Great Sales Team – Yep They Still Exist!
Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is success – Henry Ford
As I reflect back on my sales career with 13+ years behind me now, so many people have played an integral part in getting me to where I am today. Without their leadership, mentorship, and most importantly friendship, I have no idea what would have become of me. I had the good fortune to work with a team for many years which was as close to perfect as I could have ever imagined.
The team members:
- Celebrated each other’s wins without jealousy. They were also sympathetic to their associates losses or challenges
- Helped each other as required, without hesitation
- Were not afraid to share selling success stories, or how they overcame challenges and defeats. It was not uncommon to share presentations that were successful, or bulletins for promotions.
- Identified the “it is all about me” behaviour within the group (on the rare occasion), and assisted in addressing it with management as soon as possible. This reduced negativity and problems within the team
- Valued time away together as a team to bond, to get to know each other better, and just have fun
- Had a great leader who motivated, inspired, coached and mentored everyone
- WE HAD FUN TOGETHER! (I may do a post some day about all the great stories that came from working with this group!)
The one point that I really have to stress about the people on this team is:
If any of the team members called me today asking for help, no matter where in the country they were living at the time, my response would be,
“What do you need, and do you need me to come to where you are?”
I think I would get the same response from them if I asked for help. We were not only colleagues, but also friends. We battled at work every day to be the best that we could be, and had a lot of fun along the way too.
It has been close to five years since I left that organization, and am I lucky to be as good friends with many of them today, as the day I left in 2007!
- What great teams have you been fortunate enough to be a part of?
- What was it about those teams that made them “a cut above the rest”?
Educate
I “met” Mark online a couple of months back, and have been enjoying his blog ever since. Turns out we “travel in some of the same circles” online in the sales space!
I really enjoyed this post about educating during the sales process. Often, people forget this critical step.
Thanks Mark!
Educate
Educate. It’s part of the sales process many can’t get used to.
But sales people have to do it.
Sure there’s lot of buzz and research about how prospects do all this learning online about a business before they even get to a sales person. I’ve preached that research before myself. But I’m not buying that it is entirely true hook, line and sinker any more.
I keep hearing prospects confused, unsure or frustrated about certain services or products. I keep hearing prospects so busy at work and so inundated with messaging and marketing- they don’t have time to research and learn.
If you are a company selling somewhat abstract services like money management, digital marketing, brand development, risk avoidance, sales training, marketing solutions and the list goes on – you have to understand that many prospects just really…don’t understand.
These prospects aren’t going to shout this…
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Have A Laugh Fridays – “Scary” Sales Techniques
Not much I can say other than make sure you really know who you are taking on a joint sales call! Have a great weekend….
The 5 Star Five – Popular Misconceptions About Sales Reps
Over the years, I have realized that there are many misconceptions of what outside sales people do. I wanted to share 5 of the more memorable ones in the latest edition of “The 5 Star Five”.
I need help adding to this list, so if you would like to contribute, please email me at: TimMushey@gmail.com
- Sales reps are entertaining customers all the time – lunches and golf especially
- You just need to be a people person to succeed
- Everyone in sales makes an above average income
- You have the freedom to do whatever you want, when you want
- The best sales people have the most experience
6 Categories of Sales Reps – Which One Are You?
It is easy to say that a “rep is a rep”, but when I dug deeper over the years, there are many “personas” that they could take on. True performers typically elevate their game from “just a rep” to “sales professional” and ultimately “superstar” over a shorter period of time.
I compiled a list of the six categories of reps after being part of several sales teams over the years:
- Raw rookies
- Future superstars
- Superstars
- Steady Eddies
- “What have you done for me latelys?”
- Underachievers
Raw Rookies
Raw rookies may be new to a role, or brand new to the sales profession. They are hopefully eager to learn, and make every attempt to work well with their team mates and managers as soon as possible. The first three months tend to be a little rough on raw rookies, as they are inundated with a barrage of product training and possibly other teachings. If they are not given the necessary support to become successful early in their time with a company, they are probably “thrown to the wild” and asked to fend for themselves. The first three months tends to decide a raw rookies’ fate, and management can quickly tell if the interview process was a true indicator of what was to come.
Future Superstars
Future Superstars can show signs early on if they are going to be successful. Typical signs are how they carry themselves, how eager they are to learn the role, and how engaging they are with coworkers, management and customers. They realize that it is going to take some time to understand the organization, and their products and/or services. But they know as long as they make the customer their #1 priority, things will eventually fall in to place. Future superstars will put the team before themselves, and never lose site of the fact that their day-to-day goal is to sell stuff and exceed budget.
Superstars
Superstars show a lot of the characteristics that I have described under “Future Superstars”, but have achieved above average results for a longer time. Can somebody be characterized as a superstar after 3-12 months on the job? Probably not. Any rep can fluke out and have a great few months, and then come back down to earth soon after. But if they have successfully achieved for 12 – 24 months in the same role, I would deduce that is it not a coincidence. Superstars just get the job done and continue to raise the bar to the next level. They are never satisfied, and are always looking for their next challenge to grow and succeed.
Steady Eddies
Steady Eddies can be relatively new sales reps, or seasoned veterans who have been around years. Their results do not fluctuate much from month to month, or year to year. Their consistent results make them a very dependable and reliable group that can always be counted on. They typically turn down promotions, especially for managerial roles, because they are comfortable working their territories as individuals, and like to be left alone to do their jobs.
What have you done for me latelys?
If you are a child of the ‘80’s like me, you may realize that this category was inspired by the classic 1986 Janet Jackson song of a similar name!
“What have you done for me latelys?” are very similar to sports stars that are past their prime, but are still being rewarded for what they have done before. They could be described as “lame duck” employees, who should be fired, but are not for many reasons. It has become public knowledge that they are not performing their job duties up to the standards that they set for themselves in the past, but some business is still coming in based on their reputation in the market place. In many cases they are counting the days until retirement; or for those not of retirement age, they are counting the days until they get fired.
Underachievers
Underachievers are not getting the job done. They never have. There could be many reasons for this, and the list is too long to assess in this post! At the end of the day, it will result in termination; it is only a matter of time. Some tend to have “nine lives” and dodge being fired longer than many expect. But in the end, they will be looking for another job, possibly even in a different profession!
- If you are not in the sales profession yet, do you have what it takes to become a Superstar in this exciting line of work?
- If you are in sales, what type of rep are you now, and what type should you be?
- What changes to you have to make ASAP if it does not say “Superstar” on your business card?
Have A Laugh Fridays – Awesome Family Car Sing-A-Long
My “Passion vs. Raw Talent” post (featuring my Van Halen concert review) early this week was very well received. So I thought, what the heck, let’s keep the momentum going with another music themed post.
I hope you enjoy this family road trip moment as much as I did. Have a great weekend!
Fantastic Video – Michael Gerber “The Mountain”
Special thanks to Michael Kroll over at The Sales Effect for bringing this video to my attention last week. I followed Michael Gerber’s work a couple of years ago, but not as much recently.
After hearing him speak on this video, I am going to look him up again!
Bruce Zimmerman but up an incredible post on Saturday, that I had to share today. Those little things that you do for others can make a difference; you just may not know it at the time. Have a great day!
Caught in the rat race, we often forget that little gestures can leave lasting impressions. We lose track of the little things we do and can do, to add meaning to those that we interact with. Whether you realize it or not, sometimes, it’s the little things that can have a lasting impact and shape the future.
I was served up a big dose of reality on this very topic yesterday afternoon.
This past week was one of those weeks. Buried under an avalanche of work, the week actually started on the previous Saturday and include a weekend of preparing for an extremely important and busy week ahead. I had several major presentations accompanied by trips to multiple cities. Added to the mix, was a busy family week of activities and the start of my training schedule for my next race. To say it was a long week was…
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The 5 Star Five – Quotes Submitted By Readers
As promised earlier in the week, here are the best quotes submitted by my readers. This is a follow-up post to “My Favourite Sales Quotes”. Have a great Saturday!
“I ain’t never learned nothin’ while talkin” – President Lyndon Johnson (submitted by Jack Pyle)
“If you can’t then you must” – Tony Robbins (submitted by Murray Osborne)
“Prepare to win, or lose to somebody else who is” – Jeffrey Gitomer (submitted by Michael S. Rickert)
“‘Be and act as if it is inevitable to succeed” – unknown (submitted by Norm Tashe)
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky (my favourite)
My Best Sales Manager
One Sales Manager in my career was a cut above the rest. As I think back to our first meeting close to 11 years ago, I realize that it took about 5 seconds for us to click. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not in a business relationship. But I knew right away that I had made the right decision to move and start a new life in Edmonton.
Everything between him and the team worked. There was limited drama in the office, and the focus was always growing the business, and having fun along the way. He never made it feel like he was our boss, more of a team captain. He was a leader who supported us in every way. He was there for us when we succeeded, and when we failed. He assisted in our personal development, and often commented on how lucky he was to have a team like us to support. It was never “below him” to help us with whatever we needed assistance with. He was a manager, but he was more than willing to get “dirty with us in the trenches”.
He was the consummate mentor, and was always thinking about succession plans for those who were interested in moving up within the organization. He was an ear for everyone with respect to business or personal problems.
I had often thought about what would happen to the team if he ever decided to move on. I have to be honest; it worried me a bit, more than it should have. When he finally did move on, as expected, things were never the same again with our sales division.
I called him out of the blue when I was in his city a few months ago and we had a last-minute coffee. Before I knew it, more than an hour had passed. We picked up right where we left off from the last time we saw each other! I had to pinch myself to realize that we were not between sales calls working for the same company anymore. I will always credit him for being the most influential person who assisted in getting my sales career to the next level as quickly as it did.
- Who has been influential in getting you to where you are today?
- What awesome things have they done that really stand out in your mind?
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 