June, 2006

It’s About Time

Business is booming and your top salespeople are out prospecting more than ever. What are your underperformers doing?

By Bill Lee

I received a call this week from a client who told me that he had to terminate one of his salespeople because he was consistently failing to earn his draw. In the next breath, the client said that the company’s overall sales were booming. “Our biggest problem right now is operations,” he said. “Sales are so strong that we can’t keep enough drivers on the payroll to keep up with the workload.”

 

To many of you reading this column, these two statements may seem to be inconsistent. A salesperson has lost his job because he couldn’t generate a satisfactory level of sales, yet overall sales are booming. How could this be? I believe there’s a simple answer.

 

As a sales trainer, I frequently see this kind of inconsistency. And it’s likely taking place right in your community, perhaps in your very own company. Some salespeople are doing extremely well while others are starving to death. As business philosopher and author Jim Rohn says, “It’s a mystery.”

 

In this particular business, I am privileged to know that the top salesperson earns annual commissions in excess of $350,000. The terminated salesperson’s annual commissions were approximately $30,000, less than a tenth of the commissions earned by the sales leader.

 

 

• Do you believe that the sales leader in this company is ten times smarter? Or works ten times as hard?

• Does he have ten times more product knowledge?

• Could he be ten times more organized?

Since I know both men, I know that the answer to each of these questions is “absolutely not.” The truth is simply that the under-performing salesperson was not willing to do the things that the high-performing salesperson is willing to do.

 

It’s been my experience that top-performing salespeople focus not just on the present, but on the future as well. When business is booming, for example, that’s when their prospecting efforts are the most vigorous. They realize that sales and marketing activities are a part of selling that can never be ignored, even when business conditions are excellent.

 

The Success Attitude

 

When the market turns down, prospects are inundated by salespeople looking for an order. But during boom periods, most builders report that they rarely see a new salesperson. Doesn’t it make sense to do your prospecting when your competitors are fat and happy?

 

It’s not that top-performing salespeople enjoy doing the things that make them so successful. It’s just that they enjoy the results they get from their efforts. The very thought of failing is so horrifying to them that they are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.

 

Many of the salespeople who attend my seminars are the salespeople who actually need sales training the least; they’re already earning top commissions. But the salespeople who are starving to death are often too busy to learn anything new. “I’ve heard all of that stuff before,” you’ll hear them say. “I don’t need sales training, I need more competitive prices.”

 

The key is their sales activities; that is, how salespeople are spending their time. In the selling profession, doing things right is not nearly as important as doing the right things. So monitor and measure how your salespeople are spending their time and you’re off to a good start at gaining control of your company’s destiny.

 

For 41 years I have been fortunate to know and be associated with Zig Ziglar, the famous speaker and author. Of the many lessons I have learned from this great teacher, this one ranks near the top of the list: “You don’t pay the price for success, you pay the price for failure. You enjoy the price you pay for success.”