Good morning, five o’clock on the east coast, brandon hardison president of champion strategies, glad to be with you for this edition of partisan’s tips.
Glad you can make it this morning early, so we’re not going to keep you let’s get right into it.
So today we’re going to be talking about understanding and guiding effectively, as leaders are sales people through a process.
You know it and i know it, but all too often sales people are directed by the urgencies of the moment.
In other words, they come out of a meeting or a manager has them in the office uh getting down on them.
A lead pops up and a customer calls with the problem or there’s some paperwork that needs to be met and turned in at the office.
But they’re always finding themselves pursuing an agenda, that’s created by other people, they’re too busy too often doing the wrong things.
The best salespeople, however, understand that sales happens as a result of methodical and managing people.
As a team with well defined steps in a process, they have refined being the organization the process to a sense that it works consistently, didn’t, say, a hundred percent for that particular organization.
So if you’re a leader out there, a new manager, maybe you need to be listening in just like some of the sales people.
So what is the first step? Let’s engage with the right people, so what does that mean? That means your job, our job, let’s bring in the right person that fits the team.
This engaging has to be consistent, so i need a team member that can be face to face doing handling, respecting our processes, whether it’s face to face on the phone email website.
These are the right people that you need for your team.
It’s your job, not to rush through an interview but get the right person that you know you can put your arms around and coach them successfully to the process that you want them to know, step two.
How about making them feel comfortable well comfortable? I don’t know what you mean because we’re in a busy we’re always hearing up, there’s always meetings.
Oem always needs something but you’re the leader.
The salespeople made a career change.
Let me ask you this: are we having daily one-on-ones, whether it’s before middle or the end of the shift? Are you taking the time to sit them down and say hey? How was your day? What can i do to move you forward so you’re, more comfortable with that part of the process or hey? I noticed you with that guest out there you, you you’re catching on, but here’s what we want to do next time, let’s carve out sometime tomorrow, or maybe they have a day off the next day, and this is what we’re going to concentrate on and that’s where You’re going to show them what you want as far as mastering that process, explaining the way why that process is in there having them do it, so you can analyze where they’re still missing it.
Do it again for them, but be a coach, make them comfortable with the process? Then then, they’ll start to believe in the concept of the process and they’ll start following because they’ll see the benefit of the process.
Another thing: how about finding out what they want? Being the sales person many times, sales people are left on the floor.
There don’t know where to go.
They try to naturally huddle to what they think would be the best interest, and usually you know it’s the wrong people that are wrong.
These people that they’re around are going to give them everything under the sun.
That is wrong to do because they do not want them on the floor.
That’s right! It is a competition.
They look at this as another person that’s going to be taking and up an opportunity, one of their customers skating, whatever you want to look at so find a way to get them away from that group or there’s some other newer people that they can work with, And learn from together will they feel more comfortable because they’ll be focused everything that comes before them being new and they need to understand step by step on that process.
It reflects back to you on the manager.
Remember they made a career change based on what you said you were going to do for them, so they can see some success.
Another thing how about showing them? How that’s the key word showing them, how you have them to move forward? In other words, paperwork plenty of times: yes, you have a check sheet the deal as far as the presentation of the pencil has been solidified.
Now we have a deal jacket and all this paperwork needs to be done.
You’re trying to move as quick as you can.
As a manager, because you got two or three other people that you’re working with, but if you don’t slow it down and explain why this purple paperwork must be done in order for them to check it off.
In order for you to do your job before it goes to the business office, we all lose if you do not want to help them they’re going to do it the wrong way continuously over and over again – and we know what happens when they continue to do.
The wrong thing over and over again lack of confidence not seeing that this career change is for them and before you know it, they start doing things where we have to write them up or eventually we’ll never hear from them again.
Another thing that happens is we need to gain an agreement on a next step, whether it’s you coaching them, whether it’s them leading a group sit them down, be fair about it.
Ask them if they would be willing to do a walk around on this particular product and here’s why i’ve been watching you, and i see that you have this command present, so your product knowledge is a little bit more superior than some of the other ones.
Would you be willing to do this, so i can evaluate you with the team right gain, an agreement on the next step that you want to do with this sales person.
Believe me, it will help the sales personnel a lot.
It will help you out a lot as really a leader and a coach, not that hard, because without an agreement we already know that that part of the process is going to be a waste of time, and you know as well as i do they’re going to Be out on their phones, they’re going to be playing games, they’re going to be one of the lost sheep that we’re trying to now replace because they’re not pulling their weight.
How about following up on transactions? In other words, you help them through a deal.
Someone else helped them do a deal, they split a deal, but let’s look at the crm.
What are the notes saying? Is there anything to follow up on that makes sense? If you do not have an crm specialist at your team, someone that’s helping with them sure it falls on your plate, but we need to get them to understand that these notes that go into the crm not only help you out to secure more business.
From that same person, their friends, their family members, but it helps the dealership out in general if we have a person that comes to another one of your dealerships.
If you have multiple dealerships because we can bring it up and all the information is in there.
But once again, it is your job to do all of these things.
Here’s the thing that i will end with the best sales people anywhere that i know were built to be effective sales people.
Now you may have heard the adage that sales people are strange people and they are different and unique, no with practice with practice, with coaching with leadership by staying on them by patting them on the back by making sure, especially in that first 30, 60 90 days.
If you really do the right job with that person, yeah now, you’re gon na have a superstar and that’s what we need in this industry.
That’s what the consumers are begging for in this industry.
I don’t know the last time you sent one of your newer sales.
People right when they came here and you presented your processes and how you want them to deal with the customer, send them out mystery shopping in your community and let them see what your other brothers and sisters because we’re all a family in this.
Let them see what customers go through at your competition that will sink in their head, so they know when they have an opportunity face to face on the phone.
If you do distance deliveries with that, i need to do it differently, because i don’t want to be treated the way.
I saw that during mystery shopping – hey if some of this makes sense outstanding once again, brandon hardison for good old partisans tips, letting you know 12 o’clock we’ll be back with our live guest, john fairchild and we’ll be talking about fixed operations in the meantime, as always In party make it a champion day, .
