new people to as many as 60,” he said. “Finding the right balance required extensive analysis of best- and worst- case scenarios over the next four years.” • Work with marketing. “It is more critical than ever to ensure that marketing and sales work hand-in-hand in making this decision to ensure that our staffing met the needs reflected in the marketing plan,” said DelVecchio. The need goes both ways, too, he said. The marketing plan could not be completed until the marketing team knew the final number of salespeople in order to allocate costs. “We had a bit of a chicken-and-egg syndrome going on,” he said. “We had to go constantly back and forth.” Because of their dedication to working together to generate the best possible results, “it’s a completely sym- biotic relationship,” he said. “We learned that more than ever – and we’re applying it. We’re using that discipline because it’s the only way it’s going to work.” DelVecchio said the company’s analysis was almost complete and ready for executive and board approval. The result? They would be increasing between two and three times its current size, with the new hires phased in over two years in order to mitigate risk and spread out cost. Best of all? Based on his team’s careful analysis, he can set the antacids aside, knowing his projections are as ac- curate as possible.
The Expert Weighs In If you’re looking for exponential growth, “you can’t invest enough in sales and marketing [in the current year] in order to double every year,” says a sales management expert. Acknowledging that it’s impossible – and even undesirable – to staff completely in advance of growth, he recommends the following: • Leverage your human resources to the hilt. Make
sure your existing reps are spending at least 80 percent of their time in front of customers, recommends the expert. Minimize the administrative tasks placed upon them so they can spend their time doing what they do best – selling. • Focus on the “right” customers. According to the law of disproportionate averages, the majority of your revenue is coming from a handful of your customers. Focus on achieving exponential revenue growth with those customers, he says. • Get your customers to sell for you. A critical part of his plan is the nurturing of what he calls “marquee custom- ers”: big customers who are so invested in your company that they will do whatever it takes to ensure your success. At the point a customer becomes a “marquee,” they begin to sell for you, says the expert. “Your work’s being done for you,” he says.
Situation #2: Big Brother Is Watching Once your team is on board, it’s time to accept this reali- ty. You can’t be everywhere at all times. Once Becky Lash,
24 | MARCH 2019 SELLING POWER © 2019 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
the national sales manager for a healthcare company’s diagnostic division, acknowledged that her 70-some na- tional reps were beyond her immediate, hands-on super- vision, the challenge was clear. She wanted to develop a way to provide sales leadership without adding another management layer and its associated costs. Her solution? A structured mentoring program for her sales team. The mentoring program began when Lash was a
regional manager for the company. She discovered that, after she performed their initial training, her team mem- bers were often hesitant to call her with questions – likely because “I do their evaluations,” she says. She wanted to provide reps with an experienced person to lean on, so the mentoring program was born. Lash created an intentional plan that included specific goals, milestones, and incentives. All new reps – as well as those who had negative same-store growth numbers – were assigned a mentor for an initial period of three months. The mentor, who Lash chose from the cream of the crop, could have up to four “mentees” at a time. Each mentee got about an hour with the mentor per week, in addition to a quarterly in-person visit. Mentors also took part in special training with Lash for two hours per month.
What the training rep got from the relationship was
clear. “Someone to call who speaks their language, who’s their peer,” said Lash. And, for the mentors, the rewards were many. First, they were identified as the elite. “I told them that being a mentor is like being in an honor society,” said Lash. Next, there was the monthly mentor training, allowing them to expand their skill base and share best practices with other mentors. Third, there was a salary incentive: Mentors could earn up to 28 percent of their base salary in bonuses, based on their mentees’ performances. Finally, once someone had been tapped as a mentor, they were ideally in a position for future pro- motion, said Lash. “The people who did a really good job at mentoring were the ones who would get considered for future management roles,” she said. Lash said she saw clear indications the program was a success. She saw an increase of 2.3 percent in same-store sales in the first quarter of the year – and almost half of the first-quarter mentees were now achieving their num- bers. The cost was minimal, said Lash: a few thousand dollars in bonuses, plus the quarterly travel expenses. One factor in Lash’s success was keeping additional administrative requirements minimal. “I didn’t want to increase the bureaucratic burden on my reps,” she said. “I wanted them to be successful in terms of what they do. And I didn’t need a lot of paperwork.”
The Expert Weighs In The key to a successful peer-to-peer mentoring relation- ship is compensation, says the expert. “If you’re taking a
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31
