Understanding the Sales Force

One of the things I always liked about reading this monthly magazine for the wealthy is its ability to humble me.  Whenever I think I’m doing OK, all I have to do is look in there and see homes, cars, boats, planes, jewelry, adventures, vacations, and even phones that are out of reach.

The application that didn’t do anything but used up all the resources – how much similarity there is between that and your salesperson who doesn’t effectively qualify his large opportunities?

Our five-year old son, a frequent subject on this Blog, has two girlfriends.  This is one area in which he does not take after his dad!  While he loves being with both of them, Mary drives him nuts while Sally simply causes him to float on air.  He isn’t really aware of how each girl impacts his behavior after he being with her, but we sure are!  He can be moody after being with Mary while he tends to behave like an angel after spending time with Sally.

If you follow baseball you probably heard that Curt Schilling’s new contract for next year includes $2 million for meeting weight incentives.  For $2 million even I could be motivated to lose 20 pounds! And therein lies the deeper message.

While change is certain, many companies still attempt to sell and manage their sales forces the way they did just ten years ago.  That’s so 20th century.  What are you modifying so that your company can take advantage of, rather than resist the changes that are taking place almost daily?