I was recently speaking to a group of 150 salespeople in California. This was a very special group of people who work for a relatively new, start-up financial services firm. The organization is led by two very young entrepreneurs who really know how to inspire, motivate and enthuse salespeople. Ironically, although I was the guest speaker, I personally came away more motivated than I left the attendees!
What is so special about this particular organization is that it has gone
from zero in sales to over 100 million dollars in less than three years!
That is a great sales record no matter what you are selling. How did they do that? How did they go from the ground floor to the 20th floor virtually overnight?
There are several key elements that they clearly understood and mastered. For example, their products are superior and right on target for their marketplace. They reward their salespeople quite well. They provide fantastic training, tools and incentives. They have a great marketing department that not only provides marketing tools, but piles of leads for their sales representatives.
But what are the real reasons for their success? I will suggest that there are two very clear reasons for their unparalleled growth. Here they are:
- A total obsession with the creation and perpetuation of a sales culture. One that recognizes, celebrates, rewards and even reveres sales - but not at the risk of having an inferior infrastructure that supports and provides a strong operated backbone to the sales effort.
- An unceasing commitment - even an obsession - that salespeople need to understand that they are not selling trusts, annuities or other financial products. Instead they are "protecting families." Their goal is to "serve and preserve." To enable their clients to enjoy financial security at no risk. It is just that simple.
Unfortunately, it is not that easy! I am reminded of another of our clients that had started out the same way. In fact, they grew to almost a billion dollars in sales, were the first in their industry to sell nationally and have a Wall Street daily. Then something happened. Their stock dropped by over 80% in value...their CEO resigned under pressure and they are still reeling. What went wrong?
The answers are too complex to pursue here. However, there are a few that were obvious...some poor acquisitions, marketplace challenges, supply issues, etc. However, after over two decades of working with sales organizations of all sizes there are a few essential ingredients that our young entrepreneurs need to never lose sight of...that are perhaps, things that the billion-dollar company may have overlooked. What are they?
- Growth is not always good. Growth for growth's sake is not always the best route. It is easy to grow the top line and see your bottom line be whittled to virtually nothing. The old saying that says "It's not what you make, but what you keep" is still true.
- When growth is a goal, never lose sight of the need to continually build the sales management team that will coach, teach, mentor, oversee and lead the salespeople in the field. These people not only need to master ideas related to creativity and innovation, but the hard core skills related to effective sales management.
- Senior leadership can never lose the "eye of the tiger..." Senior leaders need to be innovative and creative, but, at the same time, need to continually stay focused on the core values and competencies that brought their organization to where it is.
- When sales problems occur, the real, core reasons behind them need to be examined. Not symptoms...but root causes. For example, delivery problems, product management difficulties, customer service errors, operational issues, incentive compensation problems, billing errors or a hundred other issues could be at the center of problems. It doesn't necessarily have to be salespeople not selling!
Managing and leading a successful sales organization is not easy. But if certain key principles are kept in mind organizations can grow strategically, flourish in the long term and be a great place for everyone. But here's the bottom line. Never forget the core set of beliefs, values and philosophy that made you successful. Even though things do change...never abandon some semblance of the keys that brought you where you are today. Never give up your culture and never give up your values. And values are important, aren't they?
