What helps people move from being average to being great? What’s the mindset difference?
Marty Park believes that if you’re the business owner doubling as the sales manager and you have a team of 10 people, you’ll likely have two that kill it. They’re the ones that love cold-calling. They love being rejected because it brings them one step closer to a sale. They are enthusiastic about selling.
He firmly believes the two lowest performers should be fired. Why? They’re likely not interested in changing and are full of excuses. They play the blame game. They won’t adopt any magic formula. The bottom line is that they’re costing the business time and money.
How to help the average perform better
Marty notes that the big piece is the six people left in the middle. They may be dealing with head trash and have a negative connotation of their jobs. They may need some structure and tools. They may need to craft their scripting. They have to look at their mindset and make sure they’re not uncomfortable with their product. They also need to be comfortable with the sales profession. They have to recognize that there is nobility to what they’re doing.
If you give them structure and provide accountability and measurement, those six people can shift toward the top 20%. They are the ones that change an organization. Now you’ll have eight salespeople that are really producing.
Don’t neglect your Sales Managers
The top salesperson is often promoted to management and doesn’t know what they’re doing because it’s a totally different function. They don’t know how to strategize and work with their salespeople. So after reforming salespeople, you need to focus on motivating your sales management.
Marty’s grandfather spent ten years as a salesperson and felt like he mastered it. Then he got promoted to sales manager. After ten years, he felt he was finally getting the hang of it—then he got promoted to general manager. He was just getting the hang of that, and then he retired. People get promoted to their level of incompetence.
Dedicate yourself to the role of sales
Business owners have to be the president, expert, salesperson, and sales manager. That’s why entrepreneurship is so challenging. Nothing else forces you to be capable in four different roles in your business. There’s a level of dedication required to learning the skill of sales.
You are well recognized as an expert in your field. How did you get there? You developed excellence because you dedicated yourself to it. Other parts of the business are no different. You have to develop your skills. There are many times you have to fulfill different roles before you can scale and hire.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this, focus on building excellence in different skillsets. If you need help getting to the next level, find a business coach. It’s the best decision I’ve made for my businesses. Read the books, get the coaching, do the training.
Want to learn more? Check out episode #254 of the Negotiations Ninja podcast!