There is no silver bullet when it comes to over-achieving.  The recession may be beginning to wind down a bit, but I do not know of a single economist who has predicted a rapid recovery.  So if you want to burst out and really grow, don’t wait for the economy.  I’ll get started here, then share the remaining top factors for helping salespeople overachieve in my next several articles.  A list of a dozen may seem like quite a bit, but the rewards to your bottom line will make the time you invest well worth it.  

For starters, understand that there are objective, time-tested methods to assess the gap between where your sales organization is today and over-achievement.  There are also verifiable methods to close the gap and take your Sales Force from mediocre to good to great.  So let’s get started…

1. Goals - You must raise everyone’s expectations in order to create superior performance.  It is unlikely that you will raise anyone’s expectations until you raise your own.  This sounds simple, but the majority of companies have an abundant tolerance for mediocre sales performance.  Now is the perfect time to burst out of the comfort zone and set some real stretch goals– much higher that the typical 5 -15% increase in sales.  When setting goals, there are two vital things to remember: (a) that a forecast and plan come from the goals (not the other way around) and (b) that goals are derived, not from the company, but from each salesperson’s income requirements, based on the expenses that accompany their own individual obligations and desires.

2. Incentives – Include more than just salary & commission.  Consider contests, awards and prizes.  Incentives enhance the sales experience and close the chasm between corporate perks and the personal goals listed above.  If an individual has good goals but the firm’s compensation isn’t designed to reward superior achievement, the incentive to perform will not be maintained.  If the company does have a solid compensation plan but the goals wouldn’t excite anyone, the personal incentive to perform will be missing.

3.  Managing the Pipeline – Visuals make it significantly easier to manage the pipeline.  The true key to effective pipeline management is working with critical ratios.  Get crystal clear about the monthly goal, closing percentage, average sale and length of the sell cycle.  If you don’t have enough history and don’t know your ratios, do not let that be an excuse to delay!  Start with your best estimates.  Clarity will come along soon.  You must be able to demonstrate a clear path to success.  Create a Success Recipe based upon your average sales cycle, monthly goal, average sale, and closing percentage.  Then manage the pipeline effectively.  This means ensuring that your salesperson is adding enough new opportunities into the top of the funnel far in advance of your sales cycle.  For example, if you have a 9 month sales cycle and a 20% top to bottom conversion rate, then a minimum of five times the monthly goal must be visible in the pipeline 9 months in advance of the monthly goal (if the goal is for December, then the opportunities must enter the pipeline by March).  Develop a process to make this work and the outcome you desire will follow.

4. Accountability – Effective sales accountability is the component I most often see missing from under-performing sales organizations.  If your sales team is less productive than you believe it should be, lack of accountability is the likely culprit.  Implementing effective accountability into your sales management process is the most direct path to rapid ROI for your company.  Salespeople must be held accountable to correct metrics (e.g.: the number of conversations required to book the number of sales calls required to add those vital new pipeline opportunities) every week.  Equally important, there must be consequences for failure to meet those requirements and consistent follow through when necessary.  Commit the time and develop the courage to implement full accountability and you’ve nearly won the game.

One final note about accountability—great salespeople LOVE it.

I’ll be sharing the other eight essentials to building an over-achieving sales culture in future articles, but please get started today with the Big Four listed above.  On the other hand, if you can’t wait, if you’ve been tolerating too much sales force mediocrity or if you feel you’d like to move faster and get a more production from your sales team starting right away, feel free to email me at joe@zthree.com.

Happy Selling…

Joe

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2009.   All Rights Reserved.

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