Rising about the Sales Standard
Sales Series Part Three
Are you part of a sales team that has an engaging, high morale culture? Or do you feel like you are the lone sales wolf going above and beyond while all your colleagues are happy with the status quo? What is the standard in your sales team? Are you set in your ways? Are you tired? Are you coasting along or pushing for more?What is your perspective? Do you need to look at things differently? What is the standard set? How can you rise above it and go from average to extraordinary? Read on, my friend.
So-So Standard= Mediocre Results
As a business owner, becoming so-so is not what we want any sales team to do. We don’t want them to feel burned out or stuck because that will hurt our company’s culture and bottom line. It’s a lose-lose for the team. So how do you change the standard within the company? How do you get your team to engage more without making the super-engaged feel unappreciated? These are some questions you might be asking and also unsure how to fix.
Is there such a thing as giving more than 100%?
“Give it 110%”. That phrase always bugged me a bit. What does it mean to give 110 percent, anyway? How can you give more than everything? Some people would say it means surpassing the expectation or going above and beyond. But why does giving your all have to mean you’re doing more than what your boss expects? Why do companies ask their team to overextend their everything?Don’t get me wrong; I want my sales team to go above and beyond their clients’ expectations. But it shouldn’t come at the cost of bleeding my team dry. It should be from setting expectations in the beginning and giving room to exceed them. It’s about working smart and being confident and educated, willing to learn, and caring about the client.Let the 100% be good enough. Watch the culture get better in the sales team. Praise the heck out of the small wins. What is 70% effort? Is that average? Some would say yes. Some might say it’s lower. But from a statistical standpoint, if you’re giving it your all, you don’t need 10% to be remarkable. I hope this will help you change the way you think because thinking is doing!
Making Room For Everyone To Give 100%
In my email signature, I have the quote: “We start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” by Jim Collins. I do feel this takes the sales team from Good to Great, from average to extraordinary. There’s no need for the mundane 9-5 hours, time for money exchange. There’s room for more than average. There’s room for everyone to give their best 100%, and if it doesn’t work for the team, well, there’s someone in the wrong seat on the bus.
Stetting the Standard
If you’re a team leader or business owner, you often do not set the standard for the entire team. They look to you on what is okay effort versus what is 100% their best effort. You could be costing yourself your team bonus or your bonus. It could be what helps to make payroll and puts the company in the red for the month. It could be so much more than that too. So what is it you need to do to set the standard?Be willing to do whatever it takes. When you put blinders on to only your tasks without looking around to see if anyone needs help or to see how others are feeling, you’re quickly becoming out of touch. The standard will be, “boss doesn’t care about us, so why should I care about busting my butt?”Having compassion, empathy, and standard within the group that everyone is on a team and is willing to help each other, you’ll have a happy sales worker culture. And if you are a salesperson on a team of cranky members, why not set your standard. A higher standard can begin with you and spread like wildfire. Be the one to lift your team up!If you are a business owner and want your sales team’s culture to change or improve, people may criticize me for saying this, but it starts with you. Look at your leadership MO and make sure you aren’t just telling your team what to do but leading by example. How is your mood? Do you show appreciation? Do you celebrate wins with the team? If the wrong people are on the team, it doesn’t mean you should fire them. It means helping them see their strengths and where they are best suited. Praise in public, criticize in private. It all starts with you. Happy, sales teams will raise their standards. They will be eager to participate in healthy competition. They will be willing to go the extra mile. They will give 100%. And 100% is all you need.
