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Managing and understanding salespeople
sherwood
onmanagement
Managingand Understanding Salespeop[e B e l i e v e it o r not. Sherwood says: "The world is divided up into three basic personality groups": • Group I. Those who can seit and like it. (The top salespeople.) • Group II. Those who try to sett and don't like it. • Group III. Those who can't sell and don't like it.
Group I people are a unique breed, and I deeply respect them. For myself, I am strongly identified as a Group II character, and I have a great deal of difficulty in understanding how the Group I people can enjoy selling and, generally, be good at it. Their outstanding characteristics are subsequently discussed. ACCEPT REJECTION Group I salespeople, those who sell and like it, have some very strong and easily identifiable characteristics that set them apart from the world in general. For example, they accept rejection without getting depressed. Can you believe that! They say: "It's part of the job. I guess I didn't make a good presentation." No time is spent brooding; they just keep trying as if nothing negative has happened. These salespeople stay constructive and rebuild their approach in order to overcome the arguments given by any reluctant prospective buyer. Tom Hopkins, an established sales guru, details many constructive attitudes towards rejection in his classic best seller. 1 For example, Hopkins writes that he never sees failure as failure but only as: 1. A learning experience. 2. The negative feedback one needs to change [the customer's] www.meta[finishing.com
course in their direction. 3. The opportunity to develop one's sense of humor. 4. An opportunity to practice techniques and perfect performance. 5. The game one must play to win. BE POLITELY PERSISTENT
Along with an unbelievable ability to accept rejection, Group I salespeople are politely persistent-with an emphasis on "politely." We all know what happens to the salesperson who keeps calling incessantly without changing their approach. The prospect gets irritated and will completely refuse to discuss the subject for the rest of time and beyond. The person who answers the company telephone is given the death-of-asalesman message: "I don't want to speak to that person again-ever." KNOW YOUR BUYER Top salespeople do their homework before meeting a prospect. They know what the company makes or processes, the organizational structure, and the company's position in the industry. And, if possible, the salesperson becomes familiar with the jargon and trade practices of the industry or business. K N O W YOUR PRODUCT/PROCESS
The salesman who doesn't intimately know his product and merely flips pages in a catalog is bound to fail. After all, you're committing the basic sales sin of wasting the prospect's time. If the subject is technically oriented, the smart approach is to bring along a knowledgeable person. For
example, engineer-buyers prefer to talk to engineers. CONTROL THE CHIT-CHAT
'Tis true that having a knowledge of the customer's hobbies or interests and talking about them will help to put him or her in a more receptive mood. But, read the body language so you know when to get back to the subject. THE IMPERFECTIONS
If you are getting the impression that your top salespeople are perfect personalities, then you have a misconception. Part of the personality profile typically includes some very objectionable characteristics that go with the package. First on that list is that most successful salespeople are poorly organized. Some other prevalent shortcomings your salespeople may have in meeting your company requirements are: • They don't tike to write reports. Even when they do, they are often late and too frequently inaccurate. • They may bend the truth on items such as prices, delivery info, technical data, and customer credit ratings. • They don't like meetings and very often miss them to take care of very urgent customer requirements. • They avoid detaited communication with supervisors. • Their punctuatity may be good with customers but not for company meetings. • They spend too much time with estabtished customers; it's tess cha[tenging. April 2008 1meta|finishing 179
sherwoodonmanagement SALES MANAGERS Controlling the temperamental and disorganized takes a combination of two different personality types. As a result, a sales manager can be compared to that of the lion tamer in the ring with the lions. Obviously, the tamer and the lions have very different personalities. It is very difficult to find someone to match the disciplined requirements of management (the tamer) with the need to motivate and effect compliance from sales employees (the lions) who may also be compared in temperament to the master chef in the restaurant or the diva in opera. There are no sharp lines dividing the three sales groups. Some salespeople may just like selling a little bit, whereas others may not like selling but perform acceptably.
JOB SHOP OWNER/MANAGERS Smaller shops can't afford a sales
manager. This results in the owner/manager, or a general manager, becoming the sales manager by default. In most cases, he or she does not have the good fortune to have a Group I salesperson as a subordinate but must be satisfied with the Group II type, or someone in between. Another approach is for the company to have an outside commission salesman or rep. In these cases, companies must persist in having the salesperson turn in reports, come to scheduled meetings, and be truthful to customers and the sales manager. At one of my client companies, we decided to withhold paychecks until the individual weekly reports were turned in. It worked for a while, but the pressure still had to be repeated downstream. The fundamental approach is to persist in motivating salespeople to comply with instructions and company policies. In other words, be relent-
less. You will never attain complete compliance, but perfection in this area is hard to achieve. Productive salespeople are usually highly motivated, creative, and hard working non-conformists. Managing them is difficult but well worth the effort.
NOTE 1. Hopkins T. How to Master the Art of Selling. New York, NY: Warner Books,1982;88-9.
BIO BertJ. Sherwood has a master of science in chemical engineering degree with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California. He has provided technical and business advice to surface finishing and manufacturing companies for 24 years, and is a regular columnist for Metal Finishing. He can be reached at sherwoodbj@aoL com.
~y
If results are what matter most to you need the new DeVilbiy°u' Compact. Introducing the new Compact Performance Series of spray guns by DeVilbiss. For more information from the global leader in atomization, visit www.devilbisscompact.com or call 888-992-4657.
OEVlISlSS. .,,,~.~.~-.,T.ECH T", HVLP & CONVENTIONAL ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES © 2007 ITWqndustrialFinishing {Folio#5682 2007/08} Circle 037 on reader information card or go to www.metaLfinishing.com/advertisers
April 2008 1metaLfinishing 180
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Mefiag horizontal disc filter system: Mefiag V-Series oil absorbing filter Sethco cartridge & bag filter systen Carbon treatment systems Filter media
MEFIAG jMETIPRO j Fitter Systems
...........
1850 IndustriaE Drive, Owo%o, MI 48867 (989) 725-8184 • FAX: (989) 729-1013 • E-mail: rnefiag@met-pro tom
Visit us at w w w . m e f i a g . c o m Circle 043 on reader information card or go to www.metalfinishing.com/advertisers
www.meta[finishing.com
onmanagement
Managingand Understanding Salespeop[e B e l i e v e it o r not. Sherwood says: "The world is divided up into three basic personality groups": • Group I. Those who can seit and like it. (The top salespeople.) • Group II. Those who try to sett and don't like it. • Group III. Those who can't sell and don't like it.
Group I people are a unique breed, and I deeply respect them. For myself, I am strongly identified as a Group II character, and I have a great deal of difficulty in understanding how the Group I people can enjoy selling and, generally, be good at it. Their outstanding characteristics are subsequently discussed. ACCEPT REJECTION Group I salespeople, those who sell and like it, have some very strong and easily identifiable characteristics that set them apart from the world in general. For example, they accept rejection without getting depressed. Can you believe that! They say: "It's part of the job. I guess I didn't make a good presentation." No time is spent brooding; they just keep trying as if nothing negative has happened. These salespeople stay constructive and rebuild their approach in order to overcome the arguments given by any reluctant prospective buyer. Tom Hopkins, an established sales guru, details many constructive attitudes towards rejection in his classic best seller. 1 For example, Hopkins writes that he never sees failure as failure but only as: 1. A learning experience. 2. The negative feedback one needs to change [the customer's] www.meta[finishing.com
course in their direction. 3. The opportunity to develop one's sense of humor. 4. An opportunity to practice techniques and perfect performance. 5. The game one must play to win. BE POLITELY PERSISTENT
Along with an unbelievable ability to accept rejection, Group I salespeople are politely persistent-with an emphasis on "politely." We all know what happens to the salesperson who keeps calling incessantly without changing their approach. The prospect gets irritated and will completely refuse to discuss the subject for the rest of time and beyond. The person who answers the company telephone is given the death-of-asalesman message: "I don't want to speak to that person again-ever." KNOW YOUR BUYER Top salespeople do their homework before meeting a prospect. They know what the company makes or processes, the organizational structure, and the company's position in the industry. And, if possible, the salesperson becomes familiar with the jargon and trade practices of the industry or business. K N O W YOUR PRODUCT/PROCESS
The salesman who doesn't intimately know his product and merely flips pages in a catalog is bound to fail. After all, you're committing the basic sales sin of wasting the prospect's time. If the subject is technically oriented, the smart approach is to bring along a knowledgeable person. For
example, engineer-buyers prefer to talk to engineers. CONTROL THE CHIT-CHAT
'Tis true that having a knowledge of the customer's hobbies or interests and talking about them will help to put him or her in a more receptive mood. But, read the body language so you know when to get back to the subject. THE IMPERFECTIONS
If you are getting the impression that your top salespeople are perfect personalities, then you have a misconception. Part of the personality profile typically includes some very objectionable characteristics that go with the package. First on that list is that most successful salespeople are poorly organized. Some other prevalent shortcomings your salespeople may have in meeting your company requirements are: • They don't tike to write reports. Even when they do, they are often late and too frequently inaccurate. • They may bend the truth on items such as prices, delivery info, technical data, and customer credit ratings. • They don't like meetings and very often miss them to take care of very urgent customer requirements. • They avoid detaited communication with supervisors. • Their punctuatity may be good with customers but not for company meetings. • They spend too much time with estabtished customers; it's tess cha[tenging. April 2008 1meta|finishing 179
sherwoodonmanagement SALES MANAGERS Controlling the temperamental and disorganized takes a combination of two different personality types. As a result, a sales manager can be compared to that of the lion tamer in the ring with the lions. Obviously, the tamer and the lions have very different personalities. It is very difficult to find someone to match the disciplined requirements of management (the tamer) with the need to motivate and effect compliance from sales employees (the lions) who may also be compared in temperament to the master chef in the restaurant or the diva in opera. There are no sharp lines dividing the three sales groups. Some salespeople may just like selling a little bit, whereas others may not like selling but perform acceptably.
JOB SHOP OWNER/MANAGERS Smaller shops can't afford a sales
manager. This results in the owner/manager, or a general manager, becoming the sales manager by default. In most cases, he or she does not have the good fortune to have a Group I salesperson as a subordinate but must be satisfied with the Group II type, or someone in between. Another approach is for the company to have an outside commission salesman or rep. In these cases, companies must persist in having the salesperson turn in reports, come to scheduled meetings, and be truthful to customers and the sales manager. At one of my client companies, we decided to withhold paychecks until the individual weekly reports were turned in. It worked for a while, but the pressure still had to be repeated downstream. The fundamental approach is to persist in motivating salespeople to comply with instructions and company policies. In other words, be relent-
less. You will never attain complete compliance, but perfection in this area is hard to achieve. Productive salespeople are usually highly motivated, creative, and hard working non-conformists. Managing them is difficult but well worth the effort.
NOTE 1. Hopkins T. How to Master the Art of Selling. New York, NY: Warner Books,1982;88-9.
BIO BertJ. Sherwood has a master of science in chemical engineering degree with a minor in business administration from the University of Southern California. He has provided technical and business advice to surface finishing and manufacturing companies for 24 years, and is a regular columnist for Metal Finishing. He can be reached at sherwoodbj@aoL com.
~y
If results are what matter most to you need the new DeVilbiy°u' Compact. Introducing the new Compact Performance Series of spray guns by DeVilbiss. For more information from the global leader in atomization, visit www.devilbisscompact.com or call 888-992-4657.
OEVlISlSS. .,,,~.~.~-.,T.ECH T", HVLP & CONVENTIONAL ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES © 2007 ITWqndustrialFinishing {Folio#5682 2007/08} Circle 037 on reader information card or go to www.metaLfinishing.com/advertisers
April 2008 1metaLfinishing 180
filters and pumps for the plating and metal finishing industry 4 4 4 ¢' 4
Mefiag horizontal disc filter system: Mefiag V-Series oil absorbing filter Sethco cartridge & bag filter systen Carbon treatment systems Filter media
MEFIAG jMETIPRO j Fitter Systems
...........
1850 IndustriaE Drive, Owo%o, MI 48867 (989) 725-8184 • FAX: (989) 729-1013 • E-mail: rnefiag@met-pro tom
Visit us at w w w . m e f i a g . c o m Circle 043 on reader information card or go to www.metalfinishing.com/advertisers
www.meta[finishing.com