Are you getting to the root of the problem?

What leadership will often overlook is the cause of the problem. There is cause, and there is effect. By purely focusing on the surface level issues, the below par performance of your salespeople will just reoccur – it’s a cycle that I have seen over and over again. There are reasons why a salesperson might be struggling; they might be demotivated, they might be having personal issues, or they might just be burnt out. When this is evident, it’s easy to get them in a room and have a coaching session on a core skill, but what does that achieve? You might get a boost in performance for the rest of the day, maybe the rest of the week. Then after the weekend, they’re back to laboured effort in their role. 

Salespeople appreciate being listened to and they often will need to vent their frustrations – give them a place to do that. Encouraging honesty from your sales people will allow you to get to the root of the problem, because you can address their issues and facilitate a much needed mindset ‘refresh’.

Papering over cracks will appear to be a quick fix, but really it’s just having more of a negative impact in the long run because both leadership and the sales person grow frustrated at the collective miscommunication.

The root of the problem is their mindset, only by nurturing will you create a foundation for long term change. 

A question we get asked a lot of the time is: Why does training not stand the test of time?

Its’s a fair question.

This question is asked by business’ who outsource their training AND provide it in house. A call centre is made up of many individuals, all with different backgrounds, different qualifications, but a unique mindset. In fact, that applies to everyone on the planet. As different as well all are, one thing we have in common is the ability to loosen the grip when things are going well.

“Well things are going great right now; I will ride this and not change anything because why would I”

It’s short-term gain for long term risk. And it is the reason why so many businesses have problems with their training – they think it’s enough to last in the long term because it’s nice to believe 2 weeks’ worth of training (paid for or otherwise) will suffice for 6 months.

Wouldn’t that be just lovely?

Most companies will provide a new starter with 2 weeks training, then set them on their way into the firepit that is sales with their training expected to last until the next time the sales floor is trained…

…then they may have a collective period of training every 6 months where the whole sales floor has to attend.

This is not targeted training; it’s just casting a huge net and seeing what comes back. It’s not sustainable for several reasons:

• The training might be generic (sales volume, getting more ‘yes’ from customers, the 3 yes close)
• There will be salespeople involved in the training session that none of the training applies to, wasting their time and the trainers. Meaning they attend with the wrong mindset.
• It’s easy to cut corners if an agent’s mindset is not in the right place.

My point: You can’t just train your agents sporadically & untargeted and expect it to stand the test of time.

Making sales training last means embedding everything that is taught to those agents. It should be organized, and it should appeal to the correct people.

Embedding sales training means ongoing coaching, live listening and 1:1’s for as long as it takes for that agent to feel confident on the topic they were struggling with. This might takes weeks, it might take months, but it is extremely valuable.

This why training isn’t long lasting because it is forgotten about.

It’s not your fault and it’s the not the managers fault that the training isn’t embedded – finding the time is extremely difficult on a sales floor. Everything is running at 100mph, agents are trying to hit their targets and managers are trying to encourage their agents to do exactly that.

Having an external entity do the training and ensure the right process is followed will make it that much more valuable, because they have the time to do it while senior management can focus on the bigger picture, the result. The training and the process that follows is the foundation that allows the result to heavily improve.

If you head to ‘THE LAB’ you can see the difference training can make to your result over a long period of time when it is done correctly.

Sales can be a fickle industry, but a very lucrative and rewarding job for all parties.

Sales is the engine room of any business; it generates the income at the frontlines and creates a pathway for all other departments to succeed. It is precious and should be nurtured – this isn’t to say the other departments in your business are inferior, but this is the department that needs most of your attention due to it’s naturally inconsistent nature.

The inconsistency of a sales department comes in many forms: Results will always fluctuate, the quality of leads won’t always high… but the most obvious inconsistency is staff attrition. Salespeople come and salespeople go, often with a very quick turnaround, which can be harmful to morale and gross revenue.

Why is it harmful?

….because the costs of onboarding staff shouldn’t be overlooked: Marketing, recruitment & training will obviously cost you money, so when 25% of those new starters leave within 6 months without reaching their full potential – that is money wasted. Additionally, if this happens 5/6 times during the course of the year, you’re looking at heavy losses in revenue.

Growing companies are always hungry to recruit and evolve, and this can lead to rushed recruiting & an impatience during the new starters’ embedding period. Subsequently, agents will fall short of their projected KPI’s, grow unhappy and leave. That’s the cycle…

Rushed Recruitment > Negligible Training > Grow Unhappy > Leave

I have seen this throughout many sales departments and it’s a common problem. The age group for starting a sales career has become younger and younger over the years, they see adverts for big wages and OTE’s and want that immediate gratification. So it’s a problem shared between staff and those hiring. BUT, young people are hungry nonetheless, and with an effective process, they will reach their full potential within 6 months of being hired… I say 6 months because that’s a realistic timeline for a new starter to become experienced and hitting, even exceeding their KPI’s.

Breaking the cycle and getting the process right can be very eye opening for the perspective on your sales department.

How do we break the cycle?

• Recruit well

Use the recruitment process as a huge opportunity to find the right people and aim for the younger demographic because they are hungry, they will learn and can be moulded to your methods. Hiring from hospitality is a big plus – they’re used to long hours, they understand hard work and will be under compensated in their current role so your OTEs will be extremely inviting.

• Embed your training

A frustrating thing with a lot of businesses is the lack of upkeep with their training process, they tend to train them for two weeks, then send them into the furnace of a sales floor and expect them to thrive. Any training SHOULD BE EMBEDDED to solidify their learnings. You can train a new salesperson on a particular Core Skill for a whole day, but after a weekend of drinking and having fun, it’s soon forgotten. Embed through regular coaching and call listening.

• Address Mindset

Most people these days will appreciate a space to talk and vent their frustrations, so facilitating this can really help morale. Sales is tough, we know that, but because of the inconsistencies, it’s easy to throw in the towel and become overwhelmed. Coaches and managers can be so invested in results, KPI’s and numbers, that they tend to add even more pressure which will lead to people being unhappy.

Training is a sensitive part of the onboarding process and something that can make or break a new starter’s journey. There is so much to be won from doing it the right way and breaking the cycle.

What Motivates A Sales Person?

• Is it time?
• Is it money?
• Is it being the best?

Motivating a sales professional isn’t just about the pay check they bring home every month. I appreciate most people go into sales to earn a nice chunky commission… of course, that’s what kickstarts their interest. That’s how businesses will advertise– the OTE and the uncapped commission (in some cases).

Don’t get me wrong, there will always be a small group in your sales team whose sole professional purpose is to come in, earn money and go home to their families. That doesn’t make them less ambitious, the money alone is enough to keep them incentivised.

But if you look closely at a sales team, you’ll find the majority of them will want more from their time at work, after all they spend most of their life there. These are the people whose interests extend beyond the money in their account.

They want recognition

Working in sales is tough, and so being recognised for their hard work goes a long way with salespeople. Employers may feel that the money they pay them is enough to keep them happy; on the contrary, this is miscalculated. Salespeople have to deal with a lot, their efforts are worth more than a monetary reward. Every day they deal with rejection, they regularly hit their KPI’s and consistently talk the talk, only to come in the next month and do it all over again. You are only as good as your last day in sales – your good days are soon forgotten about when you have a bad day, and this gets overlooked.

Communication is key

The way managers and leaders communicate with their sales staff is paramount to a happy employee. They should be able to open up about their mood or their current headspace, there should be a ‘doors always open approach’ between one another. Having a system in place which allows staff to share their thoughts, goals and aspirations allows full transparency; therefore, creating mutual respect. This will encourage a fully committed salesman, devoted to their team and targets. Being listened to goes a long way. It’s not always about numbers and targets, there’s a bigger picture which regularly needs to be addressed. Talk with them, not at them.

Get the best out of your sales team by not just promising a decent paycheck, but by understanding them on a human level.

Making Assumptions

It’s very easy for a salesperson to make assumptions about their customers early on in a call. They want to assert their prowess on a phone call; they want to take control. And so they should – telesales representatives should always be in control of their call.

Making assumptions can be dangerous however, and they come in all shapes and sizes…

Do your sales agents assume what a customer’s situation is?
Agents often will assume because a customer doesn’t have a full-time job, they won’t be able to afford the service you provide. I have spoken to a lot of people that don’t work, have lost their jobs or are disabled and will still sign on the dotted line.

Do they abandon their process if they’re speaking to someone who’s first language isn’t English?
A lot of agents will not give the correct level of service to customers who aren’t English or whom have a difficult accent to follow. These customers need the representatives to be even more attentive, yet they tend to be given up on because English isn’t their first language. In my experience, they can be some of the nicest people you speak to when you give them the opportunity to speak freely and ask questions, because they respect your patience with them.

Do they abandon their process if a customer is being cold with them?
Agents will tend to give up if a customer isn’t putting the effort in to build rapport, or if they’re not reciprocating the same level of kindness the agent is demonstrating. They’ll assume this customer will never buy the product because they don’t like the agent. These kinds of people don’t need to like the seller to like the service – it’s about efficiency.

Making assumptions means abandoning your process and painting all your customers with the same brush. You can see how ridiculous it looks. Agents should approach each call as if there was there no connection between their current customer and the preceding customer, because… there isn’t. Just because you have previously spoken with a super direct customer who didn’t buy, doesn’t mean the next one will be the same. Just because you once spoke to a 20-year-old didn’t buy, doesn’t mean the next youngster won’t. You can see my point.

The best salespeople adapt to their customers, to their surroundings. Making assumptions will be the death of any consistency salesman strive for.

Assumptions can also damage an agent’s mindset, and it affects their resilience because they feel that their day isn’t in their control. How each call is approached is very much in an agent’s circle of control.

Salespeople can’t go into work with their fingers crossed they won’t get a certain type of customer that day. They will not last long, so it’s important for agents to understand this concept. If they understand this, they WILL be in control of all their calls, and all the customers will get the service they deserve.

Don’t Make Assumptions.

It’s Not So Easy

Being a sales professional really has its highs and lows. Sales requires a level of resilience, that I certainly didn’t have when I first started out, frankly I was unprepared.

From experience in working in multiple call centres, I noticed just how a lot of other people, in the same role, also felt they didn’t have the tools to cope with such twists and turns. Your good days are good, but your bad days seemed somewhat amplified.

There’s an expectation on salespeople to be able to deal with rejection. What if you have tons of ability when it comes to swaying customers, but when they do reject – which a lot of customers do – you just struggle to deal with that side of the coin.

That’s where I was. I knew all the right things to say, I knew how to communicate effectively with a customer to further my interests, but when I did get rejected, I folded. I became the shell of the salesperson I thought I was.

I had to learn that to be a good salesman, you have to be resilient. I learnt that skill isn’t everything, mindset plays a huge part.

For example… I could have an excellent month by exceeding targets, hitting all KPI’s and earning a big bonus. This would fill me with great confidence, every day I’d walk in like I owned the place (to an extent). It was great, I was thriving. And if the following month started with two poor days in a row, that threw me off completely. I was then derailed and disengaged.

This was happening because I was not being realistic in my expectations, I thought I was going to ride that wave forever and that was my mistake. It meant I had my guard down, and so did my resilience. I had to learn to set goals, manage expectations and realise that there will be bad days, and when that does happen, to accept it.

So when I did go on another winning streak, the bad days wouldn’t seem so bad because I was prepared and therefore able to bounce back quickly.

I overcame that, and so can you.

Money Management

This is something that isn’t talked about enough.

Did you know? 1.3 million people in the UK work in call centres, that’s four per cent of the whole of the UK workforce.
And you will find that more and more people entering a telesales career now are 25 or below. Younger people that are fresh out of university or maybe have tried multiple jobs which haven’t worked out are becoming increasingly attracted to the job adverts of sales-based companies.
When you are young, if you see a job with a basic salary of over £22,000 with an OTE of £45,000 (as an example) of course you are naturally going to be interested, and subsequently apply. These adverts will heavily emphasise the career they could embark on, and the very real potential there is in sales.
This isn’t misleading however, it’s true.

Sales is historically emblematic of a healthy paycheck.

Picture this: A 21-year-old, with little responsibilities receives a paycheck of £2,500. They may have bills totalling to £1000. That leaves £1,500 to spend, and I know that when you’re that age, you feel like you must spend it.

Younger people want money in their pockets, they want instant gratification, and they want to fund their expensive lifestyle. We all do, but for the younger generation, that hunger is intense and new.

From my own experience there is a still a lot to learn when you’re in your twenties and being rewarded with big pay checks can be dangerous. I know a lot of young colleagues who had troubles with money or in debt management plans – all because they didn’t know how to manage their money from the outset.

Saving money and managing it at that age is categorically not the first thing you think about. I was that person, I got into all sorts of money troubles which led to serious marks against my name, making it hard to obtain credit for a very long time.

If only I had the awareness and support when I first joined sales, things may have been different. I think it’s important to encourage young adults who join your work force to ask for help, and to reach out if they feel overwhelmed by the amount of money they earn. They won’t reach out to their parents because that prompts a child-like discussion. Support from your employer is different, it’s speaking to one another on the same level.

Professionally speaking, an employee who is in money trouble leads to desperation, which leads to poor performance, which leads to frustration and misunderstanding. It bodes well for all parties for there to be a ‘door always open’ approach for young adults.

Learning how to manage money can significantly improve your wellbeing and set you up nicely for the future. Professionally and personally.