First, a caveat: This is not a political column, this is a business column. The meaning of Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts is a great metaphor for corporations. Given a “Massachusetts Shock Message” to a corporation (like snowballing employee turnover or customer defections), how many corporate executive teams and organizational leaders go into spin cycle- or worse yet- denial mode? Let’s face it: leadership isn’t just about giving a directional message (“I haven’t explained the message well. They don’t get it”.) That’s top-down management-by-directive, and the problem is the executive is in denial about which way the real message is being sent: it’s not coming from headquarters; it’s coming from the pickup truck- the street. Read more

Where do you find good salespeople? First, you have to define “a good salesperson”. With no college curriculum or extensive certification process for someone to be called a salesperson, a “good” salesperson is a highly subjective definition. Here’s the acid test for executives as to whether or not they know a person is a “good” salesperson or not: Can the executive make an accurate evaluation without looking at the sales numbers or track record- and will the sales numbers verify the executive’s decision to hire? Would an executive of a prominent electrical wholesaler hire a food server at a restaurant with the intent of making him an outside salesperson? John Walter of Walter’s Wholesale Electric did that very thing about twelve years ago. Read more

The following is a memo sent in January, 1965, from J.A. Sexauer to his 75 field salespeople. Interesting how some of his thoughts and philosophies are somewhat timeless: Read more

On Sep 24-25, 2009, Peter Zafiro and I ran a workshop on behalf of Manufacturers Agents National Association (MANA) in Chicago. The workshop is called Building A Successful (Independent) Representative Network. Typically companies attending the program are companies that are growing and need more sales; are entering a new market; or are not growing and have had to lay off their direct sales force in lieu of hiring an independent, straight commission sales force.  Read more

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7, Winners Are Driven
(Bobby Unser, Paul Pease, Wiley, copyright by Mi-5, 2003). It seems that some stories are timeless, but we can't seem to get the lessons to stick:

"People fundamentally know that trust is a good thing. Why do so many good, trustworthy people sway off course? How can you avoid their mistakes? With all of the problems going on with some major corporate executives destroying trust in the executive ranks, how do you avoid their traps? I’ll talk about the temptations that can take you off the path and crash an honest reputation. Then I’ll tell you how to avoid these potential crashes that kill careers…….
…….In this day and age of constant bombardment of material wants and wealth and instant gratification, some people need to understand why it’s so important to pave a path to success with trust, instead of greed and impatience. That’s why you need to know how trust benefits you. By knowing the benefits of trust, you won’t likely sway off the path when instant gratification or greed tempts you… Read more

NOTE: Following is a letter written from a 33-year straight commission salesman to his daughter as she embarked on her sales career- note the last sentence. Read more

Some executives may feel that only way they can be sure they are going to get what they pay for is to ask the training provider to guarantee an ROI. This is a bizarre twist of everything we (and any executive) experienced from kindergarten through college. Accountability to learn the course material rests entirely on the student to study course material, pass the tests, pass the class, and earn a degree, no matter how good or bad the professor is or how relevant or irrelevant the course is for the student. Additionally, there is some substantial financial skin in the game on the part of the student. Read more

When it comes to understanding the role of sales and how to maximize sales performance, not too many business executives “get it”. Hint: Managing sales is not about dictating control. If your salespeople are totally controllable by you, then what are they like when negotiating on your behalf? Worse yet, if you have total control over them, then do they have to wait for you to tell them to do something before they do it? Two major characteristics of great salespeople are the strength to negotiate value in the face of a buyer’s price pressure and the self-discipline to get things done without adult supervision. Neither of these characteristics are those of someone who is “controllable”. In fact, another inherent characteristic of great salespeople is they are fiercely independent.  Read more

The predictability of future business through the eyes of the field sales force is critical to effective decision-making on the part of any executive. What is the trend? What is changing? What’s over the horizon? Knowing this can help make the necessary strategic decisions that keep a company in step with the changing marketplace and ahead of the competition. The problem is most organizations utilize an outdated business school approach to getting this information: sales forecasts. Read more

Ken Schmidt- Public Relations Director of Harley Davidson Motorcycles during their turbulent turn-around in the 80’s- made the keynote presentation to the Manufacturers Agents National Association on June 1, 2009. Here are notes from that presentation: Read more