YOUR MONEY AT WORK

OH, WOW!

YOUR HARD EARNED DOLLARS AT WORK

Now double that. And add $170 Billion. That's the price tag of the bailout

Courtesy of Leo Parrish of Highland, MI

CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

The selling profession, by its very nature, is a "fowl or feathers" existence. The only managers I have seen who have achieved truly consistent performance have screwed their teams up to the point that no one was selling anything, and you sure don't want that kind of consistency.

The process of long-term strategic planning and the setting of long-term goals are actually counterproductive to sales consistency. Our minds don't seem to comprehend "I will," but only really hook up with "I am." Learning to talk to and program the unconscious mind is, therefore, the key to getting the best out of our people.

Manage activity, not results. The manager counsels with his salesperson and says, "We need to have you sell two million dollars worth of product this year to help us meet our company goals. Two million is your bogie."

The salesperson looks blankly at the manager and nods. He is not thinking about the company goals. He's thinking about his bills, he's thinking about a new car, a suit of clothes and the fact that his wife's washing machine has been making that funny noise again. It is clearly impossible to comprehend precisely what he must do to sell two million dollars worth of product and, frankly, that goal is fairly low on his list of priorities.

Enlightened managers find out what the salesperson wants to accomplish and finds a way to tie that into the company goals. We need be able to convert results (which we cannot control) into activities (which we can influence, if not control). A Sales Activity Calculator appears on page 172 of NO BULL SALES MANAGEMENT and is a fine tool to help you convert results into actions.

If the salesperson clearly understandsand believes that when his feet hit the floor in the morning, he needs to make X calls, which will result in Y presentations, which will result in Z sales, the activities necessary to achieve the results are clear, both at the conscious and unconscious levels.

If you don't have a copy of NO BULL SALES MANAGEMENT, you can get one through our website or call, write or e-mail me and I'll send you a copy of the Sales Activity Calculator.

Keep Goals and Contests short. Long-term goals only become real to us during the final days of the period. If you set a contest wherein the person who sells the most product this year will receive an all-expense-paid vacation, most of the work will be done during the first couple of weeks, when the excitement is high, and during the last couple of weeks when the deadline is looming. Worse yet, someone may run off and hide early on and the rest of the team will quit trying as the deed has already been done.

We can learn a lot from General Motors accounting. Each month consists of three ten-day periods. All contests, reports, and incentives are based on these ten-day periods. If you have a good ten days, you get to start all over again to make the next ten even better. Rather like the Mess Sergeant's last meal. If you have a crappy ten days, it is in the past and you get to start all over, fresh and clean.

A variation of Murphy's Law states that, "Any task will expand to completely consume the time allocated for its completion." Keep the time frames short and you'll get the most consistency possible in this inherently inconsistent business.

WHAT AMGEN TEACHES ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

by Hank Trisler

I've been watching the Tour of California bicycle race this past week and couldn't help but notice that one of the primary sponsors is a company named Amgen. I went to their web site and found that they make and sell medicines, primarily medicines to treat cancer. I further notice that this Tour of California marks the return to professional cycling of Lance Armstrong, one of the world's most famous cancer survivors.

A coincidence? I think not.

When you listen to the television broadcasts, they frequently talk about the fight against cancer and team efforts and such like that. "Stand Up to Cancer" is a charity they support and endlessly tout. The words "cancer" and "diabetes" are continuously wound through the conversation like a recurring thread.

They NEVER talk about their product. They never say, "If you take this stuff, you'll vastly improve your chances of seeing next Christmas." They quote no statistics on survival, refer to web sites and studies, or parade medical luminaries to support their cause. They simply constantly say that cancer and diabetes are bad and they are against them.

And Lance. Does he say, "I beat cancer with Amgen Nuttoslop?" Not on your tintype. To my knowledge, he has never mentioned Amgen, nor does he discuss his cancer unless heavily prodded. But his very presence, his excellence is a mute testimony to his successful fight against the disease.

Amgen and Lance are providing value by doing what they do best and letting the chips fall where they may. They don't back you in a corner and badger you, or make claims, extravagant or otherwise.

Isn't that the way Social Media should be practiced? You're present. You're visible. Anyone who is interested can find out what you sell and how you sell it. If they want more information, they can certainly ask for it. But you don't pitch, badger, make outrageous claims or incredible allegations about your product or service. You're good and people are drawn to you because you exude energy based on true confidence. If you're really good, you don't need to spend all your time telling people about it. The best salespeople never do.