How to become more consistent in sales

Published: Wed, 01/18/23

January 18, 2023

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning. If it’s any consolation, we’re about a third of the way through winter, and just over a sixth of the way through Q1, which means you still have time to build up that pipeline! In this week’s issue of The Quota, we’ll take a look at how sales managers can motivate top performers when they’re unable to promote them, share a Sales Fail from a buyer’s perspective, and give some advice to a rep who wants to be more consistent. Let’s go.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

The average salesperson’s close rate is less than 20%.

Source: HubSpot

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

In a sign of the current slowdown, Google Cloud’s top sales executive in the Americas, Kirsten Kliphouse, has left the company, according to a recent report in Reuters. The shakeup comes as growth in the cloud software and services industry has slowed. You can read the full report here.
A former Herman Miller sales executive who spend decades selling the iconic furniture-maker’s products found that retirement was too boring for him, so, at 65 years old, he decided to go back into business, this time keeping the types of furniture he used to sell out landfills. It’s a nice salesman's life story that you can read here.

FEATURE

Sergey Nivens/shutterstock.com

How to motivate high performers when you can’t promote them, according to the Harvard Business Review

Unfortunately, there are probably more qualified sales reps than there are high-powered sales jobs to go around. This means that promotions to reward top performers aren’t always feasible, at least in the short term. It’s no wonder then that a recent survey from McKinsey found that lack of opportunities for advancement was the number one reason why participants said they had left their old jobs.

Sometimes managers do want to promote certain employees, but employees may either lack specific skills that are necessary for sales management, or there aren’t enough sales manager positions to accommodate everyone.

But what do employees really want when they say they want a promotion? Knowing how employees see themselves at the company and what they really want out of their job can help managers who want to retain top talent but don’t have enough coveted titles to go around.

Employees who desire a promotion usually want some combination of the benefits below:

Workplace status
Occupational status
A public form of reward
A greater scope of responsibilities
A greater scope of influence within the department or organization
A perceived opportunity for greater impact on broader outcomes
An opportunity to manage direct reports
Better salary/benefits/comp plan

For higher pay

When sales managers understand why employees are looking for promotions, they may be able to provide some of those benefits without a technical change of title or position. For example, higher pay is frequently the primary motivator for many employees. A more competitive comp plan or bigger holiday bonus could assuage employees who remain in their current positions.

For greater influence

What if an employee wants more influence over accounts or systems in the workplace? Are there meetings your employee can sit in on or steering committees they can join to have more of a voice in the company?

For public recognition

Maybe your employee wants to be publicly appreciated for the work they’re doing. “Sales rep of the month” or other similar systems for recognizing high achievers at a company can go a long way toward making employees feel like their work matters.

For managing people

Maybe an employee is really good at leading and managing people even if they’re not in an official management position. Make them an informal co-lead of a team, give them an opportunity to coach newer employees/interns, or let them shadow a manager for a day to glimpse the workings of the role.

Remain Realistic

Don’t expect employees to be satisfied with these smaller solutions forever. They will expect to be promoted eventually, and if not, as the McKinsey survey notes, they’ll likely seek employment elsewhere. Always be transparent about the possibilities of promotion whether or not it’s what the employee wants to hear. Ideally, managers should simultaneously be advocating for the advancement of the employees they are helping out in the short-term.

Listen Closely and Deeply

Understanding what employees really want from their workplaces and their careers is always a good thing, as it helps managers invest the right resources in their employees. Managers should aim to become partners, rather than rulers, when it comes to career advancement for their employees.

PUT YOURSELF INTO A WINNING MINDSET

You know that feeling when you're absolutely sure you're going to close a deal, or you know you're about to kill it in a meeting?

Preset is a new app that teaches you how to get into that mindset whenever you want, so you can get yourself pumped up to prospect, get over rejection faster, and close more deals!

We love all of our partners, but we’re particularly excited to tell you about Preset because they are the first company in the space to rely on cutting-edge research that explains how you can become a better version of yourself.

Put simply, Preset is a fun and easy way to do performance psychology training – in 90 seconds a day. Their coaches show you how people like Bad Bunny, Serena Williams, and Dolly Parton get themselves mentally ready to succeed, then give you simple things you can do to turn that mindset into a lasting habit that improves your chances of success.

They’ve made a special free trial link that gives you access to their full library for two weeks. After that, there’s an annual fee similar to some of the meditation apps you’ve tried before. Start training your mindset here!

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

Which of the following movies is not about sales?

A. Seize the Day
B. Tin Men
C. The Hustler
D. Diamond Men

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

The one Sales Fail that comes to mind for me happened when I was the customer in the transaction. About a year and a half ago, we were looking to have replacement windows put into my early 1920’s house. We still had the original rope and pulley windows and they were basically crumbling.

I reached out to about six different companies for quotes, but literally only three called me back, which is not great to begin with. Two of them were fairly responsive and we scheduled a time for them to come out and take a look and write up an estimate.

The first guy was awful. He showed up almost an hour late without letting me know he was stuck in traffic, then seemed totally confused about whether they could even do replacement windows or whether they’d have to install new frames. I don’t know anything about windows so I couldn’t tell what he was even talking about, but I definitely knew I wouldn’t be buying from him.

The second guy was nice and professional, though he was definitely a bit too chatty. But he seemed to know his stuff and represented his company pretty well. He took about a week to send over the estimate which I thought was a bit long, but the price was within what me and my wife expected and the company had decent reviews so we were feeling good about going with them.

I emailed him a few weeks after we sent the estimate and said I was ready to move forward. He responded about a half hour later with just a bunch of numbers and letters which looked like a part number. Then (and this is what kind of pissed me off) he responded to his own email and said, “That’s not for you, I’ll get back with you later.” Okay, I thought, and waited for his email.

Well a few days went by, then almost a week, and in this time, one of the original companies I’d reached out to and didn’t hear back from called me and profusely apologized for missing my online inquiry. I was so impressed with the woman on the phone that I had them come out for an estimate. Their pricing was close to the second guy’s, but I still hadn’t heard back from him so I went with the new vendor. The second guy called me two weeks later and asked if I still wanted to move forward. No thanks, I said, and he said “Okay,” and hung up on me.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- January 2023

WORTH A PEEK

If you haven’t had a chance to watch Stutz, Jonah Hill’s mini-documentary about his therapist, you should check it out. While not for everybody, it has some great “tools” you can use to get over mental roadblocks and advance in your career. And if you want the tools in book form, Stutz co-wrote a pretty solid book that sums up his advice. You can grab it here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

Sales has changed my life, and I’m not even exaggerating. I battled a lot of addiction issues when I was younger, but working in sales has provided me with a career I’d never have thought possible, and a lifestyle that's a far cry from how I grew up.

But I still feel like I’m very far away from where I want to be. There are people who are making way more money than me even within my own company, and obviously at other companies and in other industries. Basically, I don’t feel like I’m reaching my full potential, and I think I know why.

I'm inconsistent. Sometimes I'm extremely motivated, but other times, I don’t feel like doing anything so I’ll just do the bare minimum and mess around online until it’s the end of the day and I hate myself for wasting time. I don’t think I’ve ever gone an entire week working my butt off from Monday morning until Friday evening.

Is there anything I can do to change my ways? I truly do want to excel, especially since the idea of staying at the same level for the rest of my career makes me depressed to think about. What are your tips for somebody who can’t seem to get out of their own way? Thanks in advance!

Underachieving in California

Dear Underachieving,

Sales is hard. Staying consistent is hard. And admitting you’re not working to your full potential is hard too. But at least it’s a start.

Two ideas for you:

1. Figure out when you have the most energy in your day. Is it first thing in the morning? Or is it in the afternoon after you’ve had a chance to wake up and get acclimated to the day? No matter what time your energy peaks, use this time to complete all the tasks you dread most. For most people, energy is finite, so it’s important to tailor your workday so that you’re making the most of your "flow." Don’t spend your best hours messing around online. It’s literally a waste of your precious resources.

2. Try doing something revolutionary: do what you say you’re going to do. And if you’re not going to do it, then don’t say you will. Stick to this rule 100%. So if you tell yourself that you’ll make twenty calls on Tuesday, then make 20 calls or don’t say you will. If you only think you’ll be able to make 10 calls, then only say you’ll make 10. But no matter what number you choose, you have to honor it. Take this same approach with your promises to your customers, to your boss, and to your friends and family. Become the type of person who always does what they say they’re going to do. It will take time, but it will change your life.

If you do these two things – actually do them – you’ll see the progress that seems so out of reach. And as you get better and accomplish your goals, you’ll set higher ones. And before you know it, you won’t even remember a time when you were unsure of your own ability to get stuff done. Good luck!

Quiz Answer: C – The Hustler

SHARE THE QUOTA

Help us grow, and we'll send you a reward!

{% if subscriber.custom_field['RH_REFLINK'] != '' %}

Share The Quota, get cool stuff!

Know a salesperson who’d love The Quota? Give them your unique referral link (below), and we’ll give you some awesome rewards when they subscribe.

facebook

twitter

PS: You have referred people so far

{% endif %}

How did you like today's story?

Today's email was written by Ken Kupchik, Erica Furgiuele, Steve Rado, and Emily Hill.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Looking for a new gig or to hire for your sales team? Check out our jobs board — powered by RepVue.

Advertise with us

Books

QUOTA MEDIA LLC

651 N. Broad Street., Suite 206
Middletown DELAWARE (DE) 19709
USA

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options