Identifying your best sales people and finding the biggest nuts in a can of mixed nuts may require the same process. According to my daughter's most recent bottle cap of raspberry tea from Snapple, all you have to do to get to the large nuts in a can of mixed nuts is shake the can. The larger nuts will rise to the top. Not to place all the credibility on the bottle cap, I also found that Roy Chitwood takes the same perspective relative to great sales people and service. Those that do rise to the top and those that don't become unemployed.
Three years ago, we took on a very large account and the first thing we did, same as we always do, is assess the group using the Objective Management Group Overview and Sales Assessments. Aside from assessing the systems and processes that support selling, we also assessed the sales management team. The specific results of the assessments I cannot discuss, but the results of the 'shake up' I can discuss. What happened as a result of the assessing, the delivery of the findings, and the ultimate implementation of our Sales Managed Environment program is consistent with what normally happens when companies decide that something has to change. Just go to Price Pritchett's web site on change and you will find volumes of information on change and change management. In summary: some people are ecstatic (the executives who approved the program), some people are worried, (those not performing), and others are eager to take on the challenges brought on by the findings.
You can probably guess the long term impact:
The executives get concerned when some people begin to rebel.
Those that were eager continue to learn and be leaders in the organization.
Those that were worried and rebelled either eventually understood the findings to be true or continued to fight the process, lost the battle and then had to find alternative employment somewhere else.
Time and time again we find that, when you shake up an organization, it becomes really easy to identify your really great sales people, those people that can be really great and want to get there, and those that have been retired and just didn't tell anyone.
If you are in a sales executive role, shake up your group. If you are a highly successful, great sales person, continue your own version of shaking up the norm. If you are underperforming and hiding, you may want to shake off the cobwebs and get yourself in gear or you may find yourself looking for alternative employment.
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Determine if you should assess your salespeople!