Owners can avoid these three costly sales-management mistakes ...

Garry Duncan

Hiring a sales person or sales manager is a priority for business owners who don?t like to do sales. But it?s problematic, because some reports say as many as 61 percent of sales hires are unsuccessful.

Personal bias and the inability to see the job or candidate objectively, no clear hiring strategy, and superficial interviews without reference checks contribute to the high failure rate.

The biggest mistake is hiring a salesperson based only on experience and likability. It?s critical to pay attention to personal attributes that fit your culture.

For example, compare two hiring benchmarks for a salesperson from two companies in the same industry. In one organization, success is dependent upon (besides experience) problem-solving ability. In the second, management is less involved, and doesn?t provide leads or clear direction. Success in the second organization is dependent upon the ability to self-start and self-manage.

This is a prime example of why salespeople succeed in one organization and not another, even in the same industry.

Consider that industry knowledge and selling skills are generally easier to train than personal attributes, such as self-starting and problem solving. Cultures range from formal to informal, individualistic or team-oriented, risk-adverse or risk-embracing, and the list goes on. Identify your culture and hire those personal attributes that fit.

The second error occurs when they start working at your company. Initial excitement can fade quickly. Many new hires fail to live up to expectations simply because of poor management. Managers say they don?t want to micro-manage, so they throw new hires into the field with some version of ?Go get them.? After several weeks of misfires and being lost in the wilderness, both sides are unhappy. There is too little direction, coaching and motivation.

Think about other professions. Medical interns and residents, engineering graduates and software programmers, to name a few, get specific instruction on how to do things.

Amazingly, three of the top reasons for low performance are 1) not knowing what they?re supposed to do, 2) thinking they?re doing what they are supposed to do, or 3) not knowing that what they?re doing is wrong.

No one starts a new job with the attitude to fail or to perform poorly. Don?t leave it up to chance. Newly hired salespeople are most open, positive and receptive to direction when they first start. Provide a road map to success.

An example from a very successful owner outlines a plan that includes five major outcomes he wants his new salespeople to accomplish in the first month, the first quarter and in each of the last three quarters.

For example, week one is 1) set up your desk and computer, 2) compile a call list and four-week itinerary, 3) spend one-half day each with customer service and shipping, 4) know product line A, and 5) know the company process for orders, billing and customer service.

The second week is 1) know product line B, 2) join two networking groups, 3) make six appointments, 4) call 25 current clients, 5) complete a business plan for the next six months. What makes it work is each Friday, he reviews the expectations and provides feedback. Salespeople who have clear goals and frequent feedback are motivated, productive and happy.

Third, owners with one to four salespeople are at risk of hiring a sales manager too soon. Hiring a sales manager (which is harder to find than a good salesperson) usually adds at least $100,000 of expense to overhead and he or she still requires management, direction and feedback, so the problem becomes more complicated.

Do these things before investing in a sales manager:

? First, be clear if you need a sales manager, marketing person or account manager. Outline a sales process that fits your situation and have everyone adhere to it. Millions of dollars in resources are wasted giving proposals and presentations to unqualified recipients, so be sure to include the necessary qualifiers in your process.

? Next, implement a contact manager and tracking system. Your clients and prospects are valuable assets, so keep track of them. Require some form of minimal reporting, such as number of follow-up calls, new calls to new prospects and so forth.

Track the basic elements of success. Measure if they?re seeing the right people, with the right frequency and doing the right things when in front of them. Make a few field trips regularly so you?ll know what your prospects want to buy, not what you think they want. You?ll also learn what your salespeople are doing and how to help them.

When those are in place, and you still need a sales manager, the timing will be better.

Garry Duncan, principal of Denver-based Leadership Connections, a sales training company, can be reached at 303-462-1277 or garry@leadershipconnections.com.

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Article source: http://assets.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2012/05/owners-can-avoid-these-three-costly.html?page=all

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