SwampFox

The Culture Of Any Company Comes Ffrom The Top

Submitted by: Russ Davis on Feb 24, 2010 at 3:36 pm Tagged with: Management, Sales, Sales Management Source: Russ Davis, Sandler Training

The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack. It all starts with you, with us, with management. We need to lead by example. We need to implement concepts. Be consistent. And that doesn’t mean managing everybody the same, but leading consistently.

We need to show our people a very distinct and clear, crystal clear, career path. 67% of the time the reason a customer leaves you, their current vendor, is they perceive that you or your organization doesn’t love them anymore. It’s not because of price; it’s not because of the competition. 67% of the reasons customers leave and go elsewhere are they feel uncared for. I would tell you, managers, that this statistic is absolutely transferable to salespeople. 67% of the reasons why salespeople quit and go elsewhere is not for $3, $5 or $10,000 more a year, it’s they perceive that you don’t care about them. They don’t see a positive career path. That’s why we lose them. And the cost of losing one person is estimated anywhere between $75,000 and $150,000, depending on factors like the cost of hiring and training, lost sales, and customer concern with your revolving staff turnover.

Managing is something that needs to be done to the numbers or behavior. You can manage the behavior but you must lead the individual.

I meet many types of managers. Some set a vision for their company and communicate it to their people. They set strong reasonable goals and support the efforts of their team. They have a structure and plan for success and will not accept mediocre standards from their people and especially themselves. Others talk about it but use less than nurturing and motivating tactics to drive their goals.

As a sales manager, how much do you know about your salespeople’s personal ambitions, goals and dreams? These are the stepping stones to achieving the company’s goals. When they hit the floor in the morning, they do it because they want to add a room on to the house, take the family to Disney World or put their kid through college. You are the boss. It’s your job to help unlock their passion. If you help them reach their goal, they will not only help you reach your goals but will also be a loyal partner in your business. So what can you do to help your people perform better? Start working on the plan to make it happen now, whatever the answer. Ask yourself, are you working on the right end of the problem? You can replace them or you can develop them.
Wouldn’t you do as much for a customer!