Sales Management Pitfalls
- Sanjaya Hasthak
- Jun 3, 2015
- 3 min read
Give a quick check if you display or observe these :
1. Decisions influenced by ego and personal perceptions, resulting in a sense of comfort - although this isn't inherently problematic, it's important to begin posing challenging questions and using clinical measurements to determine if you are truly achieving intended results and progressing toward goals. Often, we are unaware of our own self-deception!
2. Merely stating performance expectations and setting result parameters without plans or backup will not lead to anything meaningful and will not endure. There is no greatness or appeal in knowing the 'end' without understanding the 'how'! Very often you hear - "I don't know how you will do it, but I want it done that way". That kind of bravado is outdated! Have you also heard - "do something; I don't care what"? There is no aggressive brilliance in that! It reeks of ignorance.
(Actually, the 'do something' on its own is a great opportunity for every salesman and executor to improvise... but the 'I don't care' footnote is a precursor to how the energy can get killed soon enough, any which way it is driven!)
3. As you embark on the journey and typically observe the execution of a plan on-the-go, there's a tendency to abandon the fundamental principles and stray from the objectives from time to time. It is common to 'adjust' and be flexible in individual transactions to such an extent that you and your team lose sight of the objectives. The goals become scattered, and teams begin to shift the goalposts to the point of meaninglessness.
I have seen many managers call this by fancy terms, which somehow makes it all right or seem acceptable! Mere pitch statements do not help you to retain momentum for long enough to reach the next cycle! Nobody said you should not have the quarterly pitch as long as you keep it as part of the overall plan & targets.
4. Are you calibrating all necessary tasks and activities within the Sales Engine? Has it been systematically mapped & detailed? The answer is usually - yes, of course! Have you practically assessed if all elements are being addressed, and do you have a validation of this? Have you benchmarked the system's outcomes at each stage against expectations or peers? Is there an individual capacity to handle challenging questions that reveal the fundamental units of existence, for each step & effort?
5. Occasionally rewards are doled out despite not being qualified for it. While this is a seemingly smart move for that instance to get over the sticky situation, it sets a whole chain of undesirable reaction which will reverberate in many cycles of business thereafter.
If your incentives and commissions are not yielding the results, it could be that you are measuring the wrong performance indicators and pushing ineffective plan areas to achieve your goals. Another common practice which leads to above situation is when you confuse a rigid approach to tasks & plan areas with the essential aspect of measuring results to rewards. The two elements are not interchangeable and are to be pursued with diligence, at all times.
Finding the easiest solution to these problems isn't always an effective plan; And implementing it doesn't have to be challenging either!
Sanjaya Hasthak
(SBS Dimensions - India)
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