RECiRCULATING THE MEDIOCRITY

by Hank Trisler

Whenever you advertise for an "experienced salesperson," you run the risk of recirculating the mediocrity. The only people who read those ads are those who are looking for a job and those are the LAST people you want in your sales force. If they aren't happy and productive where they are, what makes you think they'll be happy and productive in your store?

Oh, I see. You're a better manager, offer better sales tools and a far more positive sales atmosphere. Of course they'll succeed where heretofore they have failed.

BULL!

If they haven't been making it before, you're not going to materially change them. You're just not that good. None of us are. Good sales critters will produce in any environment and bad sales critters will fail in any environment. Your efforts will affect the ultimate outcome only marginally, in that you can often help a good salesperson become truly excellent, while being unable to make a bad salesperson good.

When I was an automobile sales manager in San Francisco, back when the earth was still cooling, the union salesgrunts would come by and say something like, "I just thought I'd see what you guys have going on." A variation on the theme was the "Three Ds:" "Can I get a Draw? Where's my Demo? When's my Day off?" If you were silly enough to take one of these slugs, they would give you nothing but grief.

Many years ago I determined that I was far better off taking people with good people skills and teaching them how to sell, rather than take retreads from my competition.

The best time to recruit is when you don't need any salespeople. When you have all your desks full, you tend to be fussy and that's terrific. If half your cylinders have no pistons, your discrimination weakens as you're just tired of being alone. Halitosis is better than no breath at all.

Constantly look for good sales candidates among the people you do business with. People with big smiles, bright eyes and hustle will usually excel wherever they go.

What about your past customers? They're already sold on you and your company and your product. Why not convert them to paid ambassadors? A mother who has just hit the "empty nest" phase of life may be just the ticket for you.

Take a good look at the kids of your friends and the friends of your kids. Yeah, they're just snot-nose punks today, but they'll be blossoming into honest to goodness, full fledged adults before you know it. You needed good people five years ago, you need them today and you'll need them in five more years. Start sowing the seeds of your future sales team today.

How about sharing some of your recruiting secrets and thoughts with our group? Let's focus on new talent, rather than recirculate the mediocrity.

TEAM BUILDING

By Hank Trisler

Gresham's Law (GRESH-ums law) noun: The theory that bad money drives good money out of circulation. [Coined by economist Henry Dunning Macleod in 1858 after Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), financier and founder of the Royal Exchange in London. Gresham, a financial adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, wrote to her “good and bad coin cannot circulate together.”]

Gresham's Law says that when both are required to be accepted as legal tender, inferior money remains in circulation while the good money tends to be hoarded or exported.

Examples of bad money could be counterfeit notes, coins that have their edges scraped off to siphon precious metal, or two legal tenders where one is intrinsically superior (e.g. a gold coin vs. a paper note of the same face value). In general, the law applies to situations outside the financial world as well: for example, bad politicians drive out good ones.

“But the main blame for the debasement lies with the Tories, who have conclusively confirmed that there is a Gresham's Law of politics: the most squalid party drags the others down towards its level.” Roy Hattersley; Exploitation Dressed Up As Compassion; The Guardian (London, UK); May 2, 2005.

“So what does that have to do with team building?” You might well ask. “Isn’t that about climbing ropes and paddling canoes and like that?”

I reply, Nah, that’s just programs to justify having a party at company expense. Team building is something you do every single day with your every word and action.

Gresham’s Law explains why we see good, intelligent, compassionate managers build squabbling, avaricious and lazy sales forces. We managers can’t get the people we want, so we settle for those we can get and then cry about our lot in life. Your best recruiting tool is your existing sales force. You will not be able to hire sales stars if they have to run in the same harness with slugs. The very best method of increasing the production of a sales force is to increase the minimum acceptable production.

Enforce it diligently. Every month look at each person in your sales force and determine whether they are a profit center or a loss center.

If a person is below your minimum acceptable sales production, you must help them increase their sales, or find a position with another company, and do so within ninety days.

Allowing them to hang around longer does no favor to them and will be the destruction of your sales team. You spend most of your time trying to make good wine out of bad grapes, when you should be lavishing your attention on your top producers.

I recall a real estate broker once telling me that if she dehired all her low producers, she’d be alone. GOOD! I told her she’d be better off alone, as she was likely taking some of her personal production just to keep the turkeys afloat. It took guts, but she made a clean sweep of the office and said she had never felt better. She had more time for her personal business and was very selective in allowing new people to join her. When she had one really good person, that person brought a friend in for an interview.

And so it grows. If you have a really great success sales atmosphere in your store, you’ll attract the sort of salesperson you want. Conversely, you’ll never get the people you want if you ignore Gresham’s Law.

SQUARE PEG, ROUND HOLE

"So, where's Velma?" I asked my talented CEO friend.

"We had a career adjustment meeting with her," he answered.

"Why ever did you do that?" I asked. "She was one of your most valued, loyal and flexible employees."

"Yes, but she was in charge of purchasing and we felt we couldn't afford a purchasing manager of her caliber. The market stinks, you know."

"Yeah, I've heard those rumors. Couldn't she have performed other tasks, like being an admin?"

"The management team felt she would view it as a demotion and her attitude would suffer. Marjorie, my secretary, can do her job. It won't be done as well, but it doesn't need to be. The overall cost will be lower."

What's wrong with this picture?

Due to the present annoying market conditions, businesses all over the world are letting people go because of job descriptions, titles or long-established habits. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

If you have a good person, save them at all costs. Good people can always be re-tasked (to use a noun as a verb), retrained and repositioned. Good people are the only management asset you have that is capable of appreciation. Your desks won't be worth more next year, nor will your file cabinets. Only your people will be worth more then than now. Don't let them go without a fight.

Conversely, trying times are excellent for getting rid of dead wood. Rather than lose two good people, lose three bad ones and distribute the work over those you have left.