Old joke: 74.2% of all statistics are made!
One of the most common comments a business will make as we examine the performance of a sales team or partner channel is that 80% of sales comes from 20% of the available sellers, the old 80:20 rule. Naturally behind that there is a more accurate statistic that represents the different level of performance from each the team, but worryingly the frequent use of the term has almost made the imbalance acceptable.
In a later blog I will focus more on the delivery of channel success by streamlining the partner base and investing in growth focused players, but here I wanted to look at changing the development model for salespeople within a single direct team.
As always statistics vary by source, however as a general comment most agree that whilst the percentage of salespeople hitting quote in 2016 in the telecoms space was ~66%, that figure today looks more like 50%. This must mean something is wrong, but the £Xm question for each individual business is, what is causing our apparent underperformance?
Common reasons salespeople miss quota
- Unrealistic or increasing quotas
- Poor lead quality & pipeline issues
- Lengthening sales cycles
- Lack of training & coaching
- Product / market misfit
- Poor use of technology / process
- Price & competitive pressure
- Low motivation / high turnover
- Poor service delivery
- External factors
As a business the first step should always be to honestly assess the logic behind the setting of targets in relation to each salesperson and this is where the 80:20 rule can have a use. If you have some players performing on or above target, proving the targets are reachable, and the conditions for underperformers are the same, then the focus can fall on the performance of each salesperson.
That alone however does not remove the SLT and the wider company from the issue, because selling is a companywide responsibility not simply that of the sales team. So, step one should remain an SLT led review of:
- The vision and ultimate goals of the company
- The clarity with which that is understood by the wider teams
- The level of acceptance and commitment to that vision
- The alignment of portfolio to addressable markets
- The effectiveness of current processes
- The performance of each department in the eyes of the customers
- The strategies of each manager in the business to deliver their objectives
- The risks assessment covering competition and external factors
- The culture and energy in the company
By reviewing and acting on the above checklist you can achieve two goals with reference to your sales and marketing department players.
- Create the environment for their success
- Establish a fresh performance growth curve against which they can be measured
In an article I wrote titled: ‘What gymnastics can teach us about business growth’, I share the fundamental elements that are used by coaches bringing through and maximising the talents of young elite para-gymnasts (those with a physical disability recognised by the Paralympic governing body). Having created the right environment and set the growth expectation, your next step is to gain a true and unambiguous answer to your version of those sports coaches two watershed questions:
- Does the athlete have a passion for their sport?
- Does the athlete agree the cost of reaching their potential, (effectively the blood sweat and tears question)?
For you it may be worded:
- Does the salesperson have a passion for improving your customers business by understanding and resolving their business challenges through the correct deployment of your solutions?
- Is the salesperson prepared to embrace all training and coaching from the business and supplement that with a level of self-development that is commensurate to that of any leading professional sports person?
When investing in sales staff development it is essential that you are pushing on an open door. So based on the answers to the above questions I am not suggesting you dismiss those for whom you don’t get an immediate YES/YES, but you may simply make the initial development program an opt-in rather than a compulsory program.
The opt in process does create an instant pressure for those who decline or perhaps are not even invited. You are restating the business goal to grow, you are making clear the investment you will make in the individuals committed to self-improvement and you are providing a context around which under performance can be reviewed, ie those trying to change and those not making the effort. The poorest performers may elect to move on, whilst high performers who don’t see the need for the training programs may be left to continue delivering results and, perhaps, come round to the project once they see the positive reaction of colleagues.
Naturally you want the vast majority to be involved, so the opt-in approach may only be offered in reality to those you see no hope for, the odd ‘exceptional’ lone wolf or where you have a large team and a pilot is a prudent step.
One size does not fit all!
Here’s the complication that sports coaches perhaps understand better than us in the business community. People develop at different rates, in different ways and have different performance ceilings, so setting one goal to cover all players is quite unrealistic. A seasoned premier league striker may have a performance target of 20+ goals in the league and the established skills that go with it, whilst an emerging academy player may have theirs set at 4.
The same individual consideration needs to go into your training programs. There will be common exercises for all but with each member of your team the training and coaching resources must set an individual ‘stretch’ program designed to create a well-paced and measurable increase in skill, confidence and consistent execution. This is where sales skills are introduced along with corresponding measurements.
I would always advise clients to invest in a high value training program like that delivered by my friends at Toggle Switch Consulting, however if budgets don’t allow that, there are fantastic books out there that can provide a team and their leaders with a common methodology and core skills to focus on. I am a fan of GAP and Challenger, but you might prefer Sandler, and you may elect to add in MEDDICC to improve deal qualification. But when you bring in a methodology you need to bring in some measurements and CRM tracking that demonstrates skills and techniques are genuinely being put to work. The training exercises get things moving, metrics and coaching keeps things moving.
My final and core message takes us back to the gymnasts and the simple principles of ‘the percentage game’. Having qualified their desire and their will, you set the percentage program for each individual:
- Design the sales motions – Stretch their ability by 10%.
- Deliver the routine – Provide structure, tools and guidance
- Practice, coach, improve – Encourage consistent 1% improvements
- Perfect the routine – Work till progress plateaus
- Revise the routine – Raise the skills bar by 10% and repeat
If each salesperson improves by 10% per quarter for 3 quarters you are well on your way to sustainable growth, but if you circle back to the top of this article, growth is not simply going to come from the sales team performance. Be prepared to examine staff in all other teams in exactly the same way.