back in the game

Gosh, it's been forever. And here's why. Sales has sucked in the past several months. The Sales Guy is having a tough few months and it has taken its toll on us all. Really, we're doing fine comparatively to sick family/friends, flood victims, etc but I guess I realized over the weekend that when a Sales person is having a tough time selling, they constantly feel like they are failing and they hear a very loud "ticking" in the back of their heads. Constantly. 

I'm sure there are other professions in which you are completely measured numerically but something about Sales makes it ALL about the numbers.  He's looking at numbers of licenses, number of opportunities, number of activities he's logged, etc.  So many....too many.... numbers. It's like he has to be an accountant, a project manager, moonlight as a sales engineer (because God only knows there is only one of them to go around these days) AND The Sales Guy. 

This focus on the numbers thing is so weird to me. CPAs, CFOs, controllers and bank tellers should agonize over numbers like this. Not The Sales Guy. I honestly believe he just needs to breathe.  There is a reason high performing sales folk hit ruts and, typically, it has little to do with their selling skills. There are outside factors. But, it seems like some sales managers just don't get it. They want their Reps who are in ruts to cold call more, shake trees that have been shaken for months more, call the same customers more... more of the same.  Nothing strategic about that.  Nothing different about that. And typically further depletes the confidence of a Rep in a pothole.

How about a little coaching?  I always found my best and favorite coaches were ones who really knew me. They were the ones who knew when to push me and when to just shut up and let me rest.  There was also a special one in 7th grade who told me not to run inside the orange cones during cross country practice to cut down the distance I was running by a few yards. She said, "You only cheat yourself."  These same coaches made an effort to get to know each player on the team yet run us through all the same drills.  People had different ability levels and drive so the coaches sort of knew how to coach of us once we were done with the simple drills.  Most importantly, they helped me figure out how to make a break through.  They helped me figure out new moves when my brain and body just was otherwise stuck. 

I think The Sales Guy would really benefit from a recommended pitch call and a slap on the ass from Terry Francona these days.  He already knows the drills and he's not running on the inside of the cones.  As we enter into the post-season this Fall on the baseball diamond, I'm hopeful that the coaches in the office are also bearing down with their teams, pushing their players to do their best and I hope they are not afraid to step on the mound with their players. 

For(c)ecast

Imagine the Weather Channel forced Jim Cantore to tell us what we wanted to hear about the forecast rather than allow him to give us his real, educated predictions?  All sorts of things would happen – The Sales Guy may skip out on a trip north for a bluebird ski day, I would take our dog for a walk and be greeted by a funnel cloud, a 747 could take off from Logan Airport on a transatlantic flight and get caught in a storm, etc.  If Jim is anything like the quality chap I think he is, he would never ignore data and would never do this to us.  Forecasting is part of Jim’s job – the good, the bad, the ugly. 

I hadn’t realized until recently how many Sales Managers and Execs may have “happy ears.”  It’s one thing for the ungroomed, inexperienced Rep to mess up a quarterly commit or forecast but good Sales Managers are not supposed to let this happen.  After all, they are the coaches!  And, certainly, you have to trust your well performing Reps when they are committing and they have data to back it up.

The Sales Guy is having an interesting quarter. Remember the whole territory and combined role shift that happened at the start of the fiscal year?  Well, he’s still working on his forecast and he’s a pretty realistic guy. However, seems like he may be in this very situation of being forced to be a bit unrealistic about his forecast.  I don’t get it.  Why would a Sales Manager want a Sales Rep to over commit?  I understand there are “upside” deals but I’d like to think there’s nothing  The Sales Guy is withholding for fun if he does the usual hourly mental calculation of what his commission is going to be for the quarter.  Yet, the manager just doesn’t seem to get it.  Wants him to commit more. For the sake of what?  For reality to hit on June 30?  I guess if your boss doesn’t believe you the only option you may have is to invite him to customer calls for the straight skinny.

It’s nice to be on the buying side for once. In my own situation right now, I’m in the “buyer’s” seat for services for a big project. We must be making the life of the Sales Rep on our deal a living hell because, honestly, we didn’t have a clear timeline or project definition.  How the heck is she forecasting her deal with us?  The good news is we have budget. I almost feel bad knowing exactly what we are doing to this person and her earning potential. But, we’re moving at the pace we need to move at as a business and that’s the whole point.  I wonder what her manager is doing to her?  If her manager is forcing her to commit on our deal, I honestly believe that manager is operating under the same silly model as The Sales Guy’s manager.  And, as a buyer, that’s not going to help me move faster.  What the manager may recommend is something that could actually move the deal along further… like help us build the project plan. 

I wonder what the dynamic of Sales would be like if Reps could operate more like Jim Cantore.  It’s a forecast – he makes his prediction  based on the data he has at hand and then leaves it to Mother Nature to let the rest play out. 

Schwag in your bag

If you’re a Sales guy or gal, you know all about schwag. What kind of schwag is in your bag?

I remember when The Sales Guy returned from his first conference after our son was born. And, you guessed it, The Sales Guy tossed some schwag in his bag for our newborn. This was special schwag. The Sales Guy scouted out the cute, limited edition, stuffed raccoon with t-shirt from the moment the booth girl put the mammal on the counter.  At the time, I thought it was the sweetest thing that The Sales Guy was missing his newborn [and hopefully me]. As it turned out, because The Sales Guy is a sales guy, he turned the situation into a negotiation!  Took two days for him to work the deal and trap the coveted Ricky Racoon!

The Sales Guy seems to go to fewer shows these days so we’re running low on pens, post-its, coffee mugs, etc. And what the heck happened to those awesome light up yo-yos?  This winter, our entire family rocked schwag.  We communicated daily on my company’s pre-rebranding post-its. The Sales Guy modeled weekly his company’s issued dress shirt. We showed our son we loved him on Valentine’s Day viasticker schwag. Even our first snowman sported baseball cap schwag!

Here’s the crazy part about schwag. It takes a lot of creativity (and often money) for schwag to have any schwagger and do the needful. It must drive Marketing teams crazy to hear stories like ours.  They spend all this time figuring out just the right schwag to get attention, show off the brand, etc. And, then, people like us abuse the schwag. I have no idea who Ricky Racoon was “representing” nor do I care. The part I love about schwag when it finds its way into our home is that it means The Sales Guy has been thinking about us when he was on the field. 

Smarter than the Wife

If you read my last post, then this one should make you smile. Accredited folks smarter than me are also making the point that you have to put the right people in the right positions on the field: 
http://www.profilesinternational.com/solutions_sales_talent_management/sales-effectiveness.aspx

Goal! Next season..

He did it. The Sales Guy eeked out the win in overtime. Smashed his number for the year.  The crowd went wild.

And now he's back on the fields to play all over again. The fields have changed though. The Coaches decided it's time to shake things up (again.) And, as coaches and owners do time-to-time, they are asking the team to play different positions on different fields (territories, that is.)  This time, it's not just about the stadium changes. They are asking the team to play multiple positions.  I have a slight issue with that.

The hunter and farmer roles have become one.  Not sure if The Sales Guy's organization has attempted this in the past and it'll certainly be an interesting game to spectate but I don't get it. And what I take issue with is it happened overnight.  One day they are hunting and the very next day, just because of a calendar change, they are hunting AND farming. As The Sales Guy's Wife, I have to be honest and say I didn't notice any late night pumping iron or makeovers going on so that he was ready for this 4/1. He barely had the Gatorade gulped down from the overtime win.

So why exactly do organizations make changes like this? I honestly believe it has zero to do with what is best for the customer and much more to do with saving money and reducing headcounts.  And, perhaps they just don't get it... send a career fullback into a game last minute and tell him/her to score a goal and chances are you aren't going to get that.  Send a career right wing into a game last minute and ask him/her to protect the net and stop all goals and you probably aren't going to get that. Your midfielders have the best shot at shifting back and forth between roles but, guess what, they are trained and conditioned to do that.

The interesting thing here is organizations who make calls on-the-fly like this are ones which seem to underestimate the power of pristine customer relationship management and perhaps care less about customer satisfaction. And perhaps ones who have great faith in their teams to become midfielders overnight. Not saying The Sales Guy's organization is one of those. I am just saying the less devoted time you spend on relationship management, the more likely you may be to have customers at risk. And, the more time you ARE doing relationship management, the less time you are spending on the next new takedown. And, perhaps, I've lived this type of change both in the workplace and on the soccer field.

I don't doubt that The Sales Guy will work his tail off and do well. And I'm sure his teammates, who have also been successful in the past, will do well too.  Let's see how the customers react and what the numbers show as this all unfolds.

Ties R 4 Sissies

I’m not talking about the neck kind. I’m talkin’ about the fact that somebody wins and somebody loses in Sales.  Unlike in soccer, there is just no such thing as a tie.  Somebody is buying from you OR somebody is buying from the other guy.  There is a winner and a loser.  And it sucks to lose.

Couple more days left in the fiscal year for The Sales Guy and he is guttin’ it out like the best of them. Personally, I think he’s done a wonderful job in the past year BUT if The Sales Guy doesn’t make his number, he’s going to be a loser. All that hard work for the prior 364 days means zilch. 

So why can’t we have ties in Sales?  I mean, unless there is complete obliteration, there MUST be some good found on each side of the deal. Some aspect of each competitor’s solution has to be good enough to keep them in the game for a good fight. And when it comes down to the slugging, if you stay punch for punch til the bitter end, wasn’t the fight itself worth anything at all?  What about HOW you played the game? Isn’t that worth an honorable mention? Couldn’t the Coach come up with a second place medal in the form of 10 grand for the efforts?  After all, it’s not just The Sales Guy who is on the field -- the underperforming back field (product development, marketing, etc) or the late-to-the-game pricing/finance players contributed to the loss. Come on, Coach, pay The Sales Guy for his efforts if you like HOW he played.

Could you imagine what that would do for The Sales Guy’s confidence? NOTHING.  Why? Because winning is everything to The Sales Guy.  

I remember the experience I had “losing” full rights to the class salutatorian honor in 8^th grade. I remember exactly what I was thinking when Ms Arnold told me the news. How did I lose?  Don’t get me wrong, I loved sharing the glory with my best friend but A TIE???  I thought ties ONLY happened in soccer. In my case, I busted my arse for much longer than a fiscal year but time was up and I had lost.  A tie?  Come on.  Like one play during my middle school tenure wasn’t any better or worse than my co-honoree? Could we have a spell-off? Or a grasshopper dissect-a-thon? A clear winner was what we needed. Those were the rules!

Normally, I don’t advocate for rule changes to historic games but I’m pretty sure regular season soccer rules need an uplift. Why teams of fit athletes can’t gut it out until the better team scores to break a tie makes no sense to me.  Why not a shootout at least for EVERY game? As in a sales deal, someone has to make a decision – perhaps a human sacrifice – to determine the winner EVERY time. 

There always needs to be a winner and a loser. Winning gives us a reason to celebrate and losing makes us tougher for the next game.

So, Sales Guy, from the bottom of my heart – have a Powerbar, a cortisone shot, a high-five from a cheerleader, whatever you need at this point - get back on the field for 3 more days and win this thing!  I’ll be waiting at the front door with a bucket of Gatorade to celebrate!

Get Your Travolta On

Less than a week left in the quarter or to the fiscal year.  Get your Travolta on and Hustle!

"Hustle is doing something that everyone is absolutely certain can’t be done.

Hustle is getting commitment because you got there first, or stayed with it after everyone else gave up.

Hustle is shoe leather and elbow grease and sweat and missing lunch.

Hustle is getting prospects to say “yes” after they’ve said “no” twenty times.

Hustle is doing more unto a customer than the other guy can do unto him.

Hustle is believing in yourself and the business you’re in.

Hustle is the sheer joy of winning.

Hustle is being the sorest loser in town.

Hustle is hating to take a vacation because you might miss a piece of the action.

Hustle is heaven if you’re a hustler.

Hustle is hell if you’re not."

Attention! A-TENT-TION!

Listen up!  Do I need to drop of a brick of gold in the sunlight to get your attention?  And then follow it up with an interpretive dance wearing a chicken suit? 

As visually stimulating as that is, I actually find it to be quite rude. How many times have you heard, “Sales people have the shortest attention spans?”  Or, that you have to “flash a shiny object” in their faces to get their attention?  Then, commonly followed by somebody saying with arrogance, “ They are not that smart so you have to keep things simple.”   To that I say, “Phooey!”  

I truly believe good Sales professionals are some of the most skilled, nimble multi-tasking, productive jugglers on the face of this earth. Think about it, they have to be if they are going to be successful at what they do.  They are working on at least a dozen things simultaneously.  They are moving very fast and have to filter the noise like nobody’s business.

On any given night when he’s home, The Sales Guy takes position on “my” leather recliner to relax. It’s pretty easy to notice when he’s tired and thinking.  I can see it on his face and, just when I think it’s really into that super boring Nat-Geo special on the unique insect population in Burma, it dawns on me he’s totally not watching it and he’s creating his plan of attack for tomorrow.  It wouldn’t matter if I dropped the gold brick, danced the jig in the chicken suit in front of t.v. or paraded a million of those killer Burmese fire ants across his bare feet, his attention is focused on tomorrow’s game plan.

Ever look at a Sales person’s calendar?  OMG!  How they can focus on anything for more than an hour or so a day when they are supposed to talk to at least a handful of different people from different companies in a single day, put together compelling cases for why people should buy their stuff, build relationships, a pipeline, a family, a treehouse, work out, eat lunch, shower, etc. 

I don’t know how they do it but I can tell you they deserve a lot more credit than they typically get.  Then again, not sure they care what the rest of us think of them as long as they get paid.  We’ll save that topic for another time… I need to claim my seat on the recliner and grab the remote J

Get Your Game On!

The Sales Guy and I share a deep love for the game of soccer.  We are not the most skilled players – you won’t see either of us rockin’ a bicycle kick or a intentional half maradona. But, we both possess a quality that has propelled us to put our hearts and souls into every game we’ve played – it’s called drive. And that drive is what makes us hypercompetitive individuals who want to win – always.

Our natural tendencies are to protect the goal (defense) and set up plays for our teammates, who are much better “equipped” to hit the back of the net.  And, in those very rare situations, hit the back of the net ourselves.  We will do anything our aging bodies are capable of doing to annihilate our competition.

The great Mia Hamm said, “You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again.”   And how true it is both on and off the soccer field.

While The Sales Guy is financially motivated and his drive compels him to WANT to win, he can’t do it alone. That's especially because he’s not just trying to beat an individual in head-to-head competitive situations --he's trying to take out another team. He relies significantly on his company’s reputation, record of winning and competitive intelligence for the “assist.”  Otherwise, he’s sittin’ on the goal line waiting for a potentially 100 mph knuckle shot.

It’s amazing how many companies treat having competitive intelligence as a “side job” for one or two individuals in an organization rather than dedicate serious focus to it.  It would be like the New England Patriots only scouting their competition and creating game plans for only  5% of their games.  And, in many cases, doing it during the game rather than before. I can’t imagine Tom Brady would enjoy or be as successful as he has been heading into any game without feeling fully supported and knowing his competition very well.  It’s not just about who they are and what they offer but understanding what tactics they use and what limits they are willing to go to that help coaches and players form the winning offensive and defensive plays.   And, when executed, potentially leave a lasting, talked-about impression on the competition, which can put them on their heels and put the fear of God in them next time you play.

Case in point from my own experience.. I remember when my college team was in the ECAC Championship game my freshman year. My coach had the opportunity to scout our competition the prior day. Before our game, he caught me stretching and told me the right wing player I knew I'd be battling the entire game could  not handle tight dribbling if her gait was broken and she was "stood up." So, the info I had in hand was the team's record, familiarity with a few of the players and how good they were but this level of detail about HOW she played proved to be the single most valuable tip my coach could've given me the entire game.  While it didn't work 100% of the time, it was pretty darn close.  I "stood her up" every time she approached and, using my new move, stripped the ball or sent her out of bounds.  Each of my team members got a "nugget" on competition like this and we went on to win the championship and secure our 18-1 season record.

So, the bottom line here is you gotta get smart about your competitors and get on the offensive before the game begins.  And, then, during game time, intelligence (gained through conditioning) and animal instinct kick in.  And, as the game changes, that’s when The Sales Guy pulls out all his moves – giving and receiving solid basket-weave-passes and has a much better chance of hitting the back of the net and hearing “GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL.”

my 17 cents

17 cents = the cost of my first purchase, which was 5 pencil top erasers at a New Jersey Kmart.

I REALLY wanted to buy something and, it was the end of the summer, so the naturally encased erasers on my pencils were totally burnt out.  Yes, even back then I made a zillion mistakes AND was a total dork.  What an ingenious idea those erasers were – so much pencil left and so many more mistakes to make, it was a dream come true for the longevity of my creative mastery through a writing utensil.  I NEEDED them. (PS - Yes, lead. It was 1983 or 1984.)  I was extremely satisfied with the performance of my purchase, especially the yellow eraser.  I still buy those damn erasers when duty calls.

I asked The Sales Guy what his first purchase was and his experience was the complete opposite of mine.  Man ‘o man did my question set off The Sales Guy.  He said, “It was some overpriced, used fishing lures some neighborhood kids sold me. I think I paid like 10 bucks for them.”  The lures “sucked” and he paid too much. However, he NEEDED them. 

So, this made me wonder… is this how it all began for The Sales Guy?  Did this initial purchase scar him for life and is that why he’s always trying to get a good deal?  J   Or, is it that he realized he could  make good money from selling? 

Do  you remember your first purchase?  I want to hear about it....

Customer incontinence and other entertainment

I promised you humor so here goes...

It's not easy being The Sales Guy by day and an event coordinator by night. Customers [because they are people] require entertainment and, sometimes, they turn into the entertainment.

A few months ago, The Sales Guy's evening call of duty brought him to the setting of a professional hockey game to entertain and "thank" a customer who recently made a big purchase.  The Sales Guy describes this customer as "gregarious, large framed, biker kind of guy."  So, naturally, he liked his sports and his beer.  And, naturally, The Sales Guy made sure his customer was delighted with the best seats, plenty of over-priced snacks and a steady intravenous of brew.

Even with the home team pulling off a win and intense inebriation, Customer wanted more and The Sales Guy obliged providing a midnight "snack" of the finest Angus steak and scotch. At around 1am, it was clear that Customer had an obvious hole in the foot and superhuman liver and The Sales Guy was responsible for ensuring Customer got home safely so it was time to call it a night. The Sales Guy escorted Customer to the men's room (he hadn't been virtually all night).  Customer entered and exited the men's room while on the phone and, upon exiting, looked down at his pants, felt them and said, "Oh, I thought I felt something warm."  That's right, Customer wet his pants and didn't even know it. (Wonder what he actually did in the men's room then - wardrobe malfunction?)

Funny as that story is, it's a little scary how quickly Customers go from business formal to business casual to the hardiest partiers you've ever met in your life. I had the opportunity to take about 8 customers out with one of my co-workers a few years ago. This was an eclectic group -- some outspoken folks from the UK, others from Alabama and yet others from rural Pennsylvania. And they all wanted Mexican food -- or so they said.  What they really wanted were the Mexican drinks. So being the responsible Sales Guy's Wife, I decided I would drive -- everybody.

Dinner started out slowly with small talk about the different businesses and their jobs and that ended quickly. The conversation then became about home life and hobbies.  And that's when things fell apart and, little did I know, that's when the drinks started really flowing. I was so distracted by the x-rated topics being discussed and planning my own escape route, I missed how much they had been drinking. Until --- until one of them got out of his chair, sat on the floor of the restaurant, crossed his legs Indian style, ascended to his knees and began walking on them!  What could I do other than let him run his course and leave the wait staff a giant tip!

There is something truly human - albeit crazy - about this kind of fun.  Circles of friends call it "good times." I call it "Customer Confidentiality." The Sales Guy calls it "leverage."

A.B.C.

Anyone familiar with the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross"?  If you're in Sales and you're not familiar with it, I'm super proud of you.  If you are familiar with the movie and the famous "ABC of selling" rant, I agree it's worth a laugh but I'm not sure anyone should ever train themselves to think that way or just naturally think that way.  "Always Be Closing"seems like a more-than-outdated concept.  Why? Because people are just people and the last time I checked, folks doing the buying are people and folks doing the selling are people.  So how about this.. change it up to "Always Be Caring?"

The Sales Guy does this so well and I love him for that and a million other reasons.  I am particularly fond of the way The Sales Guy prioritizes his time -- get to know and care about the buyer -- and then do the hardcore selling.  I'd even argue, it's not hardcore selling -- he's really trying to just understand what is going to make the customer happy and structure the deal that way.  While this approach may not be conducive to a short sales cycle, it scores big points when it comes to customer satisfaction and advocacy and genuinely being a good, respectable guy, which is way more important than anything else to The Sales Guy's Wife.

Hi, I'm The Sales Guy's Wife

Yep, you read that right. I'm identifying myself as "The Sales Guy's Wife." Many of you may know me as Karen (Ferry) Meyer but I'm really just the woman who gets into bed with The Sales Guy -- when he is home that is. My husband, "The Sales Guy," is a road warrior these days and has been for a while. Sales is his [career] passion and I support it.  I support it so much so that I have also been working in a related field for 5 years now and I'm plainly an enabler. 

Not saying his career drove mine but I will say that had I not taken an interest in what he was doing with all his time and how he was making *us* money, I probably would not have batted an eye at a career move toward sales enablement in any way shape or form.  The combination of The Sales Guy staying up at all hours writing RFPs, riding the roller coaster of up and down quarters and staining the pits on every dress shirt due to sweating bullets in customer presentations, drove me to realize sales people need help they aren't getting and I'm pretty sure I can influence that. 

And then reality set in, selling anything to The Sales Guy  or affecting change in Sales was going to be a lifelong effort.  Oh, and by the way, my true [career] passion is customer advocacy so, darn it, Sales has to get better. 

So I hope for this blog to be a mildly entertaining, mildly educational, addictive, dumping ground for anybody who wants to read and participate in it really. If you've ever sold or bought anything, you should get a chuckle out of what I'm hoping to unfold here about his experiences, mine and those along the way.

~ The Sales Guy's Wife