Sales Management

Sales Management

Sales Management for the Next Decade

By Bob Morrell

One of the consequences of the recession that has not been properly recognised is the effect of the downturn on the sales processes of nearly every organisation. The development of sales strategies and techniques over the last 150 years has been well documented. Selling has developed from a performance based interaction, through more technical and aspirational modes into its current form; that of problem solver and account manager. However, no-one anticipated an economic downturn that would transform the natural development of sales.

A company sells advertising into magazines. The magazines are circulated to an audience that the advertisers want to influence into buying their products or services. It has been important for them to attract that audience for years and they have had to form a relationship with that magazine as a result. Suddenly the flexibility of their bank has disappeared and they can no longer afford to make bad marketing decisions. So the easiest and worst thing to do is to do nothing. They suddenly cut back on advertising. They tell their contact at the magazine they have assessed their response to their adverts and now feel that the response has not been worth the money. Due to the economic conditions the sales person charged with the responsibility of keeping that client, is unable to defend against that decision. They can try all the usual tactics of selling on fear, discounting, offering alternatives but they cannot seem to get around the fact that the world is in recession and the client has taken a strategic decision to pull their adverts. The Sales manager for the magazine only sees a drop in revenue and berates the sales person for losing the business. The truth is they were never capable of keeping because they’ve have never been shown how.

This story is typical of current sales situations and we would argue that the next ten years will see an immense developmental change in salespeople and their managers. The recession has thrown up questions about credit, price and value, return on investment, accountability and the measurability of purpose. The majority of sales teams are not used to selling with these things in mind. New century management techniques suddenly need to be engaged whereas during the good times we could fall back on 1970’s style sales management, using the carrot and stick to engage enthusiasm and persistence from our teams. The only problem is that new management techniques call for top down change within organisations and that seem impossible, whereas it is surprisingly simple.

The recession will force us to be more sophisticated in our approach in order to guarantee profitability. Which means hiring more intelligent salespeople, or at the very least developing their style and intelligence to cope with the new economy. When you look at many sales teams, they will have recognisable characters; the ego salesperson, always out for themselves, the personable old lag, working his contacts, the tenacious target hitter, the journeyman and one or two novices. On this description, none of them are truly adapting to the model of the new economy. How can the old lag suddenly become the true consultant he needs to be to redevelop business from his current contacts whilst searching for new opportunities? How can the journeyman suddenly find the energy to change his traditional methods of selling, and adopt a new structure that means he has to sell with profit in mind? How can the tenacious target hitter maintain her level of face to face visits when every client is saying they have no money to spend with her? Lastly, how can the Sales Manager, hired to inspire and lead, grow his team’s business when he is being required to write and re-write meaningless targets and budget forecasts for board directors and shareholders that are out of date as soon as they are written?

The recession has given businesses a great opportunity to look at their current systems and make a determined break with the past. How about a sales team that doesn’t work to targets? How about a board of directors that re-engages with customers? How about a Sales Manager who makes sure his staff understands profitability and their true purpose? How about an Account Manager who works with clients, and demonstrates value wherever possible? How about a sales and marketing function working together for a change?

We have heard a great deal lately about companies using the recession as a way to trim down ‘dead wood’. This is an appalling term that says more about the managers who hired the staff than the staff themselves. There is no such thing as ‘dead wood’. There is only staff that are able to deal with the new economy over the next ten years and those who require investment and development to do so. Sales managers who can see that developmental need will need to plan for this soon. In our view, companies who insist on staying with seventies style sales management will be the ones who fall away quickest in the coming years.

Lets get an understanding of sales management and find out how best we can help you. Just give us a call on +44 (0) 1580 752 987.

>> Other pages and topics you may also be interested in : Group Sales Training | Sales Training | Management and Leadership Development