October 30, 2007

DIY sales management, 21st century recruiting, and viral marketing

by Gordon Graham, Editor, SoftwareCEO

Nothing happens without a sale. And our first set of tips are for sales people in the unfortunate — but all-too-common — position of having no effective sales management to support them.

Next we have two innovative tips on hiring, one specific technique, plus a suggestion on how to drag your recruiting into the 21st century to attract better talent.

And finally, an example of a corporate video intended for in-company use that slipped out to the web and became viral. Do you have anything on hand that you could double-purpose this way?

If your sales manager can't manage you, you'll have to manage yourself.
Sad but true, many sales managers are in the wrong job.

After excelling in the field as sales people, they got kicked upstairs in the mistaken belief that they can somehow teach others how to do what they did.

But selling and managing are two different roles, and few super-salesmen go on to make equally fantastic sales managers.

Simply telling any sales team to "Get out there and sell!" or "Make more phone calls!" without providing any coaching, training, or strategy is not effective. And if that's what you do at your firm, you owe it to your company to train and develop your team, from the sales manager on down.

A new book with guidance for sales people.
But what can you do if you're a sales person without much of a leader?

Minneapolis-based sales consultant Lee B. Salz has written "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager" to help you, in effect, be your own manager.

If you're in sales, you will likely be nodding your head in agreement all the way through this book. It's a quick read, but it's packed with useful exercises and tables to help strategize everything from identifying solid prospects to doing a sales autopsy.

Salz describes how to develop a step-by-step plan for your territory, gathering leads, understanding the different players on the buyer's side, asking probing questions, and nurturing each player with the language they prefer.

There's a lot of higher-level thinking here, of the sort that any successful sales person needs. Any B2B sales person who works through this book and follows its methods is bound to sell more effectively.

And while there's a section on understanding your comp plan, it's not all about money.

"If a salesperson's sole objective is to sell something to someone in order to make a big bucket of money, he doesn't belong in sales," declares Salz. "Those folks don't have a chance of being successful...

"If their primary objective is to enhance the lives of their clients, they possess the right core to become a success."

The book is $13.57 from Amazon. And to give you a taste, here are three sample tips drawn from it.

DIY sales management tip #1: Sell what the company truly wants you to sell.
Yes, this does seem almost ridiculous to mention.

But in a firm with no effective sales management, and a portfolio of software products, a new salesperson can easily spend six months selling the "wrong" things.

Clearly, in a smaller firm you can just ask the founder or CEO. But if you can't, Salz recommends two ways to find out.

1. In a larger software company, check the annual plan or the quarterly reports. These often describe the management team's favorite strategic priorities.

2. Read between the lines in the comp plan, which often favors a certain type of client, a certain product, or a certain profit margin.

"What is the message that the compensation plan communicates?" Salz asks. "Sell big deals. Sell small deals with a high margin. Sell a particular product."

Are you supposed to help increase revenue, grow profits, build market share, introduce a new product, or penetrate deeper into selected verticals? After you find out, always make that type of sale your priority.

DIY sales management tip #2: Develop a compelling three-minute story, then extract "sound bytes" as needed.
Marketing will think this is their job, and if they're doing it, great. But if not, Salz has a neat idea.

He suggest that each sales person creates "a powerful, three-minute, compelling story that answers why someone should do business with you and your firm.

"I'm not suggesting that someone will listen to a three-minute soliloquy. It will never be recited to a prospect, but it will serve a variety of purposes.

"Think of this in the same way that a movie is developed. Countless hours of film are recorded, only to use 90 minutes for the film. Same goes here. The plan is to whittle this down to the most effective message."

The format for this story is a "showstopper" as an opening statement that nobody else can copy, supported by various client success stories that you mix and match on demand, to appeal to different types of buyers.

Don't start (yawn) with the company history, he warns. Prospects don't want a history lesson; they want to know if you can solve their problem.

DIY sales management tip #3: Use insulators to soften probing questions.
"Asking questions in a buying process is an art form. Thus, I refer to this as the 'art of the query.’ It is a skill that many have not mastered," writes Salz.

He presents the intriguing idea of an "insulator" that you can insert before or after any question that a prospect might construe as impolite.

"The key to effectively opening and maintaining this dialog is the use of 'insulators.' These are expressions that soften questions and create a comfortable, conversational environment that encourages open conversation," says Salz.

Then he suggests some likely insulators, for before a question:

• "Forgive me if this sounds direct. May I ask you about..."
• "I'm not quite sure how to phrase this..."
• "Just out of curiosity..."

And some for after a question:

• "... the reason I asked was ..."
• "... which is why I was asking."
• "... not to put you on the spot."

I think we all instinctively know about using insulators: Just remember the first time you ever asked someone for a date. We all probably used every insulator known to man before popping the real question.

The ultimate screening tool for a sales (or any other) manager.
Here's a related tip from author Salz. Finding the right person to fit your sales management slot is tough, and it can cost a bundle.

Salz says the most effective tool he's found to help screen sales managers is to ask for a written business plan. (And this would likely work for any management position.)

Yes, a business plan. After they get through every other step in the hiring process, you ask for a one-page business plan that shows how they would approach the new job.

"I mention the one-page scope three times in the conversation so my expectations are clear," says Salz. "The candidate is asked when they can submit the document."

And it's vital for the candidate to name the date, not you... you'll see why in a moment.

Salz says there are numerous benefits to this approach.

"For one, it shows if the candidate can communicate in written form. Writing is a lost art in business, but a critical one for someone in a leadership role.

"It shows if the candidate understands what the role entails. A number of hours have been spent with the candidate by this point. If they are near the finish line, they should have a clear vision of the expectations."

He says this also confirms whether a potential sales manager's approach aligns with the company's vision. If a candidate suggests cutting prices, upping the comp plan, and lowering quotas, you might want to shuffle his resume out of your pile.

By the same token, if a prospective VP of R&D suggests closing up shop, outsourcing everything, and re-architecting the system using unproven tools, you may have dodged a bullet.

"Still another benefit is the ability to see if this person can meet a self-imposed deadline. I asked when he could have the plan to me. He provided me with a date and time. If it is late, the candidate is no longer considered for employment. End of story.

"Finally, in this role, I am the client. I've asked for a one-page plan, not an epic. Do they follow directions? Or do they ignore what the client desires, and do whatever they want?"

While he doesn't eliminate candidates solely for running over one page, Salz does point out their miscue in his follow-up feedback.

More on hiring: Spice up your conservative recruiting.
Still with HR, here's a provocative story about recruiting:
"Outrageous Recruiting Using Avatars and YouTube: Is your recruiting too conservative, and is that hurting your firm?"

The gist of this story is that most recruiting is dull as dishwater, and won't likely appeal to the top talent you want to attract.

Today's innovative thinkers who could bring a lot to your firm are probably playing around with Second Life and YouTube. Are you missing them?

"Most managers and recruiters do not yet realize that a few firms have dramatically changed the game of recruiting and brought it up to a new level," writes Dr. John Sullivan, former chief talent office for Agilent who's now a consultant and professor at San Francisco University's College of Business.

"To put it bluntly, your recruiting efforts are probably behind the times if you're not recruiting with avatars and using videos on YouTube.

He mentions software firms Google and Microsoft as innovative recruiters.

And he suggests reaching out in more lively ways by organizing virtual job fairs, posting recruiting videos, and even setting up video games to play from your website. Beyond those, think about online contests, blogs and podcasts, and Wikipedia.

Not to mention recruiting on the beach and at concerts, and recruiting from your own customers, former employees, and retirees.

So if your recruiting feels a bit 20th century, give it an update to help attract more engaging applicants. A final hint: After you hire them, make sure they understand your company policy about accessing YouTube or Second Life during working hours.

Want to go viral? Let an in-house video escape to the web.
Which well-known film company snoozed during the switch to digital cameras, and lost billions of dollars in the process?

Why, Kodak, of course. But maybe now Kodak gets it?

This 3:41-minute video was created as an in-house promo for staff demoralized by years of layoffs. Then it escaped to YouTube, where it's been viewed at least 384,000 times by press time. Sounds like free promotion and free eyeballs to us.

Watch how the video starts off with the expected corporate blah-blah, but then shifts radically to a more exciting tone. In fact, the structure of the video follows the wrenching change the company had to make as a whole to adapt to the new realities.

And by the end it makes its point: Kodak is back, only this time, it's digital!

In the age of transparency, ask yourself: Does your software firm have any marketing videos, advertising campaigns, or anything in your plans that could be repurposed or double-purposed this way?

It certainly doesn't cost to post something to YouTube. And you might just re-position your company, or attract some new talent, along the way.