Ambition Mission

I answered a sales management question today and thought everyone would gain from shaing -

QUESTION:

We have hired young reps with 2 to 4 years sales experience with big ambitions.  We hire from outside the industry typically, with no IT  background.  They want the 100k+ comp structures as a goal.  My take is they do not experience as much success as soon as they want/desire (i.e. want $100k now, not in 3 years) and think the grass is greener somewhere else. Honestly I should have probably stayed closer to them also.  I travel and am not in the office every day. 

 I have noticed though they do not end up staying anywhere for more than 2 years after they leave us.  My guess is that the W-O-R-K required is the challenging thing.  They all complained about working afterhours and weekends for their big deals.  Which in my 10+ years in sales is a must to get to the big numbers.  Sometimes I think if I am not working afterhours or weekends I do not have enough on my plate. 

Maybe it is just the typical sales thing.  I am new to sales management.  Have always been an individual contributor and one of the top sales people everywhere I have been.  The management thing drives me nuts a lot of times.  My goal is to grow the team in the next year so I can afford a sales manager in my place.  But gotta put up the numbers first before I can do that.  Catch 22 perhaps?MY ANSWER:

I think you’re on point with much of what you’ve stated below.  Sales Management is a learned skill (just like sales).  

1. young people and WORK sometimes clash, this is true
2. they want $100K now – OK why not… “Here’s what it takes to get there…..”
3. inexperienced salespeople will think they are worth more than they are
4. don’t want to work evenings/weekends – fine.  Only want to work 2 days/week – fine.  As long as you’re achieving this minimum level of activity/results, that’s fine  (we can’t expect anyone else to work as hard as we do)
5. the key to motivating sales people is to find out what they really want and help them/show them how they can get it (hint- its never money, but sometimes is what the money can buy)
6. the key to sales management is creating a structure/environment where when the salesperson gets what he/she wants, the company does well also
7. just like in sales – sales management has to be a win win
8. if what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked, let’s try something else – how about people with more sales or industry experience, or at least middle aged  (the more financial responsibilities a salesperson has the less likely they are to be attracted by the green grass)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

If you’d like help with your sales team, salespeople, or sales management, that’s what I do - send me an email on Matt at AmbitionMission dot com.   

While at the ITA Alliance (www.ITAlliance.com) the keynote this moring was a wonderful speaker named Ken Futch.  I picked up his book, DVD, and Audio series - all for $50 and I look forward to absorbing.  His book is entitiled “Take Your Best Shot - turning situations into opportunities.”

The book’s title is a play on an embarrassing story that happened to Ken - he accidentally shot himself in (actually though) his head and lived!

My favorite tidbits from his keynote are:

1) “When you dn’t know what you’re doing, the work is much harder.”

2) If information is measured in inches, andall information garnered by the Human Race from the beginning of time until 1860 is 1″, then between 1860 and 1960, it was 4″, by 1980, it was as tall as the Washington monument, and today it’s doubling every 30 days.

3) Motivation - Money is only temporary

4) If you want happiness for 1 hour, take a nap.  1 day, go fishing.  1 week, take a vacation.  1 month, get married, 1 year, inherit a lot of money, for a lifetime, do what you love to do!  Doing what you love doing is factor of a) doing something interesting, b) a feeling of accomplishment, and ) feeling of appreciation

5) Sometimes someone else believing in us is what it takes to become successful

An excellent presentation and I look forward to the book! 

Let Ambition Be Your Mission!

Matt Makowicz

Lots in the works to help Partners grow and become more successful. First, a few events coming up:ITA Fall Collaborative in Atlanta:  I will be delivering a session entitled:  “Building a Sales Organization Within Your Company” on Tuesday April 27, 2010.THIS WEDNESDAY - Microsoft’s 5W/25 Webinar series webinar: Title:  Hiring Your First Salesperson Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 12:00 PM ET (9:00 AM PT)  Registration url: 

• https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/LMS_ActDetails.aspx?UserMode=0&ActivityId=565280

 Then, next weekend, I’ll be at SMB Nation East (www.smbnation.com) which looks like it’s going to be one of the best “east” versions of this conference yet. (May 1-2, 2010) At the end of May, I will be a presenter at Jeff Middleton’s conference in New Orleans (www.sbsmigration.com).  Also, look for an announcement soon regarding a Preday book launch event on Thursday May 27, 2010.  I will FINALLY be launching my third book:  A Guide to BUILDING A SALES TEAM - faster, easier, & for greater profit.    Also on the horizon - - -  AmbitionMission.com will be getting a facelift New coaching programs, sales training for salespeople and managers - ALL COMING VERY SOON! More to come soon… Let Ambition Be Your Mission! Matt Makowicz