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Fortunately, here are 5 ways to convince your boss you are doing everything you can.
For a sales manager working in the housing industry, the only thing worse than not making your sales goals is not working as smart as you can to reach those goals. Now more than ever, sales managers need to clearly define the strategies and tactics they’re using and continually modify their approach as necessary.
Recently, I was on a coaching call with a sales manager who is not making his region’s monthly sales goal for his company. James (not his real name) was managing about 30 community salespeople, and he had three specific problems he was dealing with:
1. He was not making his monthly sales goal.
2. His boss was not convinced that he was doing everything he needed to be doing in order to make his sales goal.
3. He is in the 2010 housing market.
This is what I call the Perfect Storm for Sales Management Demise. If you are in sales management, you can’t have all of these forces against you. One of the forces is troubling enough, but when you have all three, you’re faced with a ticking time bomb for needing to dust off that resume and hit the streets.
In such dire circumstances, the most important thing is that you take the initiative to do something about it, even if your actions fall short of expectations.
You see, even though James might not be the only one in 2010 who isn’t meeting his monthly sales goal, the higher-ups may not give him much grace if he doesn’t handle this situation properly. So here is my advice if you’re also falling short of your goals as a sales manager. You can’t change the market, so you need to either A) meet your goals, or B) convince your boss you are doing everything you need to be doing to make your goal.
Here are ways to convince your boss you are doing everything you can. If you are a boss reading this, then have your sales manager read this article.
1. Ask your boss what he or she believes are the most strategic activities you could be doing to generate sales. Don’t wait for your boss to tell you — just ask. I am not saying you should go into your boss’s office looking defeated. Rather, go in saying what you have been doing up to this point, and then ask him or her for any suggestions. Then implement those suggestions.
2. Create a monthly, weekly and daily plan of what you are doing to reach your sales goals. I know it seems like a lot of work, but you need to stay focused to get through the slump.
3. Each week, submit an end-of-the-week report that lays out what you did that week to generate sales. Don’t worry about making the report look pretty. Just list bullet points of what you did each day that week.
4. Review your weekly report with your boss at least every two weeks. In this meeting, share what you think is working and what needs to be adjusted. Be specific and offer solutions to the problems, not just a list of the problems. For example, don’t just say that the salesperson at Pine Ridge just won’t make it. Instead, you might say, “The salesperson at Pine Ridge is not making his numbers. This is what I have asked him do to correct it, and he has not done it. I’ve decided to find a replacement for him, so I had HR set up four interviews for sales candidates tomorrow. I commit to having a replacement within 14 days.”
5. Promote victories, no matter how small, as often as they happen. These victories can consist of your salespeople’s actions and improvements as well as the positive results themselves. You might feel awkward, like you’re bragging, but when you’re behind in your sales numbers it’s not bragging — it’s reporting progress.
One final thought: Whichever plan you choose, commit to executing — go all out! Be confident, not arrogant, that you are doing what you need to do in order to be successful. In many cases, if people around you don’t feel that you are confident in what you are doing, then they will also lose confidence in you as a leader. So, don’t let the perfect storm rob you of your confidence. Be the sales leader who can help your team weather this storm.
Jason Forrest is a professional sales trainer, coach and speaker specializing in new home sales. He is the author of Creating Urgency in a Non-Urgent Housing Market and 40 Day Sales Dare for New Home Sales. He can be reached at jason@shoreforrest.com and his website is www.jforrestgroup.com.
Mon 2 Aug 4:38pm