People | A Sales Guy

Why Do Your Employees Work For You?

Why do your employees get up and come into to work everyday? What drives them to make the commute, to miss family events, and to commit to YOU. I get why they work, but why for you? Do you know why?

A friend of mine and I were talking the other day about the difficult economy and it’s impact on employee moral. He predicted a mass migration in his company as soon as the job market improves.

Why? Companies are making a lot of poor decisions, which is creating terrible working environments. People are still getting paid, but they are finding their work environment brutal. I tend to agree with him. In down times companies tend to lose focus on employee moral. They ask for more than they give. They show little loyalty and politics rules. When this happens, the only thing keeping their employee from exiting, is they have no where else to go. They feel trapped. Trapped by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. They are in the safety hierarchy, trying to keep from falling into the physiological one. Things aren’t good if your there.

Tough times at work find people in the safety zone trying to hang on and protect what they have. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. I think Maslow’s needs is true in the work place. Once the economy improves people will start to look elsewhere. People want to believe they are part of something bigger, that they belong. Layoffs, and budget cuts from up above don’t make people feel as if the are part of something or belong. They feel like leaves in the wind.

Once people feel they belong to something bigger, that they are part of something special, they want to contribute and be recognized for their contributions. This is where esteem comes in. Finally, they want to realize self-actualization. They want to leverage creativity to drive innovation, they want to have spontaneity, and more. People aren’t happy with just a job. They want to be a part of something. They want to help improve it and be recognized for it and they want to have the freedom to push the envelope. As choice comes back, employees will look to move up Maslows chart and if your company can’t provide it, they will leave.

What are people getting from your organization? Why do they work for you? If money and security are the answer be prepared. As things turnaround, you will find yourself hiring not because your growing, but because everyone is leaving.

Why do you work were you do?

July 28, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Career Development,What I Think! | View Comments |

What Really Motivates Sales People

You hear it all the time, Sales people are “coin operated”. Sales people are motivated by money. I’ve meet managers often who look for sales people motivated by money. They say; get your sales people spending, buying those new cars, and big houses. Get them hooked, and you’ll keep them motivated. I don’t buy this and never have. I WON’T hire a money motivated sales person or manager.

Money doesn’t motivate me and I won’t hire someone is motivated by money. Money is an incentive and shouldn’t be a motivator. Anyone who is motivated by money can only go so far. Tiger Woods wouldn’t be Tiger if he is motivated by money. He has more money than he can spend in a lifetime, literally. Tiger is motivated by accomplishment, desire to the best ever, and the challenge of cementing his legacy. Successful people aren’t motivated by money.

In a recent post, I asked what motivates sales people and shared what it is about selling that motivates me. The post created a lot of discussion on LinkedIn (if you can’t see because you are not a member of this group I’m sorry, but feel free to join. I’m hoping Disqus can find a way to bring those comments in as well.) Based on the discussion my assessment is fairly accurate. It’s not money. Rewards was a common theme. I think rewards is more about recognition than money. Only two people said money, the rest talked about accomplishment. Here are a couple of comments from the discussion.

“pat on back and recognition” - Raj Peesa

“Being able to accomplish a breakthrough sale and being seeing as someone who can achieve the impossible for others is my motivation. Money is nice but self-satisfaction, and peer recongnition, is the inner motivators. Of course a nice dollar bonus makes it easier to celebrate my success.” -Rich Delaney

“Great article, the chance to be a fixer and enhance the customer’s life is a great thrill. When all cylinders fire, there is no better feeling!” -Tom Tompson

“Thought provoking article. Often we assume that money is the great motivator, even when we know that for ourselves that is not true. For me, it’s recognition. A pat on the back, or a “job well done!” sends me back into the trenches smiling every time.” – Valerie Thomison

Money motivates few people. Despite common misconceptions, sales people are not motivated by money. They, like others, are driven by accomplishment, self-actualization, challenges and recognition.

A perfect example is the introduction and proliferation of crowdsourcing which is proving that money is an incentive and not a motivator. People in many different areas give their time and knowledge for free for a chance to participate in something bigger than them, whether it be Wikkipedia, or IStockPhoto. Money incents behavior, it steers us in one direction or another however it doesn’t motivate us to keep going. Money is an incentive not a motivator.

July 27, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Career Development,Personal Development,The Chase | View Comments |

Hard Work is Unreasonable

We live in an odd society. We worship the successful, yet vilify their path. Being successful and at the top of your profession takes hard work. It takes the type of hard work most people call unreasonable and it is unreasonable.

It’s absolutely unreasonable to work has hard as Tiger Woods, or cellist Yo Yo Ma. After each major tournament round Tiger Woods hits as many as a 1000 balls on the range. That’s after he’s just played a round of golf. Tigers dad made him hit ten, 10ft putts in a row before he could quit. (I’ve tried this, after 3 hours I gave up). Michael Phelps spends over 40 hours a week in the pool. This DOESN’T include working out and his non pool training. Lawyers looking to become partner can routinely bill 80 hours a week. It takes unreasonably hard work to be the best.

Hard work has become cliche. I don’t think most people can truly comprehend the concept of real hard work. The work required for the lifestyle most people want has too often been labeled unreasonable. It’s unreasonable to work on the weekends. It’s unreasonable to work on vacation. It’s unreasonable to sit at a piano for 8 hours straight. It’s unreasonable to practice for 12 hours a day 6 days a week. It’s unreasonable to be on the road 6 days a week for a year. It’s unreasonable to have to work that hard. As a society we’ve come to expect it is unreasonable to work hard. I agree. It is unreasonable.

However, working unreasonably hard, creates unreasonable salaries and wealth. Tiger Woods could never spend the amount of money he’s made to date. His wealth is unreasonable for a person to have but it’s commiserate with his unreasonable work effort. Reasonable effort gets your a reasonable salary. No effort gets you no salary. Substantial effort gets you a substantial salary. Unreasonable work effort gets you unreasonable reward.

The next time you are faced with an unreasonable work load don’t do it. You’re right it is unreasonable. Just remember, you get what you work for.

July 22, 2009 | Filed under: Personal Brand,Personal Development | View Comments |

Commit

Commit to something;

Commit to loosing weight, you may not lose as much as you want, but you may learn more about nutrition, eating healthy and your body that you reduce your cholesterol and avoid an early heart attack.

Commit to reading a book a month for a year. You may only get through 8, but you will learn more than you knew before you started.

Commit to increasing your net worth by 20% in 12 months. You may not make it, but you will be worth more and have a far better understanding of finances.

Commit to writing a book, you may not get published, but you will have become an expert in something.

Commit to blogging everyday for 1 year. You may fail, but along the way you will learn about RSS, Twitter, Technorati, WordPress/Blogger/Typepad, Feedburner and more. You may not make it, but you will be much more tech savvy.

Commit to a yoga class 3 times a week for a year. You may not make them all, but you will become more flexible.

Commit to recycling 50% of everything in your house. You may not make it, but you will have done more to save the planet than if you didn’t.

Commit to volunteering 3 times a month. You may not make them all, but you will make a difference in someones life.

Commit to something.

When we commit to things we make a difference. We may not always reach our goals, but we always do get something in return.

Make a commitment, it will make a difference.

July 1, 2009 | Filed under: Personal Brand,Personal Development | View Comments |

Screw Em!

I was talking to a very talented sales woman the other day. She is very good at what she does. I’ve known her for years and have always been impressed with her. She was sharing with me her frustration with her current company. She was telling me how she is afraid she’s could lose her job because she is so far off her number this year. There are a lot of reasons she’s not going to hit her number, but none have to do with her. She has consistently been an over achiever. She kills it every year. She has a phenomenal relationship with her customers, she knows her industry and the she’s unbelievably organized. She’s just damn good.

This what I told her; “screw em!”

If you are busting your ass doing all the right things to make you’re number and your company is not happy – screw em!

If you’re leveraging creativity and making things happen out of nothing and you still won’t hit your number and your boss is not happy – screw em!

If the customers are happy with you, and are spending the lions share of their smaller budget with you and it’s still not enough -screw em!

If you believe in the bottom of your heart that you have given everything you can, that you have exhausted all of your energy and skill and are squeezing every opportunity out of your territory and you’re not going to hit your number, then don’t worry about it. There is nothing else you can do.

As managers we have tendency to measure everything against a number. I used to do this. If you don’t hit your number your gone. The problem is the number doesn’t tell the whole story. As much as we expect our sales people to understand their customers, we need to understand our sales people. We also need to understand the selling environment.

I asked Karen if she thought anyone else could do any better, (I didn’t believe anyone could, Karen is just that good). She said no, there just isn’t that much business to be had.

Understanding this, my final advice was simply this. Don’t worry about it. And if they’re not happy screw em. If they think by letting you go, their position will improve let them be that short sighted.

Letting people go for not making quota is not the way to look at it. The question companies should be asking when someone is missing quota is; can I get someone better? If the answer is yes, then let them go. If the answer is no, be happy with the revenue your getting and prepare to improve next year.

Who is more valuable? The sales person who is at 80% of quota in a market that is shrinking by 35% or the sales person who is 115% of quota in a market that is growing at 150%?

I will keep the person who is at 80% of quota. This is what I told Karen. If your company is incapable of recognizing this and believe they can get someone better by letting you go. Then – screw em! And, don’t worry about it, there nothing you can do.

Don’t lose great talent because you can’t interpret the numbers. If you do, you’ll be screwed!

June 15, 2009 | Filed under: Hiring/Firing,Sales Leadership | View Comments |

It’s Review Time

It’s that time of the year at my company, when formal performance reviews need to be done. I can’t stand this time of the year. It happens twice a year, at the middle and at the end. It’s the time everyone scrambles to follow the process. Everyone schedules their review times, groans about having to fill the arduous document and then rushes to make the deadline. HR sends out reminders it’s important to get done. It’s an exercise in completion, wrapped in expression of importance. It’s a hassle. It’s been like this in almost every company I’ve worked.

Reviews aren’t supposed to be a check list. Reviews are guide posts, they are supposed to allow your employees to know how they are doing, where they should be headed and the things they should stop doing. Performance reviews should provide support and direction, not just assessment. I have never, ever been critiqued or measured on my skill to assess my team members. I’ve never been trained in how to do a good one. I never worked for a company that highlighted the best leaders for their ability to manage their team. It’s always been a mid-year, end of year exercise that frustrates everyone and deliver little to no value.

Reviewing individuals is an ongoing process. It requires, at the very least, monthly conversations around expectations, concerns, performance and well being. Good reviews incorporate the employees objectives and goals. It includes their own personal self-assessment. Reviews should be a holistic engagement between a manager and their employee on an on going basis. By being engaged with an employees performance on a regular basis, mid-year and annual performance reviews are nothing more than a collection of previous discussions.

I have the best sales team in the world. They are responsive, intelligent, driven, talented and successful. They are the best because of who they are AND because we talk regularly about getting better. It’s not about performance or reviewing but about development and growth. Some of the people on my team have worked for me at different companies. They are committed to personal development and growth. I challenge them to grow. We engage in honest dialogue. We are transparent in our discussions, nothing off limits and I know what they want to achieve. By focusing on development and growth rather than reviewing performance we make greater progress.

Team development is one of the most critical components of leadership. Unfortunately, it far too often becomes a bi-annual process that just frustrates everyone and that doesn’t help anyone.

Rather than having performance reviews, there should be employee development reviews, where managers are evaluated on their team and employee development process. Each leader should be graded on how well they develop and manage their employees. The top employee development leaders should be showcased and awarded. Give kudos to those who know how to build teams and grow people.

Hold leaders accountable for leadership and performance reviews will no longer be a pain but rather a tool.

Would you be a top performer in employee development culture?

June 2, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Career Development,Leadership,Personal Development | View Comments |

A Contest With No Winner

There are a lot of ways to make your numbers, you can improve sales processes, create incentives, run contests, or initiate new sales programs. There are endless ways to drive new sales and increase revenue.

But what makes these things work are the people. Having the right people in the right positions is what makes your processes, incentives, programs and contests work. Getting the right people on the team and into the right positions is far more valuable than any contest.

When you don’t have a the right people in the right positions, the contest will have no winner.

May 1, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Sales Leadership | View Comments |

People, Product or Process

I’ve been talking to some of my peers about the economy and it’s getting more and more difficult out there. There has been a lot of conversation around lay-offs and downsizing. With revenues down, companies are doing what ever they can to remain profitable and survive. We’ve all had to do it and it’s no fun.

The stories are interesting and painful. Companies are laying off 5, 10, and even 20% of their organizations.

One of my peers was telling me that during his most recent layoff, people were let go who were integral to over 10 million dollars in new sales opportunities. In one case, his sales team is to present to a perspective client for a 6 million dollar deal this month and the key technical expert on the account was let go. At the time of this post he has yet to find a replacement. The most recent cuts at his company have put 10 million dollars in new sales at risk in an effort to save money. It doesn’t sound too prudent does it?

Organizations, like people, tend to lack creativity and objectivity when they are scared. No one is willing to take a risk and they have a tendency to see things for what they are. The spreadsheet takes over and if it can’t be measured, easily measured, no one pays attention to it.

While my friend and I were talking we got on the subject of how much work it is to close a deal at his company. The processes are cumbersome and time is wasted in non-selling activities. He was frustrated with the amount of work the processes entailed and how it negatively effected sales. With even less people, he is concerned its all just going to spiral out of control, more deals lost, more sales cuts, more revenue at risk, more deals lost, more people cuts etc. He was really concerned they were in a death spiral.

There are 3 main things that impact revenue and sales, product, people, and process. People get the most attention. When times are good, hire, hire, hire. When times are bad, fire, fire, fire. Unfortunately, you can’t not fire your way to survival. At times like these looking at the entire picture is critical. What products can you get rid of? What products are losing money. What are the costs associated with them? Find them and get rid of them. Streamline your product portfolio, make the tough choices and trim them down.

Process is the other area. Few organizations evaluate their existing processes to determine their cost. Processes have a cost, a real tangible cost. Figure out what the expensive processes in your organization are and fix them. My friend was telling me his sales people (these are high-end sales people making over 200k a yr.) spend hours a week hunting down 16k orders or filling out paper work for mailing $500 dollars worth of product. An organization that has high-end sales people spending hours a week on trivial efforts has processes costs that far exceed their people costs.

Getting lean, saving money and becoming efficient is critical during a down-time. Expense to Revenue management is critical. Cutting people is part of the process. However it is also the easiest. The good companies will look at more than just the people. They will get real with their organization and ferret out savings in product and process as well as people.

Eventually cutting people will cost you more than you save. My friend is very concerned. He thinks his company has cut too deep and will lose more than they save. If what he is telling me accurate, that he has over 10 million dollars in net new sales at risk due to the newest round of cuts . . . I think he’s right. His ship may be sinking.

March 23, 2009 | Filed under: Economy,The Chase | View Comments |