Is this our problem?

Article 2 ... 3 Part Sales Leadership Series

In Article 1 we unveiled:

The Question every sales leader is asking, but few can answer: Why won't all of my sales reps "just do it?" and ...

The Problem: There are a number of deeply rooted, complex reasons why your individual sales reps are not executing the sales process – end to end – the way leadership has defined it.

This second article builds upon this foundational question and is dedicated to helping you answer the Question Beneath the Question -- QBQ: Is this OUR problem? 

Let's face it, it's easy to read an article about "a problem" that every other sales leader is wrestling with, and find yourself nodding in agreement. But it’s far more difficult to admit to yourself, "this is our problem." And even if you muster the courage to look in the mirror and finally admit to yourself, “I don’t know why our reps aren’t executing our sales process – end to end – the way we’ve defined it,” you certainly don’t want to run off and report that finding to your boss.

Although I encourage full transparency and accountability, sometimes reality must win out. Informing your executive team, board or private equity firm that you don’t know the “root causes” preventing you from for hitting your financial targets is an unwise, and risky move, especially this time of year. Thus, I don’t blame you for trying everything in your power to avoid having to "report the problem" until you can find a way to accurately “diagnose + fix it.” 

The challenge is: You can't fix what you can't see is broken. 

In our last article we discussed how your field of vision is limited by your "outcomes-in" approach to assessing each of your sales rep's: attitude, behaviors, competencies, activities and performance against KPI's. Unfortunately, what you can quickly see in your CRM reports, and directly observe when coaching reps in person, is not the full picture. In other words, what you can see is not enough to accurately "diagnose + fix" The Problem; or to make sound hiring, firing, and key account/territory assignment decisions. 

You may be wondering, “How do I know it’s not enough?” Great question.

For starters, I’m guessing you never take your team's underperformance lightly. By now you’ve mostly likely invested in, and run all of the traditional "go to plays" at your disposal -- sales training, new marketing message/collaterals, upgrades to CRM, 1-on-1 coaching, etc.

So now I’m wondering, “Can you answer The Question? Has The Problem gone away? Are all of your reps now executing your sales process – end to end – the way you defined it? Are they all on track to achieve their individual quotas? Based upon your outcomes-in assessment, are they all performing to their peak potential now?”

If not, don’t beat yourself up. We see and hear this all the time. Although each "go to play" you’ve run added some value, none of them were designed to attack The Problem head on. Unfortunately, none of those plays "diagnose + fix" The Problem on an individualized basis. And ignoring The Problem only allows it to grow worse over time.

Thus, as the 4Q clock runs down, and your top performers scramble to cover the shortfall created by your underperformers, you still find yourself asking The Question every sales leader is asking, but few can answer: Why won't all of my sales reps "just do it?" 

Good News: In a moment we will offer you The Top 5 Visible Indicators -- things you can quickly look at, to help you answer the QBQ - Is this OUR problem? 

Better News: In Part 3 of this series, assuming you decide "this is our problem," we will share a couple of valuable lessons, best practices we've learned while discussing this problem with your peers, and 5 Questions you can use to quantify, "How bad is it?" Our hope is that by shining the light on The Problem now we can protect you from making (mis) informed decisions as you head into the new year.

Since your challenge is: you can’t fix what you can’t see is broken, we’ve designed a simple way for you to translate "what you can see" into a predictor of “what you can’t see.” You can see what’s happening on the outside; the outcomes and affects. You can’t see what’s happening inside of each rep; their Resistance + Reluctance Factors (sm). And unfortunately, what’s inside matters more. Studies show it has a far greater impact on each rep’s performance, and their ability and desire to “just do it the way you’ve defined it.”

The Top 5 Visible Indicators point toward a combination of the external Resistance Factors (sm) + internal Reluctance Factors (sm) you can't see, that explain the deeply rooted, complex reasons why all of your sales reps won't just do it. Note: If you can see any of The Top 5 Visible Indicators below playing out within your team and organization, you’ve found your answer to the QBQ – Is this OUR problem?

1- The pressure you are feeling from your executive team/Private Equity firm is escalating. This triggers your desire to "micro" manage the sales process far more than you prefer. Yet, your increased sense of urgency, frequency and intensity does not seem to be motivating your under-performers, and may actually be frustrating your top performers. 

2- The number of excuses your reps make each day is rising while their sales numbers are dropping. Popular excuses include: I don't have enough opportunities in my territory. Our competitors pricing/product/service is better than ours. The decision makers we target avoid/ignore/don't respond to my emails or calls. Our value proposition is not compelling or clear.

3- Individual rep's pipelines in your CRM system are top heavy. In other words, reps are hitting "activity-based" KPI's in the early stages of your sales process, but failing to convert them into "productivity-based" KPI's in the later stages; creating a drag on your team's overall performance. 

4- Expected growth in existing key accounts is not happening, evidence of new account acquisition (prospecting activity) is hard to find, and you are beginning to lose clients and deals to your competition. Your veteran reps have lost their passion and energy. They seem content just going through the motions and collecting their "annuity-like" commission checks. You'd like to fire a couple of them, and replace them with less expensive, more motivated reps, but you can't muster the courage to do it. 

5- Motivation and morale are visibly dropping. Even your "high potentials" with the best attitudes look tired and burned out. Frequency and duration of "breaks" and PTO is noticeably increasing. For the first time under your leadership "volunteer turnover" is up year over year. It no longer feels like a fun place to work and/or a situation where reps reasonably expect to earn a high commission. This is beginning to take a toll on your own motivation and morale. 

Encouragement: It's extremely rare to meet a sales leader who is not experiencing at least a couple of the The Top 5 Visible Indicators to some degree. So, before you beat yourself up, draw any conclusions, or make any hasty decisions regarding changes to your current: strategy, sales process, marketing approach, compensation plan or sales team we encourage you to read Article 3 in this series.

Preview of Article 3: Too often, during this time of year, the stress of under-performance causes even the best sales leaders to invest in another “go to play” that won’t address The Problem head on. Now that your field of vision is expanding, be patient. Invest some time to quantify, “How bad is it?” and to get a better sense of how the seismic shift in the way C-level executives respond to sales calls is increasing the Resistance + Reluctance Factors (sm) hiding inside your reps.

In it with you ... 

Joe Colavito