Understanding the Sales Force

Spoiler Warning: This article is about my company and its new product. Stick around though and I think you’ll realize that it’s just as much about your company as it is mine.

When I was young, my lungs would literally burn when I exerted myself on hot, humid days. It wasn’t until I reached my forties and experienced similar symptoms that I recognized that I had Asthma as a kid. But that’s not the best part. Both of my parents had Asthma so wouldn’t you think that when I described the sensations to them – my inability to breathe, the burning sensation, and huge fear, they would have recognized the symptoms? They didn’t want me to have Asthma, they didnt’ think I could have Asthma, they didn’t connect the dots to conclude it was Asthma and they didn’t send me to a doctor. They were in denial.

One of our Partners recently said, “We know how comprehensive a sales force evaluation can be, and we know how it works. We know how powerful the findings and insights are, but when are the conditions right?”

Another game changer? After so many in the last 5 years? It’s coming – no doubt about it. I’ll give you the background and tell you why this incredible tool will be the one to supercharge your sales.

Yesterday, we discussed whether you can really get salespeople to change. I mentioned that the key rule was #9, Consequences, and that I would discuss consequences today.

It’s rare when a company isn’t using something for CRM, even if it’s an old version of ACT. In most companies, it’s not whether they are using CRM, it’s which CRM they have chosen to use and whether the CRM has actually been adopted. The CRM application of choice is completely useless to management unless the entire sales force is using it as intended.

Yesterday, I wrote about solving the sales performance problem. Today, I’ll write about solving the CRM problem. CRM is very problematic, not because there aren’t choices, but more because companies make bad decisions. Just a few of the problems with CRM are listed here:

A company’s executive team can have a positive or negative influence on the performance of the sales team. Each member of your executive team can impact sales in some small, or not so small way. Today, I want to talk about Chief Technology Officers, VP’s and Directors of IT. At first glance, you might not think that IT has much of an impact on sales and you would be correct. However, they do have a significant role.

Yesterday, schools were canceled, non-essential state workers were told to stay home, and businesses were asked to release their employees early. We told our employees that they could leave at Noon. It was quite a powerful storm and we were going to get in the neighborhood of 8-12 inches, all during business hours. Based on history, that is when drivers are most likely to become stranded on the roads. As late as 6 AM, they stuck with their 8-12 inch forecast, with snow scheduled to begin within 2 hours and intensify as the day wore on, snowing as heavily as 2 inches per hour during mid-day.

Last week I posted an article about the similarities between Meteorologists and Salespeople. This morning, while watching the recap of our latest snowstorm this analogy became even more obvious to me.