Why do salespeople fail? In this article Christer B. Jansson writes about five things that salespeople aren’t telling you as a sales manager and are crucial for you to know if you are to help your team overcome their sales obstacles and achieve their goals.
I have been consciously working with sales obstacles since 2000. I have accredited more than 300 sales trainers, sales managers, and recruiters, and thousands of salespeople. Often, sales management doesn’t know how their leadership and decisions affect the salespeople. Over the years, I have gathered quite a bit of information that I’m happy to share with you as a sales manager who sometimes struggles with salespeople not reaching their goals.
1. They don’t talk about their sales obstacles
These salespeople know what to do but not why they have such big problems doing it. More than 85% of salespeople worldwide struggle with
at least one form of discomfort when they engage with prospects. But the science contradicts the deeply ingrained archetypes of a “salesperson.” This means they probably can’t accurately identify the root of their struggles without help. It is estimated that as many as 50-85% of them are not even aware of what their sales obstacles are, and therefore they won’t be able to ask you for help in solving the problem!
- What you can do as a sales manager: If a salesperson fails to reach their goals month after month, you must help them identify the discomfort that is the root cause of the problem. Start by scheduling a meeting with you and the salesperson and ask open questions about the sales process. How do you feel about calling a CEO and selling? (A higher title may be a sales obstacle) How do you feel about the sales material not being completely perfect? (Excessive perfectionism can be a sales obstacle) The salesperson should respond with a number where 10 is the most and 1 is the least. If you don’t have the time or opportunity to conduct these conversations yourself, there are good tests on the market that help identify sales obstacles and methods to work through them.
2. They don’t need you to “motivate” them.
They don’t tell you they lack motivation to do the job. Who would go to their boss and say I’ve lost the desire, the energy to sell. You only notice it when it starts to get really bad. So they need you to lead them so closely that you might notice it before they suffer from burnout. They need you to be willing to work on your weaknesses and to help them address theirs as well – without judging or criticizing. In other words, create an open feedback culture for improvement and correction of behaviors when needed.
- What you can do as a sales manager: You need to understand each salesperson’s problems and opportunities. Treat each salesperson individually and remember to take constant small steps. You need to build trust with your salespeople so they dare to open up, and such personnel policies that you can help them with what is needed. Be there for them and show that you are also working on yourself and your development. “Lead by example.”
3. Your insistence that they “just produce more” is not helping.
Telling them to embrace the “enablement” tools better and to “suck it up and get it done” are adding to their anxiety, feelings of failure and causing them to lose hope. They need you to help them remove the barriers that are holding them back rather than pretend they’re not there.
- What you can do as a sales manager: If you need to increase productivity, remember that everyone needs to start from their level. For example, someone starts with 4 customer visits per week and someone else with 8, and the goal is 12. If you work to support them and increase one customer visit per week, it will take 8 weeks for one and four for the other. If you can then help to reduce the Sales Obstacles, increase their motivation, and make them understand the benefit for themselves when I as a salesperson reach my goals, you have worked correctly. Remember that Sales Obstacles are contagious as they express themselves as values on how to do things, creating a sales culture that does not support activity without them even knowing it. So keep an eye out for these behaviors.
4. They don’t need a reinvented title.
What they don’t tell you is that they are starting to believe in others’ negative views on sales. Everything from friends, parents, and perhaps from others in the company who have a negative view of their profession. Relationship manager, Solutions specialist, Customer coordinator. Call your sales team whatever you want, but be clear about expectations. Saying people “don’t like salespeople trying to sell them things, so we provide solutions instead of selling” is one of the most damaging things you can do to your revenue stream. Unless you’re paying solutions commissions, stop passing along your own discomfort with sales.
- What you can do as a sales manager: Ensure that you create a culture where it’s okay to sell. Don’t hide it. Then explain what selling is, and in my world, it’s about helping others succeed better in their jobs through the products and services I can offer. So selling isn’t about pushing products and services a customer doesn’t need but being good at seeing how your company can help others succeed better. Be clear about what selling is in your company and the ethics and morals you stand for. Dare to talk about this when these thoughts arise. After all, you don’t change the content by changing the name, i.e., label on the work. In the worst case, it can lead to a decrease in sales.
5. Your job description downplays the business development aspect of the role
What they don’t tell you is that those who applied for a sales job are actually very surprised when the messages slowly creep in that the importance of selling, of bringing in new customers, is not as important anymore. What they also don’t say is that I’m going to start looking for a new job. Some who don’t sell so well think sales is quite tough and are delighted that the performance requirements are, in fact, reduced because we’re not supposed to sell anymore. You don’t hear that either. For good salespeople, this is a clear warning sign to change jobs.
They expected to focus on building relationships, and instead, you’re pushing them to meet sales goals. You’ve heard it before: Incentivize what you want more of. If you pay commissions or bonuses based on profit, you need salespeople to close deals. Pretending anything else is a disservice to you and your salespeople.
- What you can do as a sales manager: Make peace with yourself if you find sales uncomfortable and if you get too few applicants when you say it’s about sales. Dare to communicate that this is a sales job, and we expect you to prospect, develop customers, and you have clear goals and tools that support the salesperson in achieving these goals.
Is it Hopeless? Do you feel like you’re banging your head against the wall day after day?
Then it’s time to find out what’s really preventing your sales team from reaching its goals. Ask questions, have salespeople take tests to identify sales obstacles and limitations that may unconsciously exist within the team – perhaps for decades! Because as they say: If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get the same results you’ve always gotten.
Good luck with your change efforts and reaching your sales goals!
