Becoming a supersales chief

By Bill Blades William Blades. LLC Gold Canyon, Az.

* Sales meetings should have several goals. First, that it will be the best sales meeting the organization has ever experienced. The next meeting, however, should then be the best one ever, and so on. Making every sales meeting the best one is a tall order, but it is a responsibility nevertheless.

Charge the meeting with energy and activity. Create a fun environment so individuals look forward to coming. Provide training that is practical and targeted to the group's needs. An abundance of product training does not turn an average performer into a great performer. Sales training is the priority, followed by product training. The v.p. must hold the group accountable for what they learned at the meeting. If not, many people will go into the field with old skills and habits. Monitor, monitor, monitor.

* Coaching is more important than training. because a one-on-one session is targeted only for the one individual you are meeting with. Salespeople are like thumbprints-no two are identical. Each has different skills and areas for improvement.

Don't rush your one-on-one sessions. Your people want to know that you care about them and they want to be listened to. If you have recruited the best sales force possible, get ready to give them your best coaching.

* Target Accounts are major clients you want to land, those with whom you want to increase your volume and those who you never want to

Iose. You must invest adequate time with these clients.

Work on delegating tasks that consume your time so that it can be invested into major salespeople who handle major clients. When delegating, think of little things that can help you pick up an extra five minutes a day. If you just gain five minutes daily, that is 20.5 hours annually! Then find another five-minute time waster and you now have saved 10 minutes daily or 4l hours annually. Work towards being the ultimate delegator, which would be to assign someone to sit in for you in the dentist's chair. When you get that good, call and tell me how you pulled it off.

* Elevste expectations of every individual because everyone can get better. When you invest in training and coaching, always assign new skills and ideas for the individual to act on. Otherwise, your training dollars and time will be wasted.

Think about what each person needs to improve upon and assign two to six specific challenges you will ask/demand that he act on. Think of the following areas for each salesperson: organization, prospecting, time utilization, planning, presentations skills and closing techniques.

If the v.p. is dedicated to personal improvement, he's earned the right to ask everyone else to get better. Don't ask others to do what you won't.

* Motivation is critical for a sales group. They want to work for a leader, not a boss.

Bill Blades, CMC, CPS, is a professional speaker and consultant specializing in sales and leadership issues. He can be reached at 480) 671 -3000.

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