I was speaking with someone this week regarding the latest attempts to "infuse" a "sales culture" into their company - an interesting concept. However as they started to explain their methodology of doing this I noticed two very strong obstacles and I now believe it will never happen. Obstacle one is that the leadership of this organization are accountants and financial people - not salespeople. Therefore they believe - like all bean counters - that the secret to sales success lies in an excel spreadsheet ( their way of solving any issue involves excel ) that monitors the number of calls, contacts and ratios. The second obstacle is this - the people that are actually doing the work are not sales people either - so they struggle with call reluctance, need for approval, emotional involvement and many more weaknesses that sabotage their own success.
I struggle with understanding why an organization of this size would not just accept that this is an area where they could use help - I have someone else do my taxes, my hair, my teeth, fix my car etc....and I don't see it as a personal attack - some people are just better at some things than others.
Looking at history for an answer - the best Generals were always soldiers, men who understood what was involved in fighting, men who didn't second guess their troops, men who didn't believe that the secret to good fighting was in knowing military terminology or polishing some brass bauble. Conversely the worst generals were "theorists" or "part timers" or "bean counters" that had no real transferable skills or knowledge and they couldn't inspire or motivate their men.
During the civil war the forces of the confederacy were plagued by the meddling of Jefferson Davis - not a soldier. Had he been put on a battlefield he probably would have cried or ran away. So although I certainly hope things work out for a non sales leader trying to infuse a sales culture into a non sales minded work force I am 100% confident that they will not!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Business Karma
So I finally heard back from a VP that had been ignoring my calls for a few weeks. He let me know that they had went in another direction that was a "quick fix" for now - he realized that it didn't solve the underlying problems inherent with his sales group. It came down to "price" he said, after all the non solution compared to my solution (his words) was half the price! When did you make the decision? - about 3 weeks ago - and only now was he letting me know!!!
So I asked him if he was listening to himself and if he understood the implications of what he was saying?
Then I summed it up for him this way - If your sales people suffer from price shoppers and people selecting product over solution and if your people are frustrated by prospects ignoring their calls and they find out that they have lost weeks or months after that decision has been made then you deserve it and it is a result of a negative corporate buy cycle that your organization is teaching them - not formally but by its actions!
Karma or you reap what you sow - is as true in business as it is in life. Throughout history some have thought they could remain exempt from the repercussions of their actions but Newtons law of an equal and opposite reaction proved their hopes false. The French Aristocracy of the 18th century - Louis and Marie Antoinette - laughed at the poverty and plight of their own people in a heartless way and sure enough they were treated in like fashion when the revolution turned the tables on them very quickly.
To misquote John Lennon - business karma's gonna get you!
So I asked him if he was listening to himself and if he understood the implications of what he was saying?
Then I summed it up for him this way - If your sales people suffer from price shoppers and people selecting product over solution and if your people are frustrated by prospects ignoring their calls and they find out that they have lost weeks or months after that decision has been made then you deserve it and it is a result of a negative corporate buy cycle that your organization is teaching them - not formally but by its actions!
Karma or you reap what you sow - is as true in business as it is in life. Throughout history some have thought they could remain exempt from the repercussions of their actions but Newtons law of an equal and opposite reaction proved their hopes false. The French Aristocracy of the 18th century - Louis and Marie Antoinette - laughed at the poverty and plight of their own people in a heartless way and sure enough they were treated in like fashion when the revolution turned the tables on them very quickly.
To misquote John Lennon - business karma's gonna get you!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Are you ready for the Playoffs
I wanted to comment on an event I attended today - 500 or so business professionals were gathered and had an opportunity to hear Rich Gotham speak. Sometimes the timing is perfect at these events and since the Boston Celtics are in the playoffs and Rich is the President of that organization everything he said seemed to be even more pertinent.
Obviously Rich is not out on the floor playing with the team - but it was interesting to hear how the internal organization had to be aligned to win; before the players could even begin to string together a season like this one!
Let me share some of the main points that Rich shared and that I thought helpful to any business.
1.In the playoffs everyone brings their game and winning is tougher - in a recession every business is fighting harder for every piece of business and yes winning is tougher!
2.Turn traditional thinking on its head - Rich accomplished this by changing sponsors, redesigning the way tickets could be purchased and bringing the business in before they were winning - if your traditional business or customer is not meeting your targets are you looking for new?
3.Know your market - The Celtics do extensive research to understand what their customers want and who their customers are - this should be an obvious application.
During the civil war Jeb Stuart utilized all of these techniques when his cavalry unit started to operate differently than traditional cavalry. They became the eyes and ears of General Lee and often were instrumental in helping the confederacy "compete".
So Tuesday Night is Game One for the Celtics next challenge. As you get comfortable and sit back in front of the TV tonight it's OK to be impressed with Garnet and Pierce but don't forget that every winning team and every winning player has some type of support system that makes that possible. Don't just focus on your "players" and don't just focus on the "organization". You have to focus on both to have a winning season!
Obviously Rich is not out on the floor playing with the team - but it was interesting to hear how the internal organization had to be aligned to win; before the players could even begin to string together a season like this one!
Let me share some of the main points that Rich shared and that I thought helpful to any business.
1.In the playoffs everyone brings their game and winning is tougher - in a recession every business is fighting harder for every piece of business and yes winning is tougher!
2.Turn traditional thinking on its head - Rich accomplished this by changing sponsors, redesigning the way tickets could be purchased and bringing the business in before they were winning - if your traditional business or customer is not meeting your targets are you looking for new?
3.Know your market - The Celtics do extensive research to understand what their customers want and who their customers are - this should be an obvious application.
During the civil war Jeb Stuart utilized all of these techniques when his cavalry unit started to operate differently than traditional cavalry. They became the eyes and ears of General Lee and often were instrumental in helping the confederacy "compete".
So Tuesday Night is Game One for the Celtics next challenge. As you get comfortable and sit back in front of the TV tonight it's OK to be impressed with Garnet and Pierce but don't forget that every winning team and every winning player has some type of support system that makes that possible. Don't just focus on your "players" and don't just focus on the "organization". You have to focus on both to have a winning season!
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