Select Metrix | The Finishing Touches

We look forward to feedback from our clients and readers. Feedback generates additional points of view, as well as additional topics and ideas for future discussions. In fact, recent feedback on a variety of topics has been the driving factor for our recently announced Roundtable events.

A snapshot of the only negative feedback from this series has been “What you propose sounds rigid, inflexible and unrealistic in a competitive, fast-moving sales environment.”

On the surface, and in some situations, this may appear to be the case. However, with the addition of some finishing touches, we think you’ll look at a strong foundation and sound structure as an excellent way to build the flexibility you will need to proactively respond in competitive sales situations.

Meet them where they are, not where you wish they were.
A simple but effective way to ensure flexibility within your sales department’s foundation and structure is to utilize information available to you. Many of our clients take the insight they learn from our assessments to customize and add finishing touches to the communication style utilized with each individual.

Each salesperson has a blend of traits, styles, skills and motivations that need to be considered. The sales manager sets the tone for the department and essentially “finishes” the look of the department. Yet, the sales manager also needs to understand the influencing factors associated with each individual to receive their full effort.

Some salespeople require a strong, bold approach while others thrive in a data-driven, detached style. Many are rewarded by money, while others are motivated by status and recognition. The sales manager who understands these fine details about his or her team is the one who puts the perfect finishing touches on the sales organization.

Once you determine the most effective way to communicate with an individual, the decorating motif will become clear. Your ability to bring all the pieces together to finish the room will be much easier. You’ll have an idea of how you want the room to look and what you will need to make it all come together.

Flexibility in the finishing touches.
The finishing touches always require a bit of flexibility to find the right place, fit and match. A strong sales department requires the sales manager to have a good eye for what is working and what does not fit. At that point changes must be made. A department that is set in stone will falter over time. Markets change. Salespeople change. Products and services change. Flexibility must be a prominent design criterion for the sales organization.

Some examples of flexibility in the finishing touches you can enjoy may include:

Recognize and respond to competitive tactics without panic. There won’t be a need to repaint the entire house, colors and trim work based on one competitor’s changed approach.
Plug-in new products and developments without a complete remodel of your existing way of doing business.
Easily rearrange internal resources to your liking. “Move the furniture” if you will.
Adjust the look and feel of your organization both externally and internally. A little fresh paint, maybe a different color or texture to help the room look a little different.

A quick personal story may serve as a good related analogy. After 19 years, my wife and I sold our home. The hunt for a new home incorporated a wide variety of criteria including the ability to make a new house our home. The personalization and finishing touches we will make most certainly will be different from those of the current owner. In fact, one of the comments from the buyers of our house was “We can easily see ourselves making this house our home.” The new home we selected has the same feel. We can easily see how we will transition somebody else’s house into our home. The floor plan and layout give us options we have never had before.

If you look at what this series proposes in much the same way, you’ll see that establishing a good foundation sets the stage. With some forethought, the foundation provides a variety of options for the structure that will be placed upon it. The structure defines the entire house and once it is in place, a wide variety of options will exist to finish it in the manner that best suits your tastes and requirements. The finishing touches in our new home will include the placing of our furniture, pictures, etc. to our liking. I’m convinced we’ll be moving some of these items until things feel right. You’ll need to do the same as you finish your plans.

We hope this series has been helpful and has inspired you to look at your foundation, structure and finishing touches. The integration of these three phases produces the strongest sales department possible. If you do it right, you will become more proactive and less reactive in your management. And that, in turn, will make your sales house feel like home.