I think we all acknowledge that traditional training - typically a day or two scattered around the year on almost random, standalone topics - does not yield results. Yet common ground is hard to find on any precise nature of a preferable on-going model.

My personal approach is to deploy a recording mechanism for when skills are used in the field that occurs in real-time, captures both consequences and refinement, and crucially, does not increase the salesperson admin burden in any way.

This of course, requires funding. Unfortunately many sales organisations are having their budgets squeezed in these credit crunch, recessionary times. As a result I find myself talking less about the workshop sessions I run, in the face of what happens after leaving the classroom door shut.

Seeking inspiration from someone with gravitas, I was digging around some dusty storage boxes the other day for papers on what constitutes the most effective sales training approach along such lines. I came across a Q&A with Alfred Chandler. When a Harvard Professor he was considered the pre-eminent business historian. He’s a key facet of his findings:

“the reason why some businesses succeed whilst others fail is to do with how companies learn and apply what they learn”

He recommends that you must institute an “integrated learning base”. Clearly this is something that most sales training or best-practice initiatives either fail to consider, or mistakenly leave solely to technology to support.

Picture the scene.  You’re in an internal sales team meeting and people are moaning.  Product, marketplace, environment, marketing, competition, support, pricing, production, commissions.  Take your pick.  You know you shouldn’t get involved, but the herd mentality kicks in and the downward spiral destructively crashes ever deeper.

I recall the great cricket commentator Richie Benaud pose the question (in the mid-80s, when England could beat all-comers apart from the Windies) ‘what should you call a group of former England captains?’  As several fielders (including Botham, Gower & Lamb) continued to remonstrate like Latins about what should happen next, he paused before the punchline, “a discard of captains”.

I also have a friend that I played many a memorable football match alongside, who’s surname is Goldfinch.  He revels in telling people (well, specifically ladies) that a flock of such birds is properly known as a ‘charm’.

The telling question for us sellers is, what would be the appropriate collective noun for the team of salespeople of which you are part?

If you recognise the opening paragraph’s scenario, then perhaps one of these may ring true; a gloom of salespeople or a misery of reps.  The stereotypically negative view would perhaps suggest a couple more; a sloth of salespeople, or a chatter of reps.

If your collective noun is indeed a negative one, then what can you do to reverse the charge?  How can you become say, a trust of salespeople, a hospital of reps, a respect of salespeople, a success of reps, a triumph of salespeople, or even a partner of reps?

Following a recent discovery over a few cheeky Jamesons and consequent investigative webtertainment, I’ve become quite a fan of management consultant McKinsey’s article repository. As they request registration, I shan’t steal their thunder, although I’m compelled to point out that whilst my interest extends into their core strategic management competence (due to my academic and business start-up background) a couple of thought-provoking experiences about sales strategy do happily get recounted. Furthermore, their articles for me have an easier flow than Booz’s alternate considerations.

Two examples of McKinsey findings in Sales I will draw on both examine how to change the course of a salesforce. The first treats an issue I myself have had productive exposure to, namely how to get disparate business units within an industrial conglomerate cross-selling each other’s wares.

The project which I supported (160 total field salespeople across 6 engineering/construction divisions) had two main strands; a new opportunity management software system (failure) and a lead-sharing meeting and publication mindset (success).

What was eye-catching about the first McKinsey’s resolution was twofold. They managed to get 10% of a salesrep’s bonus based on peer assessment of their contribution to the initiative. Wow. In addition they appear to have had formalised laser targeting of those individuals that needed serious mindset-adjustment through workshops, shared account plans and mini-mentors, known as ‘navigators’.

The second experience concerned a huge 2,000 fieldrep outfit that were suffering from around 100,000 un-followed up leads each year, “because of weak management tools and processes”. Their remedy was surprising in that they chose to “work down from the middle”. Previously, the frequent sales organisational shifts were perceived as failing because they were in part, too top-down, so this time they elected to create a “university” which all 20 Area Managers attended. They then cascaded the new tools and skills throughout their own 10-strong sales management team, who in turn each coached their own 10 fieldreps.  Their summary quote is fascinating:

“Just having the right tools won’t force quick or lasting change in the way a large and dispersed sales force operates. But companies can achieve that kind of transformation by identifying an appropriate group of managers, distributed across the organization, to take the lead in promoting change and by adopting the university approach, in which trainees in turn train the employees who report to them.”

And the results sound impressive; 20% higher lead-conversion rate, 25% more self-generated leads.

And another sales tip from Newsnight (!) this time from a fella that worked inside Number Ten under Blair.  He made the interesting disclosure that on the wall of the Cabinet Office was emblazoned the quotation: “Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”  This apparently comes from the Gilbert & Sullivan opera The Gondoliers.  The (brilliantly written) verse in full is:

In a contemplative fashion,
And a tranquil frame of mind,
Free from every kind of passion,
Some solution let us find.
Let us grasp the situation,
Solve the complicated plot —
Quiet, calm deliberation
Disentangles every knot.

What intrigues me about this, is the fact that it’s an approach which appears the polar opposite of how problems usually get discussed in the world of Sales.  Emotions race ever highwards, games finger-point blame, moments explode under intense heat.

Of course, I could easily argue that when you remove passion from the solution-finding equation, then shockingly poor results ensue.  And you merely need to scratch the surface of the disintegration of ever-bloating UK Public Sector effectiveness to realise that a decision made without emotion is one that typically absolves accountability and precipitates disaster.

Having said which, there are probably several Sales Manager to Salesrep, and customer to supplier conversations that could undoubtedly benefit from taking such a step back, a deep breath, and re-examining the issues in this way.

How unusual is this?  Encountering a used-car salesman that deploys a decent sales technique.  I found myself in a garage the other day and was treated to a few minutes of spot-on pitching from a fella who’s father had started the business in 1967.

He soon realised that one of the three people in the selling party had a father themselves that had bought several cars from him.  He then lathered it in that his purpose was to never sell anything that could even remotely come back to bite him as he wanted customers to come back again and again, and that here was the proof he never let anyone down.

Then the issue of price emerged.  Here’s roughly what he said.

“Yes, I now you can buy cheaper.  Mind you, we’re not the dearest either. If you want to buy cheaper then you can.  The reason people pay a bit more is for peace of mind.  When you buy cheaper you might be alright but then again you might not.  You do get what you pay for. When you pay our prices you get…”

…and he went on to rattle off all the ‘extra comforts’ he provides that he felt justified his premium.

These bits were text book stuff, and refreshing to hear.  A shame though that he let himself down by failing to ask a single question once he was informed of what was being looked for, insisting instead on telling the prospective buyer what he thought they really ought have.

In the ubiquitous coffee-shop that is London, I glanced through a broadsheet and enjoyed an article about how bands have, after delivering their latest opus, often been told by record labels to go back and “write some singles“.  In it, was this remarkable, seemingly incongruent sporting reference:

The clinical sports psychologist Dr Victor Thompson specialises in helping athletes to come to terms with loss of form and believes that there are parallels to be drawn between the realms of sport and music. “As you get more successful, you become surrounded by more and more people who have an opinion on how you should improve your performance.”

He says one key to holding your nerve throughout periods of change is to “have dialled in what you need to perform in any arena”. Thompson has observed that in the realm of sport, the most consistent performers have been those who have been able to cultivate a team to work for them. “Michael Schumacher is someone who was and is incredibly single-minded and impervious to what people think of him.”

Who are the most successful salesreps you’ve worked with?  I bet they’re all past-masters at getting all and sundry working on deals with, and for, them.  Not only that, they probably give the illusion of being maverick, yet are likely highly skilled in creating the very team-like environment cited by the aforementioned psychologist.

It can often seem that to be a successful salesperson, you need to have immense project management skills.  Especially in more complex deals, the way you need to bring people in and out and manage several different individual expectations and opinions can mark the deal-making difference.

I mentioned this to a pal of mine from retail construction (considered, I’m delighted to learn, by one of the UK giant supermarkets to be among the best three project managers in his arena) and asked him for a couple of pointers from his perspective.  They can certainly be adapted for effective use on a sales campaign:

Variations - Every sale has requirements that change.  Wish-lists evolve, cost constraints cause cutback, egos drive agendas.  He keeps close tabs on these such “variations” by fully recording and documenting them, with input from all parties, in a weekly one-hour meeting on-site.

Detailed Plan - When he starts a project (a refurb for instance can be similar to a sales campaign, typically 12 weeks long) he makes a plan of what should happen for every resultant half-hour block.

Problem Resolution - One thing he’s seen derail projects is that when a problem occurs, once noted client-side, it can escalate all the way up their hierarchy, then dart across to the top of the supplier organisation, before cascading down all the way to the people responsible.  This raise and drop creates a snowball effect of course, all adding unnecessary grief.  So he institutes a process to avoid this when problems (inevitably) crop up.

Serious No-Gos - He learned to flag as many of these up as possible before any work is done after a pair of builders once, trying to be helpful and fill in some spare time, decided to address the curb stones outside the store’s entrance.  They chose to do it in opening-hours and the client went ballistic because their work prevented people from walking in.

What a thoroughly enjoyable couple of drams I had with a friend the other night.  Among his many skills, he’s a college lecturer.  He was busily bemoaning the target culture in British education and aghast at how widely it misses the mark.

He felt that the purpose of targets was in part to help you improve.  Last year you achieved ‘x’, this year you managed ‘x+1′.  Yet he lamented how what he called the ‘hard’ targets failed to measure what he considered to be the factors that demonstrated or supported an individual becoming a “better” teacher.

He also told me that the weight of the ’soft’ targets dragged many a good teacher down.  He was clearly perplexed. I tried to offer comfort from the realms of Sales.

We have a similar problem.  We all know what a ‘hard’ target looks like.  Top-line sales and Performance against Quota are the majors.  Then there are other contributory KPIs, like number of meetings, phone calls, family members as prospects etc.  In far too many cases, such targets seem randomly assigned, with little discussion involving the rep responsible, from a figure that appears conjured from the dreams of some faceless corporate apparatchik, devoid of any accountability.  They therefore often fail to combine the needs of the business with the underlying need to grow (or in these credit crunched recessionary climes, protect) last season’s revenue.

And then we come to soft targets.  These tend to be labelled KSOs (Key Sales Objectives).  They aim to promote activity that, whilst not directly attributable to numerical assessment, are considered by management to contribute towards ultimate glory.  Various examples I’ve witnessed include reading a particular book each month, taking specific clients on jollies, demonstrating the development of a certain skill, gathering certain numbers of client testimonials and reference data and a favourite, filling out marketing intel onto crm-style screens.  Perhaps making blog posts could be another

Let me share how KSOs run in every circumstance I’ve found them.  The short answer is that they disappear in a swirl of acrimony.  A bit like Yaphet Kotto’s inmate trustee to Robert Redford’s new prison governor in Brubaker.  (Every new warden wants to reform, and when each new warden replaces an old one, they bring new reforms and dispense with the old reforms.)  And so it is with sales teams.  With each new management regime a new set of KSOs are heralded as the saviour.  And the same thing always happens.  All the reps in the field know that the only thing that really matters is The Number.  And when those new, lagging or generally keen/indifferent realise that everyone On Target doesn’t bother with the KSO pursuit, a bonus plan change occurs.  I can’t begin to describe the horrors I’ve seen caused by having say ten percent of commissions attached to non-revenue performance…

I’ve never been asked to tackle the vexed issue of how to mandate a salesperson to embrace such soft, KSO style targets, and it’s something that I suspect I’d avoid.  The only time I’ve seen them embraced, and even then it was only by half the salesteam (but then again in every salesforce, isn’t there usually a 50/50 split for those that care and those that don’t?) as there was much debate as to the flaws in the qualitative nature of the evaluation scale, is when the requisite KSO performance provided points towards vouchers.  These could then be redeemed in an upmarket retailer.  It isn’t difficult to evolve this idea for perhaps a winning way forward.

Enjoyed a few cheekies with a pal the other night, and before watching the awesomeness that is this years Champions League, he asked me what quick-fire tips I could give him for how to make an effective presentation.

With only a blink’s worth of thinking time, and under 60secs to impart such wisdom, here’s what I considered the three main pointers to be:

Mantra - If you could boil down your message to just one single point or sentence, how would it sound?  The ability to distil what you want to get across into one snappy strapline or memorable concept is essential.  We were talking in the context of a 10-20 minute presentation here, so accept that your audience are unlikely to remember much afterwards, in which case, if they were to recall just one solitary thing about your pitch, then what would you want that to be?

Preparation - The old nugget remains as true as ever.  I heard Michael Caine on Radio4 the other day talking about the art of acting.  He’s a self-confessed rehearsal junkie.  He “practices the hell out of every part”.  When you don’t (and he gave several examples of sloppiness) the viewer can see the lack of preparation in the actor’s eyes.  In a similar vein, people listening to you present can tell whether you’re winging it, or you really know your onions.  Preparation doesn’t just relate to running through beforehand though.  It also involves talking with key audience members prior to your delivery to ensure what you say is what you need to say.

Engagement - Some presenters encourage questions during their spiel, others wait for a footnote plenary to develop.  In either case, the engagement to which I refer here is not the hope of kick-starting a worthwhile and lively Q&A debate.  It is that you must know precisely what it is that you are trying to persuade the audience of.  And once you nail that, how you frame it in terms of (my old fave) WIIFM.  What’s In It For Me is the question you must allow them to positively answer so that your proposed action is both desirable and will be done quickly.

There’s a show on the Beeb that I watched once only to realise that the hostess was so singularly untalented and undeserving of her role that the show was rendered unwatchable.  There does however appear to be the once-off saviour of two stellar guests that can rise above  questioner’s stunning lack of nous.

Opening bat and a genuine heir to the incomparable Richie Benaud, Geoff Boycott, was joined by GB Cycling’s top coach, Dave Brailsford.  I’ve blogged about these two separately before so to see the pair of them on one show was fantastic.

Insight wasn’t long in coming.  ‘Firey’ courted headlines with his “Strauss isn’t a natural captain” remark, yet in context, it was not the slur it’s been made out to be.  He believes that a true captain is always thinking about what should or could happen next.  He tries to mould the future into his vision.  He tries to make things happen rather than react to what has happened. This is exactly the kind of trait a successful solution salesrep needs.

Although Dave Brailsford’s insight was more muzzled by the host, he still came across as true to his guns about the value of intricate planning.  Superstar of the future, Mark Cavendish, was examined in detail.  He will succeed (there was no doubt in the coach’s mind) because he believed in himself (at age 14 when the two first met the youngster quietly pronounced he would be the fastest in the world), set ambitious targets and intelligently, honestly, measured his pursuit of them.