Yeah, I’m sure you have given them some sort of tacit permission (“Mary, I’m promoting you to seller-doer… now go sell something!”)… but do they have PERMISSION?! Have you created an environment where your seller-doers want to succeed and really can succeed… and not fall back into the trap of defaulting to doing project work? Let me explain…
You’ve heard me say on more than one occasion, that the key to selling success is to have good salespeople (or seller-doers)… and even better sales management. But leading a sales team is so much more than doing sales manager-like things… e.g., holding weekly sales meetings, setting sales goals, holding your team accountable to hitting them and paying commissions.
If you want your team to have selling success, sales management is really about creating an environment that allows your team to be successful. It includes things like…
Creating a sales friendly culture.
In many firms, sales is looked at as an afterthought (i.e. “We’ll do some selling when we aren’t so busy.”) Or resented by much of the operations team (i.e. “I do all the work, why is Mike getting the commission?”)
In order for seller-doers to want to be successful, they have to want to sell. And part of that is working for a firm where everyone appreciates and understands the value of sales. Where it’s talked about… not just at senior management meetings, but openly for all to hear. Where picking up a new client or retaining an existing client or re-engaging a lost client is celebrated… by everyone! Where management doesn’t just tell seller-doers to “go sell,” but is willing to invest in their sales training and development.
Providing the tools needed to be successful.
Your seller-doers (and most of your employees, for that matter) should be using a CRM system. Your seller-doers will use it to record calls and emails. They’ll schedule follow up activities. They’ll use it to provide reports for management.
And if the CRM doesn’t have an integrated pipeline tool, get them a separate one. No tool is more important to seller-doers (for self-management) or to leadership parentheses (to help in the managing of seller-doers) than a well-kept pipeline.
And what about a lead generation tool like ZoomInfo or LinkedIn Navigator? For seller-doers, finding potential new sales leads is difficult at best… and these tools can help.
Marketing support
In today’s uber-competitive marketplace, marketing has become more important than ever. If you expect to get on a buyer’s “shortlist”, Marketing has to have been building awareness for your brand months ahead of time. You want to be known in the marketplace… and known for something. Marketing can do that.
In addition, marketing can generate sales leads – at scale – with activities like gated content promotion, and LinkedIn advertising campaigns.
And, of course, Marketing can provide “sales support”… items like brochures, white papers, case studies, etc.
Time
But perhaps, the most important part of giving your seller-doers permission to sell is giving them the TIME to sell. Let them know that it’s OK – in fact, it’s necessary – that they block off a percentage of their time every day/every week to dedicate to sales-related activities. That sales is not an afterthought, but that it’s a priority for your firm.
If they respond with, “but I’m too busy!”, then one of two things is true. Either they don’t really want to sell or like to sell (so they’re avoiding it by defaulting to what’s comfortable – the ‘doing’) or they really are too busy. In which case, get them some help on the operational side.
Bottom line
Creating an environment where your seller-doers want to sell, like to sell, have the time to sell and are prepared to sell is what’s necessary for sustained growth.
Are you giving your seller-doers PERMISSION to be successful?