Growing up on the East Coast, my family was able to take an annual vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. Over the years, I came to love the ocean sounds, feeling the sand beneath my toes and taking walks along the beach looking for seashells. But there is one thing about the shore I have always hated--seagulls.
Seagulls are loud dirty looking birds who add no real relaxation value to the beach. My mom referred to them as winged ocean rats. They are noisy birds, they seemingly flit around randomly and if they manage to poop on your possessions you can spend hours trying to remove the stain.
Too often as a sales trainer, I deal with sales managers who engage in "seagull management." These managers have infrequent contact with their sales reps, but when they do speak, the managers make an awful lot of noise and manage to leave the reps feeling like they have been pooped on. Naturally, these interactions leave the reps spending hours cleaning up a mess and the manager wondering why the sales rep is not more productive.
We work with managers to streamline this interaction. Regardless of the frequency of contact, managers should have predictable conversations with sales reps. Both parties should:
• Know the rep's current results compared to both the prior period and the rep's sales goals.
• Understand the sales behavior that is being exhibited versus the expected sales behavior.
• Spend their time discussing only the top 20% of the rep's accounts.
Following these simple rules will enable the sales rep to prepare for manager interaction and the manager to focus on the items most likely to produce results.
Is your sales team tired of "seagull management," random unproductive interactions that involve screeching and pooping?
We should talk.
Contact Matt Nettleton, Sandler Training, DTB at matt.nettleton@sandler.com or 317-695-8549.
