ProActive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay Ahead of the Game

257 Pages·2009·6.72 MB·English

by  William ''Skip'' Miller

ProActive
Sales Management
How to Lead,
Motivate, and Stay
Ahead of the Game
SECOND EDITION
William ‘‘Skip’’ Miller
American Management Association
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Miller,William
ProActivesalesmanagement:howtolead,motivate,andstayaheadofthe
game/William‘‘Skip’’Miller.—2nded.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8144-1456-9
ISBN-10:0-8144-1456-7
1.Salesmanagement. I.Title.
HF5438.4.M543 2009
658.8(cid:2)1—dc22
2009002852
(cid:2)2009William‘‘Skip’’Miller.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmittedinwholeorinpart,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofAMACOM,
adivisionofAmericanManagementAssociation,
1601Broadway,NewYork,NY10019.
Printingnumber
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Chapter 1 ProActiveSales Manager—Definingthe
New Breed of Sales Manager 1
WhatIstheActualRoleoftheSalesManager? 3
WhatMakesaSuccessfulSalesperson? 4
WhatMakesaSuccessfulSalesManager? 7
WhatAretheSimilaritiesBetweentheTwoSkills? 9
WhatTasks DoestheSalesManagerPerformona
Day-to-DayBasis? 10
WhatExpectationsArePlacedonthe Sales
Manager? 11
ManagetheProcess,NotJustthePeople 12
TheFirstTool—ThinkThreetoSixMonthsinto
theFuture 13
TheSecondTool—BeProActive 14
TheThirdTool—DevelopObjectives—M2O/t 17
TheFourthTool—CallforHelp 18
TheFifthTool—HaveYourPeopleEffectively
ManageThemselves 20
HowDoIKnowWhetherIAmanEffective
Leader? 21
GrenadeWalls 21
TwoRulesofLeadership 22
(cid:3)
CreatingaSalesCultureIsJob 1 23
iii
iv Contents
Chapter 2 Sales Cultures and the Ability to
Communicate Them 24
ThePygmalionEffect 25
ThinkingProActively—Thinking intheFuture 27
CurrentSalesCulture 28
CurrentCompanyCulture 29
SalesTeamCultureNinetoTwelveMonthsOut 29
CreatingtheCultureProActivelyand
ImplementingIt 30
(cid:3)
Rule 1:BetheFuture 31
(cid:3)
Rule 2:ThinkCulture BeforeTactics 32
(cid:3)
Rule 3:GoBackward 32
(cid:3)
Rule 4:CreateandCommunicateYour M2O/t’s 34
(cid:3)
Rule 5:TheValuePyramids—Advanced
FutureVisionWorkshop 35
YouCan’tRidetheBus 38
Chapter 3 Manage the Right Things—Time and
People 40
ManagingTime 41
MaximizeandInvest 41
TheSalesManager80/20Rule 42
ManagingtheAPlayers 43
ShowMetheMoney—AnInsurancePolicy 48
Planning—FocusonTomorrow;TodayIsOver 51
PowerHour 52
MeasureIt—SettingMeasurableObjectivesThat
Work 53
RevenueNumbersAreReactive 54
RevenueNumbersMeasuretheWrongThing 55
SubjectiveandObjectiveMeasurements 55
TheSkipMillerSalesManagementSuccess
Formula 56
Frequency 56
Competencies 57
Miller17 57
Contents v
Chapter 4 Finding and Recruiting the Best Sales
Team 63
HowtoInterviewandHiretheRightSalesperson
theFirstTime 63
TheLawandthe Interview 64
QuestionsYouCannotAsk 65
TheHiringProcess 67
TheThreePerspectives 68
InitialHomework 69
ViewYourCurrentOrganizationandCulture 70
ObjectiveSalesTeam CultureAssessment 71
WheretoFindtheGoodOnes 75
DistributionChannelsforCandidates 75
Recruiting 80
Advertising 84
PreparefortheInterview 85
ObjectiveandSubjectiveMeasurements 85
TheInterviewProcess 103
TheA-B-CInterviewProcess 103
TheTwenty-MinuteInterviewProcess 106
ASimpleButEffectiveInterviewProcess:
Connect-Draw-Give-Close 107
Interview—SalesCall 110
ToolsfortheSalesInterview 111
WhoClosesWhom 117
CharacteristicsofaGreatSalesperson 118
ProActiveReferenceChecks 120
TheOfferThatWorks 122
TheSubjectiveInterview:TheFinalAssessment 124
CelebrateSuccess:ClosingtheDeal 125
Chapter 5 Corrective Action 127
StartingaCorrectiveActionProcess 127
TheCorrectiveActionProcess 128
Counseling 129
WrittenWarning 130
UseofMetrics 132
vi Contents
FinalWrittenWarning 135
Termination 136
TerminationGuidelines 136
It’sNotYourResponsibility 139
CoachingandCounseling ThroughtheProcess 141
FinalThoughts 141
Chapter 6 ProActive Management Skills 142
CoachingandCounseling:HowtoBe aMaster
CommunicatorinAnyOrganization 142
CoachingandCounseling 142
TheCoaching/CounselingWheel 144
TheCoachingSalesCall 145
TheCoaching Call 147
TheJointSalesCall 149
TheUnexpectedSalesCall 150
Focuson theAPlayers 151
CoachingandCounseling YourBossEffectively 151
Motivation—KnowWhyPeopleDoWhatTheyDo
andBeOneStepAhead 154
Praise 157
RewardandRecognition 157
Learn-and-GrowChallenges 159
MotivationalDirection 161
UsingTechnologytoCommunicate 163
Chapter 7 If You Can’t Measure It, Why Do It? 164
TracktheMaybes 165
KeeptheInsurance 166
ManagetoOneSheetofPaper:The30-60-90Report 169
30-60-90Rules 169
The30-60-90Report 171
EffectiveReportsinTenMinutesaWeek 180
GettingReportsinonTime 182
WhatKindofaManagerAreYou? 182
ExpenseManagement 184
Contents vii
Chapter 8 Territory Planning, Compensation, and
Rewards 185
StrategicallyDeployingtheSalesTeam 185
TheProActiveSalesMatrix 186
DeadZone 190
MaintainZone 190
RedZone 191
Compensation 193
Strategicvs.TacticalCompensation 193
ProActiveCompensationGuidelines 193
CompensationandTerritory Timing 199
TheLawofCompensationPlanTiming 201
TheRevenueCurve 201
StackRankings 203
SalesTraining 204
TheFiveSalesCompetencies 204
CreateLeverage—RewardsandPraise 207
StayFocusedor PayFree Money 208
Chapter 9 Sales Meetings 210
WhenandHowtoHave SuccessfulSalesMeetings 210
AgendaPlanning 211
TimePlanning 213
ContentPlanning 214
OptionalMeetings 215
Chapter 10 Create the ProActive Action Plan 218
TheCoachingWall ofPrinciples 218
SettingGoals andMakingThemWork 221
Short-Termvs.Long-TermGoals 222
MeasurableGoals 222
Communication 224
GoandMakeaDifference 225
TheA-B-CBellCurveAppliestoManagersas
Well 226
TheSupportStructureBackattheOffice 226
viii Contents
Chapter 11 The Technology of Sales 228
DecreasingOrderTime 228
IncreasingtheSalesperson’sAbility toSell 229
IncreasingBreadthandDepth 232
TheNewProcess 232
TheNewDashboard 233
GettingThingsDoneinaTeamSell 234
GettingThingsDonewithYourCustomers 234
Disciplineand theWilltoChange 234
Index 237
Acknowledgments
This is for all the Sales Managers who get it. The ones who get
having faith, trust, and confidence. To the managers who put in
theextraeffortandletthesalespeoplethrive,asopposedtoput-
ting them through the inquisition every week. Especially the
oneswhotelltheirsalespeopletogoaheadandtry,eventhough
theyhavenever triedit,andlettinggojustseemsso hard.
Nowherein theorganization isperformanceso visible.You
aredoingagreatjobbygettingthingsdonethroughothers.
Tomybusinessfriendsandclients;thiscouldneverhappen
withoutyou.Thankyouvery,very,much.
To the thousands of salespeople . . . we are trying to make
themsmarter.Bepatientplease.
As always, to my family. You are the reason. To Susan, you
aremypurpose.
ix