Sales Management Tips: 2 Steps for Sales Managers to Reduce Frustration

Do you ever get frustrated when you have an important issue you need resolved, but your boss doesn’t give the issue the same level of importance and attention that you believe it deserves? How do you get their attention without coming accross as a nag  or a pest?

During a recent one on one sales manager coaching session, Sonia, a senior sales manager with a highly reputed wholesaler tells me : ” I am struggling to get my boss (National sales manager) and the head of marketing into the same room to discuss pricing of a new shipment of product that myself and my team are already selling to retailers.”

“This is a major priority for me and my team but it’s not high on my boss or marketing’s agenda…obviously! But we will lose sales because even though the retailers love the new product, they can’t order because we haven’t got a price for them. Sounds ridiculous I know , I just don’t get why they can’t see it! What irritates me is that I am beginning to sound like a nag because every other day I have sent emails requesting a meeting and they just won’t commit. I have tried co-ordinating a meeting. I have popped into their offices to try and schedule a meeting. How hard can it be to get them both in a room at the same time? Don’t they get that we’ will lose sales?“

Can you feel Sonia’s frustration?

Read this blog post where I coach this senior sales manger through the 2 steps you too can take to reduce your frustration and get your agenda items the air-time they require. By the way these same 2 steps can be applied to you and your sales people.

The meaning of the communication is the response it elicits.

 

There is a saying in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) that says whether we are communicating face-to-face, over the phone, over the boardroom table, by email, or in writing. The meaning of the communication is the response it elicits. In other words , the meaning of our communication is not what we think it means, rather, it’s in the response we get from the other person. So if you are not eliciting the response you are looking for, you have to look at your own messaging first. If I called your mobile phone and got the last digit of your phone number wrong, it wouldn’t matter how many times I called you….I just wouldn’t get through! The same is true with your communication. If you’re not getting through, you may be dialling the wrong number!

The first thing I had to help Sonia to “get” was that her failure to get both her boss and the head of marketing into the same room to discuss pricing was a result of her being unable to communicate the importance of the need to meet. Before we could go anywhere I had to get her to own her communication. Isn’t this the same issue you face with your sales people? Getting them to own their results.

Ok so now on to the two steps we came up with during our one on one session.

The 2 Steps to Getting your Boss’s Attention

The 2 steps are:

1. Quantify the problem
2. Ask for small commitments

1. Quantify the problem

In business we have been conditioned to focus our attention on “the numbers”. Numbers get attention! Numbers focus the mind.  I asked Sonia, “What was the evidence that she and her team would lose sales because she didn’t have a price for them?” To this she responded with a previous product launch whereby because of a lack of pricing on the day of presentation the sales team had lost $80K worth of orders from 2 particular customers who bought elsewhere. My next question  to her was “Can you prove that those sales were lost as a result of a lack of pricing detail?”

“Oh yes“, she exclaimed, “We received their order cancellations with lack of pricing stated as the reason for the cancellation!”

“Ok,” I asked, “How can you use that example of cancelled orders to prompt your boss and marketing to get together for a pricing meeting?”

Sonia determined that she would send them both an email citing the previous  lost orders and their amounts. She would also raise the 6 or 7 potential orders, that the team had taken, which were at risk of being cancelled, as a key point of leverage to push for a meeting urgently.

2. Ask for small commitments

“How much time do you need to get the pricing thing worked out?” I asked Sonia

“Probably half a day” she responded.

One of the main reasons why her boss and marketing were struggling to match diaries was because of the time commitment being asked for. Today busy executive are extremely time poor. Asking for half a day, even though that’s what it would take to figure out and agree on the pricing, was just too much of a time commitment.

“Could you figure out a way to get them both in the same room for 20 minutes or half an hour? How long would it take you to get that meeting set up? ” I asked. “That shouldn’t take long. I reckon I can get that done within the next few days, assuming they are both in town.” she responded.

“Ok so what can you achieve with them both in the room at the same time?” I prompted.

“Well at the very least I can get them to commit and agree on a date to thrash out the pricing issue.” Sonia paused thinking.”I could probably also prepare some preliminary pricing structures and other criterion for them to take into consideration as homework for them to do prior to the next meeting too.“

“Great” I said, “Assuming both your boss and the marketing manager did your “homework”, how much time would that save during the pricing discussions?“

“I reckon that if they really gave the pre-work that I will put together some quality thought, I believe we should be able to knock this pricing thing over in a couple of hours.”

” Great! Could you push it to 90 minutes?” I asked. Sonia considered my question and then said, “Probably- if they really did their pre work ahead of time“

“Well that’s great” I responded, “Because asking for 90 minutes is a much easier sale than asking for half a day isn’t it? Sonia nodded in affirmation.

The Wrap Up

“So what now?“ I asked her. “What’s your where to from here?“

“Well, there are 3 things I need to do. Firstly, put together the email citing the potential risk of our current orders being cancelled based on past history. I need to state the facts and provide the evidence quantifying my concerns. Then secondly I will ask for a 20 minute meeting with both of them in the next week or so. I’ll do this in the email and follow it up with a phone call. Finally, thirdly at the 20 minute meeting I will close for a 90 minute discussion and provide them with the pre- discussion paperwork so they can do their homework before we meet.” Sonia laid out her plan.

“Terrific” I responded. “So what’s the lesson here?”

“There are a few” answered Sonia. “One, I need to own my communication and if I am not getting the effect I want, then look at how I am currently presenting and change my strategy till I get my message across. Two, I need to quantify problems and concerns to get people to take notice. I can talk about wanting to lose weight all day, but only when I climb on the scale am I motivated to take action.” She paused to think, “And three, I need to ask for an easily agreed to first step. That way I get an initial commitment and can keep the ball rolling from there.“

Before I could respond Sonia said, ” Actually there is a number four too. I realised that with a little thought and planning I can reduce the amount of time that something should take. As in creating a pre-work structure that will shorten the pricing meeting from a half day to only 90 minutes. And the side benefit of all of this, besides getting my pricing, is that I will come off looking really professional in the eyes of my boss“

“I guess that’s a win-win for all then isn’t it?” I nodded.

What will you do?

How and where can you apply this simple 2 step formula?

• · Are you and your sales people taking responsibility for the results of their communication?

• · Can you quantify your requests and concerns ?

• · Can you find a way to ask for something small that will get the process underway

Leave me a comment and let me know some of the roadblocks you are facing. Maybe I can help you too.

Ian

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