This is a recording or a live webinar by Steve Waterhouse, President of Predictive Results.

If you think the Predictive Index® process would help your company, please contact us for a demonstration. We can be reached at 904-269-2299 x102 or steve@predictiveresults.com

Nancy Martini is creator of Customer-Focused Selling™

Customer-Focused Selling™ (CFS) is an effective, sales training program that provides all the core competencies needed for effective consultative selling—with special emphasis on the particular areas shown by the Selling Skills Assessment Tool™ (SSAT) to need improvement. In a highly interactive, adult learning format, CFS delivers the specific knowledge your team needs to consistently achieve better sales results. The training is designed to be used every day, not memorized. Participants come away from the workshop ready to apply the new learning to their own customers and prospects. For larger sales forces, CFS is available in a comprehensive, certified Train-the-Trainer format which brings delivery and reinforcement in-house, and customizes the training to exactly reflect your business environment.

Looking for improved sales performance? Contact us today at info@predictiveresults.com or 904-269-2299

1. Learn a little about each person on your team. Do they like movies, music, plays or skiing? Look for opportunities to reward them with something that represents their interest. You will be saying that you appreciate what they did and that you are thinking of them as an individual, not just a number.

2. Thank their spouse. One of my CEO’s send a card to my wife with an note that said, “Thank you for doing without Steve during the past few weeks. The work he was doing was important to us and I appreciate your sacrifice and understanding.”  It worked!

3. Reward progress. Too often we wait to reward the final sale or reaching the quote and people get burned out on the way. Reward small actions that lead the way and you’ll keep them fired up for the long haul.

4. Tell everyone. While some people like their rewards in private, others are motivated by the knowledge that others know what they did. Find opportunities to thank them publicly. Company newsletters and local press releases work very well for this.

5. Get in the game. When the boss gets in the game, it makes it more fun for all. Promise to do something crazy or distasteful if they win the contest. The more public the better. This is a good time to call the press!

6. Pit teams against each other. Personal rivalries only go so far, but team rivalries have special value. Every member of the team will work to help the others do their part. In the end, you will create a self-motivating team.
7. Don’t make the reward too big. Some companies feel that the bigger the prize the better, but I have seen this backfire when sales people realize that they can’t reach the goal and it means 50% of their annual pay is on the line.
8. Sooner is better than later. Contests that pay out at the end of the year can create year-end blitzes or slackers depending on where they are in the fourth quarter. Try a quarterly contest to keep their eye on the ball all year long.
9. Ask them! For a change of pace, let your sales people develop a contest. You’ll be amazed at how hard they work at their own game.
10. Watch yourself, they do. Keeping people motivated is often as simple as staying motivated yourself. If you are down or negative about the market or company, they will follow your lead. The opposite is also true. Smile and the world smiles with you!

Tough times mean long hours for understaffed companies. They mean that employees are not doing what they were hired to do, but what is needed. The result is often a pent-up desire to move on a find a new opportunity. We work with enough companies to know that many managers are totally unaware of the level of dissatisfaction in their ranks. We can see it in the Predictive Index® reports we get from their employees. There is trouble brewing in many companies today.

The good news is that there is time to fix it. There is time to meet with your key people and talk honestly with them about the burden they have shouldered over the last few years and how much you appreciate it. Ask them how they would like their job changed as the economy improves. Make plans to make small positive adjustments now and more in the future. Your key people need to know that you know how tough it has been and that you are not going to continue the status quo forever. They are hearing on the news the companies have learned how to operate leaner and that they will not be rehiring as the economy improves. You need to set the record straight and turn on the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it is a small light.

Communicating is the key to understanding the needs of your people and determining what will keep them happy. Do it now while there is time and you'll be the company that benefits from the recovery, rather than the one that is devastated by it.

There a number of critical elements for recruiting and selecting a sales person to impact the likelihood of success on the job, they include:

1. Analyze the Job. Prior to recruiting, take the extra step to sit back and analyze the role thoroughly. Well beyond a job description, a robust job analysis tool can help you look at the behavioral requirements of a specific position. Armed with the right analysis, you now have a solid “target” to aim your recruiting efforts.
2. Assess Candidates. Once you have a stream of candidates, screen them with a defined hiring process. Typical processes include: collecting resumes, rank ordering based on interest and conducting a telephone screen. If they pass the first few gates, go ahead and administer a behavioral assessment. Along with other key criteria such as education, experience and background, behavioral assessment data provides a scientific element to the mix. The complete picture gives you an accurate view to select which candidates you want to interview.
3. Determine Job Fit. Once you have your final group identified, conduct a fit/gap analysis between the role and the candidates. A validated and reliable behavioral assessment allows you leverage the power of science to predict the success of the sales reps. You are not after a “perfect fit” which could be looking for a needle in a haystack, you’re looking to make a fact-based informed decision to find the best sales rep for your role. Conduct interviews that help confirm the “fits” and give you evidence that the candidate can bridge their “gaps”.

Armed with these three key elements, you’ll increase your hiring accuracy, reduce your turnover, and enjoy the outcome of a producing sales rep!

Nancy Martini, President and CEO of PI Worldwide discusses The Four Keys to Sales Success in the SellingPower.com video. Nancy is also the author of two books on selling, the Customer-Focused Selling™ sales training program and the Sales Skills Assessment Tools™ sales assessment. We offer these programs and assessments in combination with the Predictive Index® assessment to give sales executives a powerful set of tools to grow their sales.

Selling Power Magazine explores the infamously expensive cost of employee turnover and how sales teams are remaining more or less intact, even in highly competitive industries.

Are great salespeople born, or made? With today’s advanced scientific sales analytics and measurement tools, sales managers can actually find out.

PI Worldwide President & CEO, Nancy Martini, shares with SellingPower® Magazine her insights on how the information provided by the combination of behavioral and skills assessments gives sales leaders a new ways to tackle 3 timeless sales-management challenges: hiring, motivation and retention. Read the full blog post here.