interfaces with the customers,” says Knight. “They need to make sure that each individual within the organiza- tional structure understands their piece of the week, of the month, and of the year. Of course, the company needs to support them by letting them know how they are doing all the time.” The third point is creating a funnel of activities and opportunities. “Cre- ate a funnel of activities and initiatives that exceeds the gap – between what a salesperson knows he has sold by a specific date and the monthly goal – by twice as much,” says Knight. “Let’s say that a salesperson has a commitment of $1,000,000 a month and the commitments and orders in hand equal $500,000 – so they have a $500,000 gap. That means that the salesperson, who isn’t perfect and can’t close every deal, needs to have at least $1,000,000 in his funnel. “The fourth key is to connect the dots,” says Knight. “A salesperson is never just a salesperson or just a marketing person or resource. He needs to be a mini-general manager and realize that their jobs can’t be successfully completed unless other functions are tied into what they need to do.” Knight adds, “For example, if you find somebody who wants to buy something, are you guaranteed that manufacturing has built it or is going to build it? Does finance like what you have in your pipeline at the margin you’re offering it for?” The fifth key is to refuse to be a victim. “There are always excuses for losing, but there are no excuses needed for winning – only reasons,” says Knight. “If a salesperson says, ‘I can get this product in my funnel, but we don’t have the product to sell,’ he becomes a victim. If he can complete the sentence by saying, ‘Instead of doing this I’m going to do that,’ then he is a catalyst for success. “The final key is, as a manager, to rec- ognize that it’s important to celebrate, share, and recognize successes and ac- complishments,” says Knight. “Success normally doesn’t happen by accident – and, by promoting that success and


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What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well. – ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY


the individuals who make it happen, you are creating hope that, by follow- ing a well-planned and well-executed strategy, the only outcome is success.” Bridges believes that, while hope is an integral part of a well-thought-out action plan, there are times a manager needs to tailor the message of hope to individual personal situations. “Hope is more than just optimism – and you have to paint a story of success, provide the tools for success, and make sure that the person you’re dealing with under- stands that you understand their situ- ation and may have been in the same trenches they’re in,” says Bridges. “We placed a new salesperson in a territory where two of our sales- people went over to the competition. It was a tough fight to regain some of that business, and he did well and emerged as a leader,” says Bridges. “We expanded his territory and gave him more responsibility. The result was he felt like the weight of the world was on him and started to feel overwhelmed and fearful of success. His optimism and hopefulness level wasn’t very high.


“It was really a matter of changing the way he was looking at things. I told him that his appointment book could only hold so many appoint- ments and – as long as his calendar is full of sales meetings and he takes care of the customers he has – he will be fine,” says Bridges. “Then, instead of viewing his territory as impossible to cover, he started looking at it as an open field of opportunity, and all the resources and the tools of the company are here for him. Now he’s empowered, energized, and expect- ing success – and hope has a lot to do with it,” says Bridges. According to Bridges, we all have stories playing in our heads – and the things you’re telling yourself will come out. “I believe that we have an inter- nal dialogue that we play over and over in our heads – and that these stories are ultimately manifested in our actions,” says Bridges. “And those positive, optimistic messages are, in essence, creating hope that gives you the will to overcome ob- stacles and push through when times get tough.” 


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