No Sales Commission

When you hire a sales professional, they usually receive a base salary plus commission. This is the way it has always been, and many organizations do not have the vision to change. The age old question, does the client buy from the company or do they buy from the sales rep? People buy from people, and I would do anything to keep your people.

The heartbeat of any company are the people. When you hire a sales rep your intentions are they will have a long successful career with you. Most of the time you do not know what you are getting until months down the road. The issue is you are hiring different personalities, and they are motivated by different things. Money, recognition, career growth, job stability, work life balance are just a few motivations. Our society has never been more educated, and it is easy for someone to fake his or her way into a job. One way to end this is to use consultants and if you like the way they work, offer them a job. It beats reading resumes or calling references.  

Would your company benefit from a reduced turnover rate at the sales rep position? Would your clients enjoy dealing with the same rep for 5-10 years? What kind of relationship would you have with potential customers if a new rep is not walking in twice a year? Would this increase sales and improve the bottom line? 

The position that turns over the most are sales reps, why is that? Some people are not cut out to be in sales. Rejection, unorganized, lack of preparation, poor people skills, can’t hack the pressure are a few reasons. Why do salespeople fail? Yes, some of the reasons I listed are above, but sometimes it is because of the systems you may or may not have in place. Have you promoted the wrong person into management? Not every great sales person makes a great manager. How do you keep sales reps around for a long time? It is time to start thinking how they are compensated. Have you ever thought about a commission free sales team? Compensation can be based on the last 2-3 years salary. They can still increase their wages by selling more. When someone is underperforming, you can let them go because numbers do not lie. 

You should have two goals. The first goal is to reduce or eliminate turnover and the second goal is to remove stress. Removing stress increases productivity and higher productivity equals increase revenue. 

Sales are contingent on the attitude of the sales person, not the attitude of the prospect. What do you have to lose, take 2-3 reps and give it a try? 

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How Do You Build Trust

In today’s world trust is almost a swear word. How many times do you come across someone that says “Trust Me, ” and you don’t know them? How often does Donald Trump say “Believe Me”? Trust is something that’s earned, and a not a phrase that comes out of your mouth because it’s convenient. Trust is reciprocal; you are more likely to trust someone who already trusts you. Below are a few behaviors to help you build trust.

1.      Honest – Say what mean and mean what you say. When they ask you a question, and you do not know the answer, admit it, and get back to them. Nothing hurts your credibility more than being caught in a lie. You will never gain that person’s trust again, and you have no control over who they tell.

2.      Listen – People are more likely trust people that listen to them than preaching at them. When you’re in a conversation, let them finish before you make your point. Interrupting someone while their talking is very rude.

3.      Get to Know Them Better – Take time to get to know your client or colleague. Go out for a non-work discussion lunch. Ask open-ended questions to get them talking. This is a great first step to building a strong personal relationship.

4.      Credibility - Have an updated LinkedIn profile with written recommendations. Like and share articles relevant to your industry. Post or blog your thoughts on topics, but keep it positive. Never post negative news or thoughts. 

5.      Integrity – Stick to what you believe in. Don’t do anything during the day that will keep you up at night.

6.      Positivity – Always come into their office or a meeting with a big smile on your face. Smiling is the simplest form of communication and will set the tone for your meeting.

7.      Unselfishness – There might be a situation where you cannot solve their problem, but you know someone who can. Pass on their info to them because looking out for their best interests goes a long way building trust.

8.      Follow Up – If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. Once you get the information to them, follow up. Even if you do not get the business ask if you can stay in touch.

9.      Stay in Touch – They might not need anything from you now but could in the future. Always ask if you can contact them again and if they would like to receive informative emails about topics pertinent to the industry or your company.

These are just a few points that are important to building a trusting relationship.

Shut Up and Listen

Some people love to hear the sound of their voice and have a real problem when confronted with ideas that don't match their own. Your ideas might be fantastic, but you also need to listen to other people's ideas. When someone makes a suggestion or modifies your idea, you need to shut up and listen. Whether it is a client, colleague or peer, listening to what they have to say because you will learn more and gain their respect. If you cannot listen to what other people have to say, you can only climb so high.

The best advice I can give you is “Be Humble” and accept the criticism or suggestions, but more importantly “Don’t take anything personally.” You are all trying to achieve the same goal. 

Employee Appreciation

It is baffling why there's an Employee Appreciation Day. Do you think showing employee’s love one day a year will keep them happy? If you do, you are living in the Dark Ages because employee appreciation should be every day of the year.

How do you expect to attract and retain the most talented people if they are not treated like they own the business? Your employees are the heartbeat of the company, and the sooner you realize this, the more successful the business will be.

There are many ways to keep employees happy. Some of them cost money, but most of them are very simple, below are a few examples

1.      Lunches – Many of your employees are from different ethnic background. Periodically bring in lunches, so they learn more about their co-worker’s cultures.

2.      Sharing Successes – If someone has a great win share it with the entire company internally and on Social Media. If one of your employees gets recognized outside the workplace, do the same thing.

3.      Flexible Work – Things happen in people’s lives so offer a flexible work program. People do not need to be in the office 100% of the time to do their job, so letting them work from home allows them a break from the office. Don’t just allow this during bad weather or other circumstances, encourage this, and you will be surprised by the increased office moral.

4.      Extra Holidays – Don’t be a stickler of the person’s holiday time. If they ask for a few extra days to take a longer vacation, give it to them. People are loyal, and they will remember this.

5.      Open Meetings – Every quarter have a staff meeting to talk about the company’s direction. During this session encourage employees to offer suggestions or concerns about EVERYTHING. No suggestion is a bad idea. Take notes and respond via email to everything that was suggested. People want to be heard, and you will be surprised what comes out of these meetings. Be sure to put a time limit on the meeting and stick to it.

6.      Technology – if a piece of technology is good enough for the CEO it should be good enough for anyone in the organization. A little investment in tech goes a long way.

The number one reason employees leave is the don’t feel appreciated. Make sure you make them feel appreciate more than once a year.

Never forget “IT STARTS WITH PEOPLE.”