Greg Bennett Sales Blog

Putting the Mini-Steps Into "Stages" to Streamline Pipeline Tracking

One of the challenges I've heard from managers to my "Mini-Step" methodology is "there are too many steps in the sales process, and I don't have time to hear salespeople break everything down into the steps they've made, or are trying to make"....so I'll ask them, "Are you saying that even though the answers were vague and full of potential B.S. 'spin'...it was just easier when the seller said...'ACME is interested boss'...or "ABC COMPANY is still looking at it'? '"   

And the answer is basically, "Yeah, Greg...we get the Mini-Step idea, but I've got just so much time in the day to spend with my sales team...I have to get a snapshot and move on"...

Well...I feel your pain ...as managers we're all over-booked...over-stretched...over-committed... or just over-everything'ed!!   And it's understandable....we've got more people to manage...more products...more bosses wanting more reports...and all the while we've got pressure coming down hard from the top to close more deals NOW and get more revenue in the door IMMEDIATELY!!

Who's got time to listen to salespeople and what they've got "going on"?  Just tell me what you can close in the next two days!!!

Of course we all know the problems that will come from this verbal-only, gut-feel "check in" type of b.s. reporting...sellers will over-hype opportunities and managers will start to believe they've got more in the pipeline than is really real.  THIS IS DANGEROUS FOR FORECASTING, PLANNING, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, ETC..

So, to save the sanity of my managing brothers and sisters, I've come up with the following recommendation:   

Create STAGES out of STEPS!

Just take the Mini-Steps and drop them into STAGES...and have say THREE or FOUR stages they can start to describe opportunities with...

• • For instance instead of having these 5 Mini-Steps as separate stages to ask about:
    • Schedule a brainstorming session,  write ad for web site, arrange studio time,  get credit ap in, collect deposit
  • You could turn it into a two-stage process:
    • Stage 1:   Schedule brainstorming, write ad for web site, arrange studio time
    • Stage 2:  Get credit ap in...collect deposit
• Once you've trained your sellers how to put steps into stages, you can then attach a percentage of close to the attainment of the stages vs the steps...

With STAGES, when you ask a seller..."Where is XYZ?", they should forget the verbal b.s. and have to report the STAGE..."they're in Stage 1... getting ready to move them to Stage 2..."  as long as everyone has the same interpretation of what steps are in Stages 1, 2, 3, etc...it should cut down on the b.s. and speed things up at the same time...

GB

The Micro-Managing Myth

One thing I hear from salespeople all the time is, "I don't like to be Micro-Managed".... and from sales managers I'll hear "I don't like to Micro-Manage my people...I only hire professionals, they don't need Micro-Managing!"

And to all that I say...Bullcrap!   Micro-Managing is EXACTLY what happens when you become a professional. 

As most of you know, I'm around pro sports all the time...I know how pro coaches approach their business...when you make it to the pros, EVERYTHING is Micro-Managed.  What you eat...how you work out...what you wear on road trips...every play is graded (in every game and every practice)...every off-season workout is recorded...and bonuses are paid on your level of sticking with your program.

Wake-up people...Micro-Managing increases the higher you rise in the ranks.  And not just in pro sports.  When you get to the highest ranks in entertainment, or medicine, or engineering, every moment of your life is managed and the goals get lofti er and loftier.    

Mainly because there is more and more on the line the higher up you go.  Owners, managers and coaches know that it's not enough to just "trust my talent to do the right thing"...they have to push them and hold up a higher and higher bar.

Can you imagine a coach like Bill Parcels saying, "You guys have been playing this game since you were 7 years-old...you know what you're supposed to do...I'm making practice voluntary for those who want to show up...and we'll see the rest of you guys Sunday at the stadium."

But when it comes to sales, sales managers have this attitude that "Hey, I hire experienced people... if they haven't figured out what to do by now, I don't have time to teach them."   Okay, I get it...it's a cool thing to say...a neat thing to imagine...but it doesn't make sense.  Now, I'm not talking about managing the basic things they should be doing, like writing reports, turning in proposals, etc...I'm talking about pushing them beyond their comfort zones and encouraging them to always find a part of their 'game' they can improve on.

The funny thing is...the best of the best pros realize they need to be pushed and will welcome the Micro-Management. 

Ask your salespeople this..."I know you don't like to be quote 'Micro-Managed', but what if you found that by sticking with the program you'll make $250,000 next year vs doing 'your own thing' and making in the $135,000 range?"   

And managers...I have to ask you...WHY WOULD YOU ALLOW YOUR PEOPLE TO JUST DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO DO AND CREATE WHAT EVER THEY WANT TO CREATE??????   Their outcome is your outcome.  Their level of success is your level of success.  You can only be as good as their outcomes!!!!!

My advice to salespeople -- welcome Micro-Management when it will get you better results.  And to sales managers -- stop leaving your wins and losses totally to the discretion of whether your salespeople feel like being pros or amateurs.

GB

A Few of My Thoughts On Hiring a Trainer (You'll See Why Most Trainers Hate Me)

Here is a little article I contributed to in "Sales and Marketing Magazine", entitled "Making the Buy So They Can Sell", from Holly Dolezalek August, 2006.

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"You can be really clear and tell them that you need to show a tangible ROI," says Greg Bennett, a founding partner of Altitude Profit Counseling, a sales training firm in Denver. "A lot of vendors won't want to have anything to do with that, and they'll talk in generalities, like 'new skill sets.'

"ROI is hard if you don't have any data that shows where you are," Bennett says. But once you know where you are, he says, it's easier to determine your goals, and to evaluate the sales force's progress after 60 or 90 days. In fact, you can even ask the trainer if he or she is willing to tie a chunk of his or her compensation to whether or not those goals are achieved. But, "most trainers won't be up for that," Bennett warns.

When you find vendors that offer training that fits your problem and is up to date, you've solved the first half of the equation. The other half is making that content make sense so that it sticks.

Altitude Profit's Bennett has a favorite analogy for training. "It's like cotton candy," he says. "You get a great sugar buzz, but it wears off quickly." Training has a way of inspiring but not sticking, and one reason for that is that a lot of training is long on content and short on execution. So when you find a vendor with content you like, look at that vendor's plan for teaching its execution. If there isn't a plan for how to not only teach the material but help salespeople apply it, then you're going to have to be the one to figure that out.

"A lot of trainers are more likely to give you their program and essentially say, "Hope you can make sense of this,' " Bennett says. "But when you get back to the office, it's frustrating if you know it but don't know how to apply it. So if a vendor's idea of follow-up or help with execution is 'buy more of my training,' they may not be the best choice."

So ask the vendor about their plan for execution and follow-up. "This is something that has to be led by the purchaser," Bennett says. "You have to push them. Don't just pay for what they give you. Tell them, 'I need an implementation plan with six follow-up exercises and some help in what to review regularly with the salespeople.' "

One great way to get right to the heart of whether or not a trainer is going to teach execution is to ask whether he or she is going to make his or her own practice calls while trainees observe. "If they're not willing to do that, that's really telling," Bennett says.

"You don't want someone who will say, "I'm a great salesman, be just like me!' " Bennett says. "People tend to resent that. You need someone who has a coaching mentality, and is willing to say that they struggled, and who can help others with their struggles."