Milestone Group Quarterly: January 2006
Articles
Milestone Group PoV:
John Meaney on Evaluating Sales People
How do you evaluate salespeople? If you ask most CEOs or Sales Leaders this question they’ll smirk and answer, “The obvious way, those who actually sell are good, and those who don’t aren’t any good at all.” Others might give it a little more thought and talk about “consistent quota attainment,” or “closing skills.” It seems that most folks think evaluating salespeople is a relatively simple exercise.
I submit that there’s a lot more to it. There are a number of fundamental areas to look at when evaluating a sales staff, and in so doing you can make “good” salespeople become “great.” You might even see “borderline” salespeople begin to excel at their trade.
So where to start? To me, the fundamentals are what really make the difference.
Prospecting is where the sales process begins, so let’s start there. What kind of work ethic do your salespeople exhibit? This is an area where the most effective people differentiate themselves from the rest. And as many of us realize, it’s not just a matter of effort. One must work “smart,” not just “hard.” The application of good, simple technology within this process can affect exemplary record keeping, giving the salesperson the basis to build a bigger pipeline, ultimately increasing his or her number of opportunities. More opportunities means more chances to succeed.
Account management, (where applicable) is another area of focus for effective salespeople. (If you don’t have the opportunity to sell your product or service more than once to an organization, account management may not apply.) I look for the salesperson’s ability to understand quickly where his or her contacts fit into an organization. It’s called “selling to the organization chart,” and if your folks can’t do it, they’ll never be great.
When managing a territory, it’s easy to figure out who you have sold to. The trick is in figuring out those accounts that you’re not currently selling to. One must prioritize the prospective customers he or she hasn’t sold to, and develop an appropriate plan to get the business. Selling effectively to a large organization involves the same principles that work in a geographic territory. Is there any evidence that suggests your salespeople are doing this? It’s a critical trait that inherent in great salespeople.
How about communications? I’ve known a number of pretty decent salespeople who suffer from a distinct inability to spell, use appropriate grammar (both speaking and writing), deliver a complete thought in any medium, or effectively speak in public. Any of these ills can keep a good salesperson from becoming great. Here’s an area where anyone can distinguish himself or herself pretty quickly with some concentrated effort. The bottom line here is that many people don’t care enough to focus on these things, and it comes across loud and clear to their prospects and customers.
When your people write an email, create a PowerPoint presentation, or deliver a written proposal to a prospect, they’re not only reflecting upon themselves, they’re representing your organization. Misspelled words and poorly formed thoughts indicate a lack of respect for the reader or the audience. The customer may lead you to believe that he or she doesn’t care, but don’t accept that. If the document has your company logo on it, it will leave a permanent impression, one way or the other.
Here are a couple of reputation killers brought on by carelessness:
- Misspelling a prospect’s or a customer’s company name; stating it incompletely, or referring to a subsidiary as the parent and vice versa; misspelling your contact’s name; misspelling a colleagues’ name.
- Referring to your contact with the wrong title or specific area of responsibility within the organization, in writing or otherwise.
- An ill-prepared or disinterested presenter
Another critical component of a great sales career is the social aspect: Does he or she have much of a “rolodex?” Is it current? Does he or she share? What kind of network does he or she have?
Great salespeople typically “play nice” with their colleagues. They celebrate their peers’ victories. They have the “Michael Jordan effect.” They make the others around them better. I’ve worked along salespeople who made a lot of money, but created more work for everyone else. Their success tended to be at most others’ expense. Ultimately, that’s a no win situation for everyone.
Throughout my career in sales, I’ve tried to avoid being a “problem child.” I’ve always wanted to be easy to manage. There’s significant value in that for any manager. Most seasoned sales leaders will tell you they’d rather have hard-working, fundamentally sound, “good” players (who have the potential for greatness), rather than superstars who leave a mess in their wake.
Good salespeople can become great by focusing on the fundamentals, using common sense, and supporting the team’s efforts. And greatness derives from a number of things other than closed deals. Don’t get me wrong – those that simply get it done are valuable. But give me someone who is a team player with a good attitude, strong fundamentals, and a desire to win. He or she can be the greatest.
John Meaney is a Partner with Milestone Group based in the Silicon Valley office.
John Meaney has over 20 years experience in sales and business development in information technology. John spent 12 years with Compaq Computer Corporation as an individual sales contributor, a Channel Manager, and a Regional Sales Director, based in San Fransisco. At Compaq, John managed revenue growth for his region from $100M in 1990 to $1 Billion in 1996. Additionally, John was a leader in Parterning and Global Alliances at Informix Software in Menlo Park, and VP Global Alliances at Software AG, based in Darmstadt, Germany. John also served as VP Sales at KnowHow, Inc. , a Kleiner Perkins company based in Silicon Valley. Finally John has also provided consulting for software startups in Silicon Valley like Coiga, Jigsaw and Continuux. With his extensive experience at Compaq, Informix, and Software AG, John has developed a command of the Reseller Channel, and as such, has worked successfully, managed business relationships, as well as significant transactions with Distributors, Aggregators, VARs, VADs, Solution Providers, Consulting Firms and OEMs. John's excellent working knowledge of hardware architectures, storage and memory subsystems, database and middleware infrastructure, XML and enterprise service buses, combined with his comprehensive channel experience and his international exposure in the technology industry has positioned him perfectly to assist organizations in sales and business development, both nationally and internationally.
John holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Oregon.
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