RESULTS have the power to cut through..

"Let us see what he brings on the table”

Company’s GM remarked after the new sales supervisor spoke for 10 minutes about his experience and achievements in the previous companies.

Being in sales, the experiences of meeting new people, travelling far etc., will be exciting to share, but they will only remain as unsung stories unless the efforts translate into tangible results.

Being away from home in another country, I had to fix an issue and bring sales orders. The flight was cancelled and I had to wait for many hours, there were huge lines at the immigration, weather was hot, reaching the hotel was an adventure amidst heavy traffic and I had to skip dinner.

Next day at the distributor’s office there were plenty of problems that needed attention. It was very hard convincing them that the issues will be attended to. There were product expiries, huge pile of unsold stocks in the warehouse going to expire in 3 months.

Back at the hotel, in the evening I was talking to my boss over phone and explaining the situation and discomfort in travel etc. After hearing me patiently his response was, “Ok. Fix the issues. What will be the value of the orders you will get from them?” ?

If the conversation had started with, “Expected order value is…”

It was month end. Sales were not coming as planned. There was huge pressure to achieve the planned number.

Every evening my boss had to take an update to ensure the targets are done 100%.

After a weary day of meeting all buyers, driving around in traffic I realized that I can only achieve 95%. I explained to my boss that I was doing my best etc. His reply was “Do more than the best...."

Being a sales executive was the most enriching period in my career. The day would start with submitting the day’s plan on target number and end with either a “good” from the superior or shower of hard words for missing the target. If it continues for 3 days, he would jump into the vehicle and we would slog it out till late evening.

Several days of the month I would contemplate quitting. Being young I wanted freedom and to spend time going around places. I would feel jealous of my friends who were working as accountants or store keepers.

Due to high pressure the targets would be ultimately done. On the 2nd of the next month, we would have a sales review meeting. I remember carrying the resignation letter in the front pocket of my shirt.

As we were in the meeting room chatting and swearing, our boss would walk in, greet us and call us one by one to hand over an envelope that contained the sales incentive in new hard currency notes.

Before retiring for the end of the day, I would tear off my resignation and be ready for another month of struggle and screams.

No doubt, results have the power to give highest freedom in life.

As a business consultant, I came across a company that had a 'state of the art' office with many facilities for employees like nice furniture, cabins, pantry, a recreation hall and even an afternoon siesta corner for tired employees.

Six months down the line tiffs erupted between the employees, owners were unhappy etc.

It was very easy to figure out what was happening.?

Everything looked great except results. There were erratic calling on customers, no follow up meetings, no month plans, no reviews, none of the employees knew what was expected of them, there were no business plans.

In the process of stream-lining it was hard work of meticulous planning and execution. We had to remove people and shift to smaller location etc.

One of my company’s CEO used to say “Optimize to maximum before expansion”. With existing fleet of vehicles and people it was hard to operate. We had to ensure every resource provided had optimum utilization before proposing for addition.

It is not possible to keep producing results all the time. There will be months and seasons of poor business because of factors beyond control. These are lean times to plan well and prepare to maximize when the season is back.

In sales it is inevitable to achieve targets every month to keep the job. But that is what keeps the company going.

Profits, growth of employees, bonuses, increments etc., would happen only if the sales team kept bringing business month after month.

So, it was very important to have a result-oriented team in place.

In Jack Ma’s words, “Try to find the right people, not the best people”.

Sometimes it was very hard for me to continue in any organization if I was not adding any value for some time. So, I would go massive trying to explore all opportunities.

In the late 80s it used to be very hard finding jobs. As I was losing out on an interview, I blurted, “Sir I will prove myself”. I got the job and went through a nightmare of learning to stay on top of what I committed.

Owners of the company have put in their hard-earned money with a commitment to help communities and consumers. It becomes very important for employees to be a part of that commitment and bring results. ?

The chairman called sales managers for an emergency meeting as the sales was poor. He patiently heard all complaints on price, product, market condition, lack of marketing support, team morale, lack of training etc. Etc.

In the end he just said with authority, “You guys are here to get things done.”

When I started out to be a business consultant, I had to go through rejections after rejections from prospective companies until I committed to signing up without compensation till results were delivered. That earned me more contracts.

It is interesting to mention about a scene from the movie “Pursuit of happiness”. 'Will Smith' would skip drinking water to avoid going for bathroom breaks. Without a single pie as compensation, the interns were supposed to bring results by working very hard every day for six months. Will smith was already broke and had lost his home.

To stay result oriented –

1)?????Get the facts straight and plan ahead

2)?????Plans will remain only on paper without timely execution. Focus on execution and make changes along to tide over challenges.

3)?????Decision making – Market is competitive and dynamic. Quick decisions have to be made for quick results.

4)?????Prepare well before attending customer meetings

5)?????Have regular reviews to share results and address opportunities

6)?????Upgrade skills

7)?????Stay action oriented

8)?????Be consistent in execution

9)?????Be ready to face challenges and act fast

10)??Be pro-active considering limitations

11)??Don't ignore health and 'work-life balance'

RESULTS AND ACTIONS ALWAYS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES