Recently, a new client of mine was asked to have their sales team prepare a list of 25 new prospects for an upcoming First Approach session and then forward that list to me. The missive went out and parameters for the information required as well as a deadline were shared with the sales people.
While predictable, the results were not what the manager had asked for, and were at best poor. Was this the result of performance, strategy or, execution?
Everyone equates performance with results, right? Performance is generally agreed to be a by-product of strategy, tactics and execution. Let’s have a closer look.
Here’s what the dictionary has to say.
Strategy: a plan, method, or series of manoeuvres or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world
Tactics: any mode of procedure for gaining advantage or success.
Execution: the act or process of executing.
In this case there was strategy and tactics. The strategy was; “we need to develop a list of new prospects to generate new clients”. The tactic was; “have this list to David Gordon with the information required by a specific date”. Where was the execution?
Most sales organizations have strategy and tactics in place but, the most common weakness is execution.
Execution is behaviour.
Behaviour is ‘how we do what we do’ and it’s behaviours that need to change before strategy, tactics, and execution can really thrive.
Behaviour is one part innate and one part learned. It is the actions, activities, and order in which we approach life and conduct ourselves.
In a business environment, behaviour affects everything from how an employee conducts them selves in a meeting, to how they treat deadlines or how and when they prioritize tasks or responsibilities.
Behaviour dictates, for example, when we start our day, what we do first thing in the morning, how we respond to deadlines or commitments.
We all know how hard it is to change our behaviour in our personal lives. Getting to the gym more often, losing weight or quitting smoking are acts that require a change of behaviour and it is no different in our professional lives.
Most B2B sales cultures are rich in strategy, tactics, and perhaps vision but, it is the behaviours of the sales people that sometimes fall short.
Most sales people know what they ought to be doing and even have it mapped out for them by management, but knowing what one should do doesn’t mean we have the behaviour to do it effectively.
Changing behaviour then, means changing the culture, and that has to start at the top.
An organizations culture is made up of the behaviours of the people within it, and employees can be reasonably expected to model their behaviour on the behaviours and culture practiced by the organizations leaders.
If an organization has leadership that demonstrates and practices the right behaviour, then there is an organization that rightfully can ask the same of its sales people.
If a manager constantly changes direction, seldom demonstrates commitment to best practices or fails to walk the walk of his own talk, than you can hardly expect others to be accountable to a desired behaviour.
It takes time and patience to change behaviours. The first step, the easier step, is to confirm buy-in from those involved. The next step is tough.
Consistency, stick-to-itiveness and un-relenting commitment to seeing the change through is paramount. Where behaviours fail to change is when people are allowed to revert to old habits.
It can be a lack of resolve of a manager; it can be a new manager who has different thoughts on what constitutes good behaviours even, if it means abandoning a behavioural change that a company has invested vast amounts of energy and funds to change.
When it comes to changing behaviour, you must pick the behaviour you want and than stick with it. Executing a good plan will always be better than not following through with a bunch of best plans.
If your sales team isn’t performing up to your expectations, maybe it’s time to look in the mirror.