't matter if you work alone or in a multinational company. What we want is for our business to be agile to adapt to the market.
When winter hits and the cash flow dwindles, it will be a shorter period and you will have the muscle to come out of the storm almost in one piece, perhaps with the whole team. And you will need everyone to get the crumbs of fish that the rough sea has to offer.
And it is exactly at this moment that you will be surprised. Those "less capable" will be the ones who will be the most resilient and the ones who will be rowing your boat.
So, friend, numbers to pay the bills and people to help and be helped.
Don't count on a team of Pelés and geniuses. Yes, count on it, and work to keep a team involved, committed and keen.
And set an example.
