There are three things which are necessary in managing a sales organization: 1) selection 2) development and 3) motivation.
1) Selection - Pick a person for who they are before you pick them for what they can do. Pick someone who is your kind of person. Many times we try to take people whose philosophical gears or attitudes simply do not mesh. Then we pour a syrupy human relations program all over them to keep the gears from making noise as they clash. I feel that it is important to take the time necessary to make the right choice. In the short run you can catch the big things, but not the little ones. After you meet a candidate on a number of occasions and under various circumstances, you find out the little things. You find out about faith, social skills, and even what section of the newspaper they pick up first. You find out about the level of physical energy. All these things are important in the selection process. Here are some of the things that I look for in a salesman:
He must like people. He should have a quick mind and a basic mental curiosity. If he is constantly asking question, then he will pick up a great deal of information that he can use. He should be creative and able to spark ideas. He must have basic confidence. BY this I mean he must have the personal strength to separate himself from his selling proposition. When somebody says "no," it must be to the proposition, not to him.
2) Development — In managing a sales organization it is important to develop in two ways: as salesmen and as people. People are not willing to just have skill training. They want to grow in all areas. Who are the great coaches? What do they do differently? Knute Rockne made players into men, as well as football players. Every great manager does the same thing. One way to do this is through association. One of the best managers I know takes his salesmen out to lunch once a month with outstanding businessmen in the community. Why does he do this? It gives the salesmen a sense of prestige. Give your people a sense of prestige and it increases their confidence. Another way is to delegate. Without delegation there is no development. Theodore Roosevelt said that the art of good management is the "ability to pick good people and the humility to leave them alone."
3) Motivation — You can never motivate a meatball, but if you have selected the right people and developed them, then your job is to motivate the good ones. It is important to understand what motivates your people. I see that there are two groups of great producers: the irritated and the dedicated. Napoleon was an irritated producer; Albert Schweitzer was dedicated. An irritated producer must be needled; a dedicated producer must be encouraged. In the fifties I talked a lot about irritated versus dedicated and our oldest daughter heard me speak quite a bit. One night a very successful businessman came to dinner at our house. I was telling the family about his accomplishments when Brenda, then 8, looked at him and asked, "Are you irritated or dedicated?" After an uncomfortable pause, we all laughed.
What do we use to motivate people? Too often it is money. People can't be motivated over a long period of time with money as the only motivator. Let me ask you a few questions. Are you providing a positive atmosphere for your sales people? Do your production people understand that without sales people it is useless to fill warehouses with product? Does the entire organization know that "we make what we sell, not sell what we make." Do you give your organization a reputation to uphold? Do you keep excitement in your organization? No sales force can operate successfully without having an exciting program. What competitive advantage do your salesmen establish? Can they confidently answer, "Why should your customers buy from you?" If it is price, delivery, or even quality, someone else can come along and get the order. We buy from people we like and we buy from people who can get it done for us. Motivate your sales force to sell themselves, not a product.
It is rare that a customer finds us, a good sales force finds the qualified customer. The successful sales organization knows how to select, develop and motivate. The system worked with scientific care and respect will return multiplied.
