Do You Really Know What Your Salespeople Are Telling Your Customers And Prospects?

There’s an old cliché which says that "It's not what you say, but how you say it." In truth, when it comes to winning or losing sales we as sales leaders, for the most part, don’t really know either about our salespeople. We neither know what our people are really asking or saying, nor how they are asking or saying it (unless we are in retail or managing a telemarketing sales team). 

In my experience as a sales strategist and sales management coach I have witnessed many a salesperson "in the field, on their stage, and what I have seen never ceases to bring an exasperated "Well, no wonder!" from my lips! 

• No wonder they are not selling!
• No wonder they are only dealing with the purchasing officer!
• No wonder the competition are making in-roads into a key account!
• No wonder there is such a focus on price and discounting!
• No wonder this sale has stalled!

Until and unless you, as the sales leader, get out into the field and witness firsthand what is being said, or not said; what is being done, or not done, then and only then can you TRULY KNOW why your people are dropping the ball. This cannot be done from your office. You cannot really know the score from a weekly sales or one on one coaching session.

Now having said all of that, I also recognize that because of an increasing workload, lack of time and the tyranny of distance, sales managers find it virtually impossible to ride shotgun regularly with their sales reps even though they acknowledge the importance. Unfortunately riding with your sales reps and witnessing first hand as to what is really being said, not said; done, not done, is the best way of making an assessment  and gaining the deep insights available no other way. There is no better way than by experiencing it yourself. Let’s be honest with ourselves, isn’t it always the case that after a few days in the field, you come away with a far deeper appreciation as to the reasons why sales are being left on the table!

Only when you observe your salespeople “on the job” can you identify where there are the selling skill gaps within your team. Only by being a witness as to your salespeople’s asking, not asking; saying not saying; doing, not doing will you become aware of what personal selling skills or processes have stopped being used or often as not, never taught.

How often do you ride with your salespeople?

Working as often as I do with sales managers, I have noticed that there seem to be four major reasons as to why they are unable to know what they should be doing - which is to ride alongside their sales reps in the field. 

1. The first problem is lack of time or in some cases a mismanagement of time. Often sales managers tend to be overworked and over stressed. So much of their time is taken up with administration, planning and reporting, marketing and follow-up. Sales managers often get caught up in customer service and delivery issues. They seem to spend an inordinate amount of time putting out fires and fielding questions from the field. This is also on top of managing a set of accounts themselves. Where are they supposed to find the time for coaching their people one on one, never mind travelling half way across the country to ride with a rep all day? Does this sound a bit like you?

2. Another major issue is their response to the downward pressure coming from the executive suite to write revenue. There is, especially in today’s fragile economy, a constant focus on daily sales. Their planning and thinking is filtered through the lens of “sales today!” Living under a microscope causes sales managers to focus on NOW. Where are we today? What sales will close today? What do we need to improve sales today?  As sales management author Jim Pancero has said “Even when sales managers do ride with a salesperson for the day, most managers still only see their time investment with this rep as a way to close business, help move an account forward or network with one of their people.”  This means that often even when we have good intentions for “on the job coaching”; we jump in and “rescue” our salespeople from messing up a perfectly good opportunity. How true is this of you?

3. Email and technology is the third issue that seems to get in the way of riding with ones salespeople. It is so easy to use voicemail, email, online meetings, conference calling etc. to communicate with ones team, that it can almost seem like the expedient thing to do with such limited time to complete all the manager needs to in a day. Unfortunately unless your salespeople use technology to record their sales interviews, the manager is still only left guessing as to what’s working and what’s not.

4. The fourth issue is that, sales managers make the faulty assumption that experience means skilled. Many sales managers believe that if they only hire experienced sales people then they don’t have to teach them how to sell. It is unfortunate that sales managers don’t even see the need to observe and coach their senior sales reps because of the assumption that they have the skills.

Yes, in field sales coaching is time consuming and tough to fit into the sales managers schedule – but it is vital!  How else will you really know if your people are really asking rather than telling? How else will you know if your salespeople are asking the tough questions? How else will you know if what they tell you really is true?

How strong are the selling skills of your team? How consistent and effective are they in front of a prospect or customer? Here are ten things to look out for as you observe your salespeople in the field.

1. Were they able to establish trust and rapport with the prospect?

• Did they proceed too quickly during the initial introduction?
• Did they want to “get down to business” too quickly?
• Did they “get down to business” too slowly and spend too much time on “small talk”?

2. Did they ask all of the important questions?

3. Are they well planned prior to the call both in terms of their research and in terms of the critical questions that need to be asked? 

4. Did they leave the call with all the information they should have to move the sale forward?

5. Did they know the “decision-makers” within the account?

6. Have they identified:

• The Users – these people will be working with your product.
• The Ratifiers – these people will “rubber stamp” the decision to proceed.
• The Gatekeepers– it is their job is to keep you out.
• The Technicians – these people approve the validity and applicability of your solution.
• The Check Writers – they will authorize the final approval.
• The Influencers – these people will influence the decision.
• The Purchasers – these are the individuals who will buy the product/service.
• The Internal Supporters – this is the individual who wants your solution and will help guide you through the buying process.

7. How well did they position your company as well as themselves?

8. How compelling were they when telling your story?  

9. How well are they communicating the value of what you sell?

10. How well did they distinguish themselves and your company from your competitors?

No matter how busy you are as a sales leader, no matter what you have on your plate, you have to invest time in the field with your salespeople to hear and see with your own eyes and ears what is being said and not said!

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