The best salespeople are fearless communicators. They laugh easily and have an insatiable curiosity that leads them to ask great questions. But there’s a dark side to extroverts, says Greg Lhamon, vice president of interactive and digital media provider Salem National. They have a tendency to waste time.
They don’t do it intentionally. They just enjoy a great conversation with anyone in earshot and on virtually any topic. But when goals are on the line, it is vital that leaders manage sellers with a sense of urgency. Lhamon offers these tips for imparting a sense of urgency in sales reps.
Purge and delegate: You must first have margin in your own day so that you can spend the time needed with each rep. Strip your calendar and to-do list of irrelevant activities that don’t immediately help achieve top-line goals. Delegate less-critical tasks so you can focus on your sellers. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
Move fast: In “The Four Hour Work Week,” Tim Ferris says, “Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines.” Short deadlines typically generate high-quality work because they force us to focus.
Every meeting with a salesperson must end with a plan of action:
A meeting without a resultant plan of action is a get-together not a sales meeting. End each discussion with, “OK, what are your next steps?” Whether it’s developing a strategy for upselling a current account or creating his plan to increase the number of new business calls, the seller must have a clear plan of attack before leaving the room.
