Leadership
Assertiveness Steps
•
Describe what you see going on
•
“
We agreed you’d make 16 calls per week. You’re averaging
11.”
•
Describe how you feel about what is going on
Leadership
Assertiveness Steps
•
Be precise in the change you want
“
One more time. I expect you to do what we’ve agreed on: an
average of 16 calls per week.”
•
Mention the benefit of the change to the other
person
Leadership
Coaching
Situation
Important Points
Prior
1. Who is being called on?
to
2. What happened last time?
Sales
3. Objective of call?
Call
4. Objections may arise?
5. How to handle objections?
6. Who are key players?
Leadership
Coaching
Situation Important Points
During the
1. Let salesperson control call.
Sales Call 2. Answer necessary questions briefly.
After
1. Ask for self-evaluation.
a 2. Reinforce positive behavior.
Figure 12-1: Leadership Skills
Value congruence
Self-understanding
Intuition Empowerment
Vision
Leadership
Harassment Suggestions
1. Conduct yourself professionally.
2. Dress appropriately.
3. Be cautious when drinking at business
functions.
4. Don’t listen to sob stories.
Leadership
In-Class Exercise 12-1
1. How big is the problem with Xavier? What are
contingency factors?
2. How will your actions and Xavier’s affect the
rest of the salespeople?
3. Any problems with how the meeting with Xavier
began?
Leadership
In-Class Exercise 12-1
5. Who should own the territory -- the salesperson or
the company?
6. How do you handle a veteran salesperson who
believes they know more about selling their
territory than you (the sales manager)?
Leadership Factors in Sales Management
Salesaperson’s behavior Salesperson Professional maturity Needs GoalsRelationship with manager
Sales Team Activites Interaction Norms Sentiments Situation Task structure Time pressure External system
Skills Power Styles
Empowerment Vision Legitimate Directing
Intuition Value Congruence Coercive Coaching
Self-understanding Referent Supporting
Expert Delegating
Leadership
Leadership Scenarios
•
“Having a Little Chat” (12-2)
How could this session have been
improved?
•
“Customer Abuse” (12-3)
What is your reaction?
Leadership
Responsiveness Steps
•
What does the other person see going on?
“Yes, I know I’m not making the 16 calls.”
•
How does the person feel about it?
Leadership
Responsiveness Steps
•
What change does the other person desire in
you?
“I don’t call you unless the problem is very serious. So I would
like you to get back to me when I’ve got a problem that I
think it serious enough to bother you with.”
•
What are the benefits of the change for the
other person?
Leadership
Responsiveness
How would you respond?
“I know I haven’t brought in enough new business, but you
must understand that my wife is not herself. I have a lot of
problems.”
Solution:
–
Your concern is not what the problems are.
–
Be straight and reply:
“I’m sorry about your problems, but I have a problem:
our agreement. I want to know how we deal with that?’
DECISION OPTIONS
“Hot Shot”
1) Make a sincere promise to Hot Shot that she will get the next manager's spot that opens.
2) To give Hot Shot more recognition you send her and her husband to the national sales convention with the company picking up the tab.
3) Do not let the other salespeople think you give into ultimatums. You consider the letter as a letter of resignation and let Hot Shot go.
PROS & CONS
HOT SHOT
1) Hot Shot has every reason to take your promise seriously a problem that arises if at the time a position opens you think another member of the sales team is better suited for the job.
2) Some will consider this “industry bribery”. Hot Shot could construe this to be an insult since she clearly stated that she was happy with the money and benefits she was already receiving.
3) A good sales manager is as hard to find if not harder to find than a good sales representative. If you allow Hot Shot to leave, one of your
competitors will doubtless hire her immediately, leaving you with a stronger competitor and a weaker sales team.
“Jose Guerrilla”
You are the boss with the title, rank, experience,and all the
accountability that comes with the job. You have the feeling that your salespeople are not following many of your orders. You wonder if you are becoming paranoid. Although you are the formal leader, an informal leader has emerged. It’s Jose Guerrilla.
Deliberately or not, he has become influential, even playing amore dominant role than you. Jose is one of your top salespeople, but is
behaving like an underground rebel. The group’s overall performance is quickly dropping. Is there a connection?
Leadership
Termination Suggestions
• Establish a paper trail.
• Reasons for termination should be specifically
spelled out.
• When possible, offer an attractive severance
package and outplacement services.
• The firing session should be brief.
“HAVING A LITTLE CHAT”
“Jennifer, I thought we’d have a little chat. I don’t get the pleasure of just talking with you very often. I guess we just tend to spend most of our time on our problems. Good people like you tend to be taken for granted. This is your sixth year with us, right? I wanted to let you know that it has been a pleasure
working with you over that time. Incidentally, I was a little surprised to hear that some of your customer
“HAVING A LITTLE CHAT”
Figure 12-2: Four Leadership Styles
Supporting Selling
Telling Delegating
Directive behavior
Su
pp
or
ti
ve
b
eh
av
io
r
Low
Low High
“CUSTOMER ABUSE”
One day in the office, you overhear one of your salespeople being loudly abusive to a customer over the phone. Right after he slams the phone down, you mention: “That was a pretty heated exchange. Sounds to me as if you lost it.”
“Well, she’s a pain. She’s always complaining about one thing or the other, none of which is
important and often not true. On top of it all, she’s rude.”
“CUSTOMER ABUSE”
“She won’t.”
“That’s not the point. We don’t get nasty with customers. Next time that happens, and you start
Figure 12-4: Internal Systems of a Group
Activities
Norms Interactions
DECISION OPTIONS
Jose Guerrilla
1) Get the group together and remind them that you are the boss. Tell them like it or not the ignoring of your orders must and will stop.
2) Take Jose aside and tell him you “appreciate” the “help” in managing the group. Tell Jose that by pulling together, you can make the
situation work out right for everyone.
3) Let nature take its course. Sit back and let Jose make a big mistake that will cause him to lose favor with the group.
4) Take time to get to know Jose. When you know his career objectives you will probably find that he is not after your job. Use Jose to make your communications between yourself and the group more efficient.
PROS & CONS
JOSE GUERRILLA
1) Appeals to the authoritarian manager but disregards the possibility that the problem is that your interpersonal communication skills are to
blame.
2) Jose may not admit to being the guerrilla, but if he does and accepts the bribe that you offer, the possibility that another member of the group will assume the role cannot be ruled out.
3) Highly risky and puts your rear in the frying pan as well as Jose’s.
4) Jose could become a valuable link between you and your team and possibly help you define interpersonal problems and help you suggest possible solutions.
Suggestions for Coaching Salespeople
1. Instead of criticizing them, repeatedly tell salespeople what you like about their performance.
2. Help salespeople improve by giving them “how to” advice.
3. Insist that salespeople evaluate themselves in order to develop their evaluative abilities regarding their own work habits and performance.
4. Ask questions to ensure that the salesperson is actively involved.
5. Make the most of resources that are available to you, such as special training materials and so on.
6. An agreement between you and the salesperson should be arrived at regarding corrective actions to be taken.
Table 12-2 Sales Managers’ Rankings of the Causes of Plateauing Among Salespeople
Mostly Mostly Salary Commission Overall Men Women Only Only
No clear career path 1 1 2 1 4
Not managed adequately 2 2 4 3 1
Bored 3 3 3 2 5
Burned out 4 5 1 5 2
Economic needs met 5 4 7 6 3
Discouraged with company 6 6 5 4 6
Overlooked for promotion 7 7 6 7 8
Lack of ability 8 8 9 8 7
Avoiding risk of management job 9 9 10 10 9
“Hot Shot”
When asked the question, “Are you a winner?” Hot Shot answers, “Well, how did you know?” When dealing with this type of personality it is best to keep a cool head.
Although she is a top salesperson, meeting or beating quotas, she is clearly a victim of tunnel vision. High productivity is a great asset to have in an employee, but she believes that this asset alone is reason for a managerial position.
Hot Shot has heard an incorrect rumor that a district sales manager position is opening and believes that she deserves the job. She shows no tact in letting everyone know her feelings. History has shown that although she is an excellent salesperson, she is quite a loner. In your opinion she isn’t ready for a job with the responsibilities of a district sales manager. You have a
“Hot Shot”
There is not need to change your style now, but you have just received a letter from Hot Shot. She is very direct and states, “I have worked long and hard for this company and have always been the top salesperson. I have no complaints at all about salary, or the commission and bonus plans. I want you to recognize that I feel I am totally ready for a sales manager’s job, the next one that opens up. It is important for me to tell you that if this
company cannot use my talents, I have only one choice to make. What say?”
Table 12-3 Women in Sales: Percentages by Industry
Percent of Women Industry In Sales Force
Business services 33.2
Chemicals 5.9
Communications 50.9
Electronics 35.0
Fabricated metals 7.3
Food products 24.9
Instruments 35.0
Insurance 28.5
Miscellaneous manufacturing 22.7
Office equipment 33.9
Printing/publishing 39.4
Retail 32.2
Rubber/plastics 26.9
Utilities 20.2
Wholesale (consumer) 19.7
Wholesale (industrial) 30.9
