The Sales Manager’s Dilemma
Sales people report to you. Some are new, some are seasoned. Some are struggling, some do well, and some need help. You have a training budget, but it’s limited and you want to use it wisely. You want the most bang for your buck, but you are not sure what to do or how to go about it. Who needs help? Who does not?
Selling isn’t easy. It can be even more difficult to determine why a salesperson or sales team, is not performing at peak levels. Most managers believe traveling with their salespeople can uncover areas of concern. But for an objective review of a salesperson’s capabilities and skills, other tools may be more effective. We are a licensed distributor for TTI Success Insights™ assessment tools. Many of our customers use these assessments to identify needs and develop training for their teams.
For example the Success Insights™ Sales Skills Index evaluates sales people’s abilities in six areas.
- Prospecting
- First Impressions
- Qualifying
- Demonstration
- Influence
- Closing
It has been our experience that the majority of sales managers believe that Closing is the most common area where sales people struggle. It’s astonishing how many times we have heard sales managers tell us “Our people know how to sell, they just don’t close!” What we have found is that weaknesses become visible at the closing so it is natural to assume this is where the problem is. However, after collecting years of data from these assessments, a common thread we see across the board is that inexperienced and experienced sales people alike, share a weakness in areas other than closing.
Please contact us if you are interested in assessing your team.
