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It’s a new year. That means it’s time to reset sales goals, adjust strategy and get ready to embrace whatever the market throws our way.
As a sales trainer and coach, I’m often focused on SWOT analyses, Key Account Plans, and Consultative Selling techniques. Everyone knows these are important for growing sales, but I must say, with every class (virtual of course), there’s at least one or two people who struggle to focus on sales best practices. Instead they’re thinking about why goals are unrealistic, managers that aren’t supportive, inventory that’s not available, competition that’s better priced, other departments not doing their part, whether or not their job will be around next quarter, or if “management” even knows what’s going on.
Sounds like a lot of excuses, eh? To me, these are all symptoms of a troubled company culture.
Poor company culture kind of sneaks up on us – it’s certainly not the intent. Over the last 10 years of working with organizations, I’ve seen first-hand these top 5 cultural challenges that inhibit sales…
1. Organizational Silos.
The most common culprit is when a culture allows departmental goals to take precedent over organizational goals. Managers see their department team as their top priority, and will die on the sword for them. There’s tremendous pride in being a team member, so much that other departments are considered less important or less capable.
The impact? Gossip, disrespect, poor decisions, poor customer service and overall reduced productivity.
2. Poor communication.
Connected to organizational silos is poor communication. The thicker the silo walls, the harder it is to send consistent messages across the organization. In this environment, people don’t believe there is enough communication. Or worse, people don’t believe there isn’t any communication. When there’s no communication, people tend to make negative assumptions.
The impact? Gossip, confusion, lost confidence in leadership, skepticism and poor or inconsistent decisions.
3. Lack of Accountability.
Accountability has a negative connotation. People don’t want to be “held to account”. We’re adults after all and don’t want others checking up on us. But over time, if there’s no consequences for missing deadlines, late response-times, or not honouring commitments, these bad behaviours are considered acceptable behaviours, and therefore the norm.
The impact? Apathy (why bother?), finger-pointing, resentment, slowed progress, and generally speaking, under-performance.
4. Poor Problem-Solving.
Many organizations suffer from repeat issues. Inventory, shipping, product development and customer service are all fraught with challenges. It becomes an issue of poor problem-solving when one hears the same conversation at every team meeting. There seems to be an inability in not only solving the problem, but identify the root cause.
The impact? Complacency, frustration, independent decisions, wrong decisions, and wasted time.
5. Poor Managers.
“Poor” is all encompassing. It includes managers who are: absent, inconsistent, unorganized, power-wielding, afraid-to-make-decisions, and show little concern for people. Ouch. Who wants to be a manager? These are all perceptions of course. Most managers I work with want to be a great manager. They’re just not aware of the negative impact that they’re having. They were once star performers promoted to a role that manages people. Excelling in one role rarely automatically means success in another role.
The Impact? Staff quit, under-perform and may undermine their manager’s actions.
Poor company culture will ultimately inhibit sales growth. There are many reasons for subpar sales performance. Look closely and culture is usually the real culprit. Cultural challenges intersect and amplify each other, making it difficult to isolate and address.
So what’s the solution?
It starts with senior leadership. Company culture needs to be recognized as a significant driver of performance. Leaders must commit to changing the culture and lead by example. Bring in an outside facilitator who can help you through the journey. Where are we now? What does the ideal culture look like? How do we help people change the way they work? Yes, it can be a long process. It can be tough. Are you up for the challenge? I think those sales growth targets tell us there’s no other option.
ABOUT ANGELA LEACH
Angela is on a mission to create a happier workplace. After all, everyone wins when people love coming to work: the employees, the customers and the company’s bottom line!
Connect with Angela for strategic planning, customized training and on-going coaching in the areas of: culture, strategy, employee experience, and customer experience.
Angela leads Teneo’s “Customer Conversations” and “Purposeful Sales Strategies” programs. Angela is a dynamic facilitator and trainer helping business teams build an engaging consultative customer service culture. As a Certified Sales Professional, she has earned the Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation that focuses on training needs assessment, curriculum design, and evaluation. Angela has also earned a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich School of Business.
Blog
I’ve recently experienced what it’s like to be demoted as a customer. I used to receive special-status treatment at the local optometrist office. The doctor and staff always made me feel special when I walked in. They knew my name. They seemed to go out of their way to chat, ask about the kids, and compare notes about being a hockey mom. I could send my teenage daughter after school for an appointment, and they would trust that I’d be in the next day to pay for the services. And the best perk, I could send my husband in, knowing they wouldn’t let him leave with a bad pair glasses!
But here’s the thing that changed. They’ve grown. They have new staff, and apparently, new policies. They no longer know me when I walk in. I am now required to give a credit card prior to taking home sample frames (in the event I don’t return them within 5 business days). They call my house asking for “Mrs. Leach”. It seems I need to re-explain my daughter’s declining vision and why I need to come every three months.
Businesses that are growing experience many growing pains. Management focuses on the nuts and bolts of the operation, such as production, marketing, and sales strategies. The customer experience often gets overlooked. Sure, as a customer, there may be more products from which to choose. There may be more employees to provide service. But how has your company growth affected the customer experience? Are you paying attention to those details that make customers feel special? How are you maintaining customer relationships?
As you navigate future change (or likely current change), put the customer experience at the forefront of your thinking. Think about the customer journey. Develop a cross-organizational strategy, create customer-friendly processes, and equip your teams with the skills and tools to deliver an amazing and special experience.
Angela leads Teneo’s “Customer Conversations” and “Purposeful Sales Strategies” programs. Angela is a dynamic facilitator and trainer helping business teams build an engaging consultative customer service culture. As a Certified Sales Professional, she has earned the Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation that focuses on training needs assessment, curriculum design, and evaluation. Angela has also earned a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich School of Business.
Blog
We bought a new home this past July. With three kids to get settled before the new school year, we needed to sell our current home quick. So, the hunt for a real estate agent began. My husband is an analyzer-driver, so that meant interviewing four agents to learn about their experience, the strategies they would use to sell our house, and their price.
What did we observe? All the realtors demonstrated the “sell and tell” sales style very well. Not one realtor asked us what we wanted to know about their services or the process of selling our home. They immediately jumped into their sales pitch. Apparently, we were like every other homeowner. But the actions of one realtor, in particular, were quite shocking, and not in a good way.
He arrived on time. He greeted us warmly and asked to see our home. As we toured our house we learned we had a common interest in hockey, Aerosmith and the joys of raising kids. He liked our home. I really liked him. Then we sat down to discuss business, and that’s when things changed immediately.
The rapport-building realtor quickly turned into a sales robot. He pulled out his iPad and positioned it between my husband and myself. He then put on his glasses and retrieved his mobile phone. He started up a PowerPoint presentation on his iPad, and read the notes directly from his phone. He wasn’t just referencing these notes on his phone. He was READING the notes word for word.
The sales pitch killed my interest immediately. It was about 14 minutes later that my husband noticed that I was about to ask the realtor to leave. My husband interrupted him and told him to wrap it up, and that’s when I just had to say, “Can we just have a conversation?”. I was shocked. I had never disliked someone so quickly. He continued to ramble on about the most irrelevant information, and when we finally had the opportunity to ask questions, his answers contradicted the message of his sales pitch. This only added to my frustration.
As a Customer Experience Strategist, I advocate and train sales representatives about consultative selling. Ask questions first. Listen to understand what’s most important to your customer or prospect. Then share your perspective on the best solutions to meet their needs. It’s that simple. Please, I beg you, ditch your sales pitch. Just plan to have a conversation instead.
Angela leads Teneo’s “Customer Conversations” and “Purposeful Sales Strategies” programs. Angela is a dynamic facilitator and trainer helping business teams build an engaging consultative customer service culture. As a Certified Sales Professional, she has earned the Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation that focuses on training needs assessment, curriculum design, and evaluation. Angela has also earned a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich School of Business.
Blog
I’m not a touchy, feely type of person. I’m an expressive-driver, but when I’m frustrated I switch to driver mode. This means that my first tendency is to get things done quickly and efficiently, but I was recently reminded just how prevalent my expressive side can be when I am on the customer side of a business transaction.
When it comes to customer service, emotions are the deciding factor between loyalty and bolting to the competition. I had a recent experience with my internet provider that cemented this all too well.
A few weeks ago my modem crashed and quit working. I’m no tech whiz, so naturally I called tech support, but I left the call feeling frustrated and uncertain of when―or if―I would get internet service back. Above all, I felt like they really didn’t care. The conversation went something like this:
“Oh, we have a recall on your modem. You’ll have to go to a dealer to exchange it for a new one. But call first, as they may be out of stock.”
“Can they call me when a modem becomes available?”
“Afraid not. They issue them on a first-come first-serve basis.”
I live in the country, but luckily, central to two city centres. Surely, one of the four dealers between the two cities would have my modem. Before going to the stores I call ahead, but no one is answering, so I leave messages. Sometimes I get a live person, but sadly they tell me, “we don’t have any modems, but call back this afternoon as we might get some on today’s shipment.”
At this point I’m very frustrated and concerned because I have a home-based office and I can’t work without internet!
Three days later, I try my luck by walking into a dealer. Thankfully they had a modem! Just as I was about to get excited the dealer dropped the bomb, “I’m sorry, it’s not compatible with your monthly plan. You’ll need to upgrade to the unlimited package if you want to leave with this modem.”
What?! Now I felt ripped off. It’s the company’s fault I’m without a modem, and now I have to start paying more to get back online?!
The purpose of this blog is not to rant about cable-internet providers, and fortunately the story now changes for the better. This local dealer was awesome! He listened to me when I explained my plight, and he even called the company and advocated on my behalf to change my plan at no extra cost to me. While he was waiting (yes, even the dealers have to wait), he started to look at my entire account. I’m hooked in for phone, internet and cable. He asked lots of questions about how I use the services and what I need for my business. In the end, he was able to give me more for a lot less money! He even suggested I cancel my cable (yes, reduce my services), since I was now getting unlimited internet.
This customer service rep was truly consultative. He acknowledged my pain, asked questions, and offered solutions to fit my needs. I left with a huge smile on my face and felt genuinely appreciated as a customer. After talking to the local dealer I feel more confident that I have the services I need to run my business.
This experience was a good reminder that customer service has a lot to do with the feelings of the customer. Empathy, understanding, and active listening are all key skills to practice when serving customers. If you’re serving customers, focus on feelings.
Angela leads Teneo’s “Customer Conversations” and “Purposeful Sales Strategies” programs. Angela is a dynamic facilitator and trainer helping business teams build an engaging consultative customer service culture. As a Certified Sales Professional, she has earned the Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation that focuses on training needs assessment, curriculum design, and evaluation. Angela has also earned a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich School of Business.
