Who Are Your Salespeoples Role Models?

Policies, practices, procedures, strategies, targets, tactics and now standards!
Where! You might ask: do I go from here?

Well, when you analyse your sales team's performance, you will probably find that the majority are just coasting. I don't mean to be critical here, but from my twenty years experience training salespeople, I've found that many adhere to performance standards of their own and get confused as to what response they should give when you ask: what performance standards are laid down within their organisation, in relation to a particular selling procedure?

The approach many organisations take when they recruit a new salesperson perhaps serves to illustrate how the topic of procedures and the level of adherence to them, is left as the sole mechanism in judging sales performance. Typically the salesperson undergoes an induction programme sometimes conducted by the Hr. department and may include activities like, watching a corporate video on the company and its history. Then they are handed a manual of company operating procedures, reporting forms and product information. They may then be sent out with 'Top Dog' for a few weeks to 'learn the ropes'. The chances are, that 'Top Dog' and their colleagues underwent the same induction programme when they first joined the organisation and if you were to review the procedures with them today: they would each have their own interpretation of them. Together with the tribal lore, myths and habits that they surround themselves with, it won't be long before the new recruit becomes another Mr/Ms average.

So what then are policies, practices, procedures, strategies, targets and tactics? The best way to answer this question is to state that: they are not standards.

The oxford English dictionary provides the following definitions

Standard • noun: something used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations.

Benchmark • noun: a standard or point of reference.

So, to reduce some of the possible confusion, when I talk about Standards and Benchmarking I'm talking about the same thing. Now that's what I call progress.

Back again soon
Regards
Dave: http://www.davidquinnandassociates.ie/.