Budgeting and developing strategy for 2011 should be near the top of your "to-do" list. Time must be taken to actively work on forecasting, developing hiring plans for the year and making sure your marketing calendar is planned out at least through June of 2011. Right now I am working with several clients on their sales compensation plans for 2011. Here are several ideas for our readers:
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on November 03, 20100 comments
Perhaps 2010 was a great year for your sales team or perhaps it was a struggle and a disappointment. In either case, starting to plan your 2011 sales kickoff event is an important action during November. Why? There are many reasons to make sure this event is properly orchestrated:
- Keeping your team excited and motivated is essential. A new year means all your sales numbers go back to zero -- that can be emotionally draining for salespeople who for the past few years have struggled with challenging economic conditions.
- A new year means you can celebrate your success stories from the previous year. You MUST focus on building belief that your team has "moved" forward and make note of all successes-even the minor ones.
- You can announce your yearlong sales contest at your kickoff meeting. This needs planning and arrangement. The Guru is a big believer that every sales team should plan a trip or event for all quota achievers.
- Have fun. The event should include a speaker, music and an upbeat mood. The speaker could be a sales trainer or motivational program or even an existing customer how can provide a testimony of your great product/services. This will show your commitment towards investing in your team.
- Create a theme for the sales kickoff meeting and use the same theme for the entire year. This theme should be your motto and something you can build on during the year at all your sales meetings. You could tie the theme into your third sales contest. Let me know what you think are the best themes you have heard or used in your sales career.
- There may be a new sales compensation plan announced. If the changes are somewhat new or perhaps negative to the salespeople, you must plan the rollout carefully. Never announce the new compensation plan at the end of your sales kickoff meeting; you will want to roll out the plan halfway through the event.
- You might consider having members of the technical or sales support teams attend portions of or all of the meeting. It builds teamwork and they may also be part of your program.
- Arrange for the company president to speak and provide their vision for 2011 and commitment to the sales team.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on October 26, 20100 comments
In my soon to be published book on Sales Management, one topic I discuss in great detail is salesperson development and training. Besides recruiting effectively, training and development are the next most important aspects of the sales leader's job. While Acumen Management is not a sales training firm, we do focus on the facts that sales management MUST focus on sales training within their own firms.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on October 06, 20103 comments
A shaky banking industry, roller-coaster days on Wall Street, budgets being cut, purchasing decisions being delayed.
With that economic domino effect hitting us all as 2010 winds down, ending the year on a high note will be more challenging than ever. At Acumen, we've been offering the following advice to our clients and their sales teams:
Keep it in perspective. Recognize that if you are in the information technology sector, it is the best place to be in tough economic times. You sell what's especially in demand right now: Solutions that can increase efficiency, cut costs and enhance customer relationships.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on September 27, 20100 comments
Whew, two weeks without writing my blog. What happened? I was on vacation.
I won't bore you with my highlights or pictures; however you do know the Sales Management Guru will turn his vacation experience into a sales leadership analogy.
My vacation started in Budapest and then moved on to (by boat) to Vienna, Melk, Passau and Nuremburg. We then traveled to Prague by bus. One of the interesting experiences was traveling through a series of 25 river locks that allowed the boat to move easily up and down the various levels of water on the Danube. I have used locks on the Mississippi river a number of times, and even in Tennessee we have river locks... So why was this so interesting? The captain told us that they had to "book" lock times a year in advance!
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on September 20, 20100 comments
Sales leaders sometimes travel and sometimes they even take the time for a vacation! I can remember leading a sales management workshop 10 years ago when, at a break, it seemed almost everyone ran to a phone to check in and "put out fires." Two of attendees stayed behind and chatted casually about the class or other topics. It was a clear study of who were in control and, perhaps, who were not. The two sales managers must have known that even without them, their team and organization would continue to function.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on August 31, 20100 comments
I once read a quote supposedly by Jack Nicklaus: "Golf is 80 percent above the shoulders." As a bogey golfer, I have come to totally appreciate that comment. I asked Jim West, our Director of Golf, what his recommendation would be for a book or video on the mental side of golf. He quickly suggested The Golfer's Mind, Play To Play Great, by Dr. Bob Rotella. I found it on Barnes & Noble and four days later it arrived. On the plane to Seattle Sunday morning I read about 75 percent of the book. It's an easy read with "ah ha's" throughout the book, with great ideas, practical suggestions and stories of his pro clients, including quips about the battles they face and philosophies they use to maintain their mental focus for 72 holes.
In reflecting on the Dr. Bob's recommendations, it is easy to translate the same thoughts to our world of sales and sales leadership. There are 29 short chapters in his book. The first chapter is: "A Golfing Philosophy." What is your sales philosophy? "If it isn't fun, it isn't selling" has been mine. The author describes the need to relax and enjoy the challenges golf brings, and the importance of controlling the mind at all times. In sales, we have peaks and valleys, successes and failures, as professionals. You must work to control your subconscious mind and not becoming distracted on the golf course or during a sales process.
"Goals and Dreams" is another chapter. Dr. Bob breaks down the reality of goals vs. dreams -- they are actually different elements to success. In my keynote, I speak to the concept of dreams andgoals and the fact there are no unrealistic dreams -- only unrealistic timelines. In sales, we must first set our dreams and define specific tactical goals that will help us achieve those dreams. "Setting your Target" is another chapter in which he describes clearly focusing on where you want the ball to land -- finding a very specific detailed spot, a tree, a 3 foot spot of fairway, the back of the hole, etc. -- before you putt and then letting the relaxed body execute. Having a specific planned objective for every sales call becomes critical, and relaxing to reduce tension allows the professional to achieve meaningful conversations.
As professionals we must commit (another chapter) to excellence. One important aspect is being mentally strong and prepared to win. What will you do this week to improve your professional success? Buy the book for each person on you sales team? It will improve your golf game as well.
Posted by Ken Thoreson on August 24, 20100 comments
This weekend I was working on my next book and the ending of my chapter described my keynote program: "No Regrets, a Do-over Recipe for Success." I thought I would share some ideas from the book with you as we move into the dog days of Summer.
This is what a No Regrets, Do-over Recipe and Building a Personal recipe for success is all about: Abraham Lincoln made the comment, "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." It's important to be able to bring balance together, learn to use the ingredients you have and know what you want from life. Start with being a better person and try to make the world a better place.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on August 18, 20100 comments
"Making it to the Top," and other phases like it typically refer to exceeding your sales quota or becoming a top performer in your organization. Sales leaders have used these words to create sales contests, set goals and sales themes for the year and ...so have I. Last Friday, I made it to the top!
First, I will be honest, I took Friday off. At 7 a.m., 11 people drove about 90 minutes to Smoky Mountain National Park to begin a 5.5 mile hike up Mount LeConte to reach its pike at 6600 feet. Secondly, it was a hard and difficult hike. On a hot day, we crossed mountain streams, climbed over rocks, walked along four-foot-wide ledges holding onto to a wire cable for support, and for over 3.5 hours -- we made slow and a steady upward climb. All eleven of us made it to the top! After a lunch and some rest we then hiked down the same path 5.5 miles. After the eleven-mile hike, we wearily took off our boots, sipped our last water and slid into our cars for the ride home -- as a treat, we stopped for two big scoops of cold tasty ice cream.
Yes the analogy is correct! In my keynote programs I describe "dream setting" and the need to have a vision for your life both personally and professionally. I had set my sights on climbing Mount LeConte four years ago -- there are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic timeframes -- and when I heard the hike was planned, I set aside that day. I made a commitment. I actually purchased two new hiking sticks -- I invested in myself. And I worked hard to make it up and down that mountain, success does not come easy, you have to earn it. Everyone on that hike kept each other's spirit strong as we all were tired. Persistence is an element of success. We worked together until everyone was safe and back to the parking lot with a sense of pride of accomplishment and then we treated ourselves for achieving the objective -- rewards bring a sense of pride.
What are your goals for the rest of the year? Or next year? Successful sales leaders have their personal and professional goals in balance, and have a vision and defined goals for their lives.
Posted by Ken Thoreson on August 06, 20100 comments
By now the summer is almost over and you need to be concerned about exceeding August's quotas, achieving September's goal and the fourth quarter sales numbers. What should you be thinking and doing? Here's a quick checklist:
- Ask each salesperson to identify if their top prospects/decision makers have vacations scheduled during the next 45 days and if they do, will they delay planned decision dates?
- Review your pipeline values by stage at 30, 60, 90 days to identify if you have enough opportunities for the future and if you can "move ahead" or accelerate their decision points. Do you need a few quick marketing lead generation programs?
- Carefully measure your leading indicators to see if your salespeople are taking the summer off. Leading indicators are sales actions that will lead to demonstrations and/or proposals.
- Do you have third- and fourth-quarter sales contests planned? "Sprint to the Finish" could be a theme. The contest could be based upon year-end sales by person or a team plan: The entire sales team wins by exceeding the sales budget for the fourth quarter.
- Schedule a company picnic lunch where the sales/marketing team cooks and serves the meal for everyone else in the company. This will build teamwork and shows appreciation for everyone that serves sales during the rest of the year.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 26, 20100 comments
Last week I spoke at Microsoft's World Wide Partner Conference. With 14,000 attendees, it was a terrific event. The amazing action to watch was the volume of conversations taking place -- not necessarily just on the Expo floor but EVERYWHERE!
At this event Microsoft has created a software tool called "Connect" that allows anyone registered to search the registered list of attendees and arrange for a meeting in a predefined area for a 30 minute "speed date" or even to arrange a meeting at some other location. Plus, attendees had the opportunity to network at the evening receptions (several every evening), at breakfast, lunches and hallway accidental meetings.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 19, 20100 comments
I am leaving Sunday for Washington D.C. -- yes, in July! It is the Microsoft's World Wide Partner Conference; it is my ninth year speaking at the event. Click here for webcasts, Acumen's best practices and content on increase your profitability.
During the day I will be listening to programs, attending breakout sessions and networking with my peers. At night I will be working on my client projects or attending networking events. Going to this event is always very interesting -- normally I am giving the keynote or leading a breakout session at vendors' or association's conference. At this conference I will be attending learning sessions as well.
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Posted by Ken Thoreson on July 09, 20100 comments