ProActive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay Ahead of the Game »

William “Skip” Miller (Los Gatos, CA) is president of M3 Learning, a sales and management development company, and an instructor for numerous AMA sales management training programs. He is the author of ProActive Selling (978-0-8144-0764-6), More ProActive Sales Management (978-0-8144-1090-5), and co-author of Knock Your Socks Off Prospecting (978-0-8144-7285-9).

If you’re working harder and longer year after year to squeeze out your numbers, it’s time to do things differently. Instead of merely reacting to your permanently ringing cell phone, last-minute customer requests, and steady stream of employees who plop down by your desk to discuss their “issues,” it’s time to take control and become a proactive sales manager—one who effectively manages the limited resources of time and energy and leads the sales department with a clear, future-focused plan.

ProActive Sales Management is your one-stop guide to completely rethinking and rebuilding your sales department for success. From what questions to ask during an interview…how to conduct a sales meeting…how to motivate your sales team…to what metrics you should use, this all-in-one resource walks you step by step through every key area of responsibility, explaining how to use proactive strategies to do more, better and faster—and avoid common mistakes that derail your competitors.

Whether you’ve recently joined the management ranks from a frontline sales position, or you’re a long-time pro at organizing sales teams, the powerful strategies and original tools in ProActive Sales Management help you escape the time-draining and energy-sapping reactive mode and lead your organization to new heights of productivity and success—proactively!

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

Chapter 1 ProActive Sales Manager-Defining the New Breed of Sales Manager 1

What Is the Actual Role of the Sales Manager? 3

What Makes a Successful Salesperson? 4

What Makes a Successful Sales Manager/ 7

What are the Similarities Between the Two Skills? 9

What Tasks Does the Sales Manager Perform on a Day-to-Day Basis? 10

What Expectations are Placed on the Sales Manager? 11

Manage the Process, Not Just the People 12

The First Tool-Think Three To Six Months Into The Future 13

The Second Tool-Be ProActive 14

The Third Tool-Develop Objectives-M2O/t 17

The Fourth Tool-Call For Help 18

The Fifth Tool-Have Your People Effectively Manage Themselves 20

How Do I Know Whether I Am an Effective Leader? 21

Grenade Walls 21

Two Rules of Leadership 22

Creating a Sales Culture Is Job #1 23

Chapter 2 Sales Cultures and the Ability to Communicate Them 24

The Pygmalion Effect 25

Thinking ProActively-Thinking in the Future 27

Current Sales Culture 28

Current Company Culture 29

Sales Team Culture Nine to Twelve Months Out 29

Creating the Culture ProActively and Implementing It 30

Rule #1 Be The Future 31

Rule #2 Think Culture Before Tactics 32

Rule #3 Go Backward 32

Rule #4 Create And Communicate Your M2O/t's 34

Rule #5 The Value Pyramids-Advanced FutureVsion Workshop 35

You Can't Ride the Bus 38

Chapter 3 Manage the Right Things-Time and People 40

Managing Time 41

Maximize and Invest 41

The Sales Manager 80/20 Rule 42

Managing the A Players 43

Show Me the Money-An Insurance Policy 48

Planning-Focus on Tomorrow; Today Is Over powerHour 52

Measure It-Setting Measurable Objectives That Work53

Revenue Numbers Are Reactive 54

Revenue Numbers Measure the Wrong Thing 55

Subjective and Objective Measurements 55

The Skip Miller Sales Management Success Formula 56

Frequency 56

Competencies 57

Miller17 57

Chapter 4 Finding and Recruiting the Best Sales Team 63

How to Interview and Hire the Right Salesperson the First Time 63

The Law and the interview 64

Questions You Cannot Ask 65

The Hiring Process 67

The Three Process 68

Intial Homework 69

View Your Current Organization and Culture 70

Objective Sales Team Culture Assessment 71

Where to Find the Good Ones 75

Distribution Channels for Candidates 75

Recruiting 80

Advertising 84

Prepare for the Interview 85

Objective and Subjective Measurements 85

The Interview Process 103

The A-B-C Interview Process 103

The Twenty-Minute Interview Process 106

A Simple But Effective Interview Process: Connect-Draw-Give-Close 107

Interview-Sales Call 110

Tools for the Sales Interview 111

Who Closes Whom 117

Characteristics of a Great Salesperson 118

ProActive Reference Checks 120

The Offer That Works 122

The Subjective Interview: The Final Assesment 124

Celebrate Success: Closing the Deal 125

Chapter 5 Corrective Action 127

Starting a Corrective Action Process 127

The Corrective Action Process 128

Counseling 129

Written Warning 130

Use of Metrics 132

Final Written Warning 135

Termination 136

Termination Guidelines 136

It's Not Your Responsibility 139

Coaching and Counseling Through the Process 141

Final Thoughts 141

Chapter 6 ProActive Management Skills 142

Coaching and Counseling: How to Be a Master Communicator in Any Organization 142

Coaching and Counseling 142

The Coaching/Counseling Wheel 144

The Coaching Sales Call 145

The Coaching Call 147

The Joint Sales Call 149

The Unexpected Sales Call 150

Focus on the A Players 151

Coaching and Counseling Your Boss Effectively 151

Motivation-Know Why People Do What They Do and Be One Step Ahead 154

Praise 157

Reward and Recognition 157

Learn-and-Grow Challenges 159

Motivational Direction 161

Using Technology to Communicate 163

Chapter 7 If You Can't Measure It, Why Do It? 164

Track the Maybes 165

Keep the Insurance 166

Manage to One Sheet of Paper: The 30-60-90 Report 169

30-60-90 Rules 169

The 30-60-90 Report 171

Effective Reports in Ten Minutes a Week 180

Geeting Reports in on Time 182

What Kind of a Manager Are You? 182

Expense Management 184

Chapter 8 Territory Planning, Compensation, and Rewards 185

Strategically Deploying the Sales Team 185

The ProActive Sales Matrix 186

Dead Zone 190

Maintain Zone 190

Red Zone 191

Compensation 193

Strategic vs. Tactical cCompensation 193

ProActive Compensation Guidelines 193

Compensation and Territory Timing 199

The Law of Compensation Plan Timing 201

The Revenue Curve 201

Stack Rankings 203

Sales Training 204

The Five Sales Competencies 204

Create Leverage-Rewards and Praise 207

Stay Focused or Pay Free Money 208

Chapter 9 Sales Meetings 210

When and How to have successful Sales Meetings 210

Agenda Planning 211

Time Planning 213

Content Planning 214

Optional Meetings 215

Chapter 10 Create the ProActive Action Plan 218

The Coaching Wall of Principles 218

Setting Goals and Making Them Work 221

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals 222

Measurable Goals 222

Communication 225

Go and Make Difference 225

The A-B-C Bell Curve Applies to Managers as Well 226

The Support Structure Back at the Office 226

Chapter 11 The Technology of Sales 228

Decreasing Order Time 228

Increasing the Salesperson's Ability to Sell 229

Increasing Breadth and Depth 232

The New Process 232

The New Dashboard 233

Getting Things Done in a Team Sell 234

Getting Things Done with Your Customers 234

Discipline and the Will to Change 234

Index 237