Motivational Accountability is NOT an Oxymoron

More and more I am seeing sales people left on their own with little to no supervision, no planned encounters, goals, or even minimum performance expectations. I am not really sure why the current trend is happening, perhaps we are all just so busy still since the market has started to pick up some momentum and we are all still short staffed?  But if we all agree that “nothing happens until a sale takes place”, we have got to start focusing our efforts in the right direction.

Ever notice how those people who enroll in a weight loss program that involves accountability and long term maintenance do much better than those who try to go it alone? The same is true in sales. It is not enough to simply “train” your team with a 1 shot, 1 size fits all “motivational rah, rah”. That is certainly a good start, but that is all it is—a start.

Zig Ziglar tells us: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”

Now as a Sales Trainer, you probably find this line of thinking peculiar, but often I am invited into a company to do training on a particular discipline with the sales team because there is the feeling that the team “isn’t closing enough” or “they aren’t doing enough to drive traffic”, or their “follow-up needs work,” etc.  However, what I generally find once I begin working with the team is that there is more of a systemic break-down and that those particular challenges are merely a symptom of a greater issue.

Sales people, like any other, will perform in direct proportion to the level of expectations set—WHEN AND ONLY WHEN those expectations are reinforced, coached, and inspected. Yet all too often, we leave these very sales people out in the field alone, without a planned encounter, without working with them on their very specific and time oriented goals (not our quotas), or even giving them a road map on how to reach those goals and check points along the way where we, as leaders, step in and guide them.  Then, when our sales teams fall short, we start to make excuses for them about how bad the economy is, or they didn’t have enough traffic, or this or that…and yet we scratch our heads and wonder why we aren’t getting results.

Here is another little known fact—when you hold sales people accountable, they will resist at first—UNTIL they start seeing results.  Once those results start to happen, and we celebrate those results with them, well the desire sets in to not only repeat the results but to up the ante.  The key is us, the leaders.  We have to dangle both carrot and stick and we have to hold ourselves accountable to be what our team needs us to be. Here are a few simple thoughts to help you get started down the right path:

1.      SALES RESULTS HAPPEN IN THE FIELD, not in your office at your corporate headquarters. You must be in the field, spending quality time with your team each and every week.  If you can’t spend at least 4 hours 1:1 with each of your sales team each and every week, then either your territory is too large or your priorities are not straight. *If your territory is too large, get help—outsourced or otherwise because your team deserves focused attention, and you will never be able to grow until you increase your sales.

2.      You must have a planned encounter and you must expect your sales people to use it religiously every single week.  I have a simple form that I use to track traffic, appointments, be-back appointments, and sales. This form also includes all of the activities it takes to be successful using a simple formula based on a 10% conversion ratio.

3.      You must have, in writing, minimum performance expectations and have each and every one of your sales staff sign it and have it placed in their official files.

4.      Be prepared to provide a realistic disciplinary plan of action and stick to it (up to and including termination)—in other words you can’t make exceptions for this one and not that one or for the one who is making at least the minimum number of sales, but refuses to take part in the rest of the program.

5.      If all else fails, don’t be afraid to “Top Grade”. Sometimes bad habits are just too hard to break, and if you can truly look yourself in the mirror and say that you have done all that you can to help someone to achieve at a higher level, but they just refused to go along on the trip, well it may just be time to invite them to take their excellence elsewhere.

6.      REWARD not only RESULTS but also EFFORT. Celebrate successes every step of the way.

7.      Bring in professional help. Hiring a trainer/consultant, to support and reinforce your efforts, not only helps hold you accountable, but it adds credibility to your efforts. *Ever notice how your kids will listen to a teacher or a coach, but you try to give them the same advice and it falls on deaf ears?

Your team can perform at a higher level. There are teams all across this country who are succeeding despite current economic conditions because they are focused, they have a plan, they are disciplined in working that plan, and they know that the only way to get out of the hole they are in is to not only stop digging, but to start to filling it back in by getting more and more sales!

Kimberly Mackey, MCSP, CMP, Realtor®, is the founder of Creative Sales Solutions, which provides sales and leadership consulting and training, outsourced sales management, on-site sales coaching, social media strategy and training — and other sales and marketing management SOLUTIONS. For more information, visit the Creative Sales Solutions Web site at www.creativesalesnow.com, or visit Mackey at LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlymackey; Twitter, www.twitter.com/CreativeSales; and Facebook, www.facebook.com/CreativeSalesSolutions.

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