How much have you sold? Good. Sell more.

A couple of decades ago, I introduced a supervisory layer, as a span breaker, between the sales staff and their managers. The move didn’t deliver any extra outcome. To figure what was happening, I walked around the markets and spoke with some salespeople.?

I observed that the new junior managers would call everyone, thrice a day and ask,?“How much have you sold? Good. Sell more”.?

Never did they ask if the boys were facing a problem or tell them how to sell more.

I got reminded of this, when someone advised me to give my team an inspiring target, set weekly milestones, announce a big incentive and watch them deliver in 3 months. He also added that if I were to sack the ones who failed, the others won’t miss it the next time.

I asked myself, is it that simple?

Amongst the people I admire most are the ones who not only helped me see a bigger picture but kept checking back on me, time and again.?

When they called, they didn’t ask me the score. They asked if I was facing any hurdles.

They didn’t offer solutions, yet often narrated incidents about how they’d solved similar problems. That helped me discover my solutions.

If you don’t have someone in your life, who does this to you, look for one and officially make him your mentor.

If you are always asking your team about how far they are from the target and not about the processes they are following, change your habit.?

Instead of targets and achievements, ask if they are working with partners they trust, do they have adequate resources, are their measurement metrics and trackers sharp, do they need specialist support, are other functions cooperating…

Help remove hurdles from their way. Use your resources to organize outside support for them. Hint at things they could have missed while thinking their solution.

You’ll be surprised to see engagement levels jump, deliveries improve and most importantly outlooks become more positive and pleasant.

Money or designations motivate. However, the joy of having solved a large, complex problem lasts longer.?

We don’t like someone breathing down our necks while we work. Yet we don’t like to work in a vacuum. We appreciate the comfort of someone we can trust, someone who carries a torch to show us the way, as we walk, instead of someone who only asks about where we are going, how far we’ve reached and advises us to walk faster.

Don’t believe me? Try it for a couple of months and see for yourself.