"Actions speak louder than words," says my wife, Laurie. "You can
tell me you love me all day long, but when you show me by your actions,
I know you really do love me." With family, showing your love starts
with devoting time. It's true in business, too. Do you show your
salespeople that you love them?
Somewhere along the line, we got the idea that salespeople are
expendable -- that if they don't perform quickly, or if they slip below
budget, they should be terminated. Meanwhile, everybody complains about
how hard it is to hire and retain great people.
The radio-sales meat grinder goes something like this: Hire them,
hand them a training book or tape, put them on the streets, and give
them 90 days to sink or swim. Most sink.
First we have to look at the level of people we bring in. If you
pay peanuts, you get monkeys. In theory, higher-grade people -- who cost
more -- will perform better and return your investment sooner.
Then, we should consider the person's selling style. One of my
salespeople closed very few sales in his first six months. But we saw
that he was relationship-driven, so we didn't fire him. Within the
first year, he'd brought in more business than we could ever have
expected -- and 20 years later, he's still with us. Had I fired him in
those first 90 days, I would have lost one of the best people I have
ever worked with. If selling is indeed about relationships, how many
great relationships can be built in 90 days?
WHAT YOU OWE SELLERS
If you hire me as a seller, you owe it to yourself to help me be
successful. You owe me opportunity, training, a job description, and a
product to sell.
Most stations don't have job descriptions for salespeople. One
manager told me: "Of course we do. Their job is to sell. Period." No! A
salesperson's job is multi-faceted: building relationships,
prospecting, delivering the station value proposition, maintaining the
station's image to the clients, servicing business, managing the
creative development of commercials, and closing deals.
"I cannot invest in training until they prove themselves," one
manager told me "That guy was a terrible seller. I'm so glad I didn't
waste any money training him." That manager should be taken out behind
the station and shot for stupidity. Does an airline pilot receive
training only after he makes it from San Francisco to New York?
Before you fire salespeople for non-performance, ask yourself: Did
I provide them with the tools they need? Did they have a job
description? Did they follow it? Is the failure their fault?
Also, think about this: How much time do you spend with your
salespeople? Your radio station's success relies on a handful of
people, but they often receive minimal time from management. Managers
and sales managers are loaded with shuffling paperwork, watching
inventory, and dealing with clients and other departments. One
consultant told me he secretly tracks the time that he sees the sales
manager spending with sellers. The average per day for all sellers is 42 minutes.
If you have a sales problem, ask yourself: I am showing them the
love? Am I giving my time, attention, training, and respect? Am I
beating on them, hoping they will do better, when they don't know how
to do better? Am I pushing good people out because they're taking too
long to succeed?
Of course, we have to push for results, and at some point we have
to end our relationship with non-performing people. But first we owe it
to them, and to our success, to make sure we have shown them the love
with our actions, not just our words.
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