AllBusiness.com

AllBusiness.com

3 Ways to Jump-Start Your Sales Career

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 09:49 PM PDT

I recently moderated a fascinating panel discussion at a sales conference. The panelists were all successful business professionals. One set strategy and vision for a $2 billion IT company; two were serial entrepreneurs, one of whom just sold his company for millions; the last was a CIO at a multinational company. What they said will provide you with valuable insights on how to become a better sales professional.

How do you deal with risk?

The first question I asked was how they made decisions and assumed risk. One panelist took the microphone and said very emphatically, "Very early on I realized I need to have risk. I can't work in an environment which is risk free." He was the one of the serial entrepreneurs who had never worked for anyone else. He had always been an entrepreneur.

Would you prefer to take on more risk? Perhaps you already do and are a commissioned salesperson. The amount of risk you can tolerate will determine how you get paid as a salesperson. Just be sure your family supports your view of risk. I've seen marriages end when a spouse couldn't handle the same level of risk.

What size company fits you and your temperament?

Next I asked the panel to describe their first job and how they selected it. One of the panelists said he started out at a large company. He then realized he didn't like being part of a large organization, and all his subsequent jobs were at smaller and smaller organizations.

You may find it odd and indicative of a career going in reverse. He didn't. He wanted to try new things, control what he did, and he wasn't concerned whether he was successful or not. He couldn't get those opportunities at large organizations where so many people were involved. At smaller companies he would be forced to do a variety of work and make decisions simply because there weren't other people there to do the work.

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What about your approach to sales? Do you like having autonomy to determine which products you sell? Or do you like having other people determine a global sales strategy of whom you should sell to and how much you should charge? Which of these scenarios makes you happy and which one makes you very unhappy?

Different-sized organizations delegate different levels of authority to their sales teams. You might be better suited to another organization depending on how you answered these questions.

Where's your planned career trajectory?

I then asked everyone to discuss something in their career that led to their success. One of the panelists said, "I created a career plan when I first started. The first page was where I currently was at the time; page 20 was where I wanted to be over the course of my career. In between I had a document that I modified over the years and used to guide me to make my career decisions."

What he included in his document was training and experiences he thought he would need in order to advance. His plan had questions to ask others to get the guidance he needed.

Such a career plan is what a strategic sales professional should have. What does your sales territory look like now? What do you need to do to advance your sales career? Do you plan to stay in field sales? Do you want to advance to management? Are you using your sales career to advance to another industry or another area of your company? You should answer those questions now so you can develop your sales career plan.

The IT strategist said he estimates of the 20,000 people he oversees that only 20% are happy with their work, or 80% are working only for their paychecks. If this sounds like you, now would be a good time to answer the same questions I asked the panelists. It’s the best way to find out which group you are in, and to make some changes so you can be a more successful sales professional—and become a part of the 20%.

RELATED: 4 Steps to Conquering Your Career Fears and Getting What You Want in Life

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How to Conduct Effective Employee Surveys That Will Improve Your Business

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 09:46 PM PDT

By Andy Bailey

For B2B companies, team members are one of the main reasons clients turn into repeat buyers. Without great team members, client service and operational execution suffer, which means your business will also suffer. It's as simple as that.

As competition increases in the B2B world and products and services become more commoditized, client service can often be the difference between retaining or losing business. A survey by Salesforce found that 80% of B2B buyers said the customer experience is just as important as the quality of a company's products or services. The survey also determined that 57% of B2B purchasers switched suppliers because a competitor provided a better experience.

A positive client experience also improves the top and bottom line. Research by McKinsey & Company found that improved customer experience can lower client churn by 10 to 15%, increase close rates by 20 to 40%, and reduce customer service costs by up to 50%

Keeping your team engaged and aware of their personal growth and development is essential to building a business where clients enjoy working with your team members. An employee survey is an ideal way to measure the enthusiasm of your team. Just as important, you will gain insight into your staff’s level of dedication to embracing the company's mission and values and achieving organizational goals.

A survey gives team members an opportunity to share their opinions on reasons for successes the company has accomplished and challenges the business faces. Giving your team a direct voice shows that you value their input.

If you are not conducting employee surveys at least annually, you are missing out on collecting invaluable information. Here's how to do it in a way that improves your business.

1. Keep employee surveys anonymous

This is crucial because it gives team members the opportunity and freedom to provide frank and honest feedback. To grow your business, you need to know the good and the bad. Use an independent provider to administer the survey and provide the results in order to ensure participant responses are anonymous.

2. Share the results

A survey can give a lot of details about how your team views the business, so share the data, even if it's not pretty. You will find out how team members view company culture, where the business is heading, and what should and should not change about the way the organization is being managed. Don't wait too long to let your team know what you have found. Sharing the results—both positive and negative—will encourage discussion about any necessary next steps to take.

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3. Act on the results

You must be willing to act on the results; otherwise, you’re simply paying lip service to your team. Everyone in the company needs to see that action is being taken to address challenges and opportunities that may come to light in the survey results. If the results call for complicated or long-term projects, make them part of the company's monthly or quarterly priorities and then break the work into manageable tasks.

4. Update on progress

It's important to share with your team the progress the company is making toward achieving the goals identified in the survey. Each quarter post milestones reached and tasks completed in an area where your team can see and track the progress. Communicating progress will also help drive accountability so the team knows what needs to be done and when.

Reality check

Your business is constantly in motion and your team is one of the best resources for what's working and what's not in your business. Business leaders can choose from a wide variety of online tools, such as TINYPulse, 15Five, and Officevibe, to measure employee engagement and job satisfaction. The results from those surveys will provide you with a reality check that will help you improve operations and achieve company goals.

RELATED: Inspire Your Employees by Making These 6 Habits Part of Your Daily M.O.

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