I manage my sales organizations using a system.   I didn’t always have a system.   Like many sales leaders, I managed to quota, or to the number of calls, or the funnel or to some varying combination of all those.  Doing this, I had a modicum of success, but it wasn’t until I learned how to put it all into a system that major success happened.  My system has changed and morphed over the years, but it’s relatively simple.   I’ve created a system that takes into consideration ALL the elements of sales and integrates them into a repeatable process.

My system looks like this; talent>expectations>goals>planning>inspection>coaching> review.    It’s rather simple.

Talent: I hire and keep great talent.  Experience, industry knowledge and resumes take a back seat.  I get the best most talented people on the bus.  I hire and keep people who are creative, self-directing, problem solvers, innovative and most importantly coachable.  Finding and developing talent is THE most important element of my sales management approach

Expectations: With the talent in place, I set very clear expectations.  I set the behaviors and attitudes I expect from every single person in the organization.  The expectations act as the cultural foundation.  Everyone understands what actions are appropriate and which aren’t.  Behaviors are everything when it comes to organizations.  The wrong behaviors will bury even the most talented of teams.  The right behaviors can raise teams with less talent.  Expectations are always clearly stated with no room for interpretation.

Goals: Knowing what it is we are chasing is critical.  I believe every community, team, or organization needs very clear goals; objectives that point their efforts in a specific direction.  Goals give teams something to measure success.  I establish clear goals.  We build the goals together, leveraging the expertise and knowledge of the entire team. Goals are not dictated but created.    We create organizational goals, and personal goals.  Everyone in the organization knows what we are going to accomplish collectively AND as individuals and how it all fit into the big picture.

Planning: We create plans; living, breathing, plans.   I’ve talked about the planning process here before.  Planning is a critical element in the system.  It’s not OK to say you are gong to do something.  We have to say “HOW” we are going to do it and “WHY.”   Planning is at the heart of execution.  (you can read more about how I plan here)

Inspection: Everything we commit to doing is inspected.  ”Inspect what you expect.”   No commitments are made, no efforts started, no plans created without an inspection process behind it.  Inspection means reviewing status, are we on target or not.  It means evaluating the “HOW”, do changes to execution need to be made. Inspection means identifying challenges early.  Inspection means owning the effort until its done and ensuring success.  It’s not enough to commit to things. They have to be delivered.  Inspection makes sure that happens.

Coaching: Back to people, everything starts and ends with the people.   Coaching is the people side of inspection.  Coaching is an ongoing effort.  I continually challenge the ideas, thoughts, and premises of the team.   I provide feedback regularly by giving them things to think about and through tough questions.  In addition to the ongoing informal coaching, we have standing 1 on 1 coaching sessions every 6 weeks. Coaching sessions are just that, coaching.  They are NOT reviews.   Coaching sessions are designed to grow the talent, not measure it.   (You can read more about my coaching approach here.)

Review: Review is the big tortilla that wraps it all up.  Review is the inspection against the big picture.  The review assess results against the goals.  It assesses the demonstrated behaviors.  It assess the execution.   The review delivers the big picture feedback and provides the standing of the team, the talent, and the business.

Each of the elements in the processes are all integrated, nothing stands alone.   This is how I run my sales organizations.  When I manage my business this way we’ve been wildly successful.  When I’ve deviated, we’ve struggled.   What I’ve learned is quota, funnel, number of calls, commit, number of visits, CRM, etc are all important. BUT, managing them won’t bear fruit.  To get the most out of an organization takes an integrated system that starts with the people, sets goals and expectations, monitors progress, adjusts along they way and then ends with people through feedback.

There are a lot of different ways to manage sales teams.  I have seen a lot them.  But, for me there is only one way, an integrated system.

How do you manage your sales organization?

“CAN’T”

Great sales people learn early that “I can’t” has no place in sales.  You won’t make it in sales if you allow “I can’t” into your vernacular.  ”I can’t” doesn’t mean you can’t, it means you don’t know how and that’s entirely different.  I wrote a post about I can’t a little while back, you can read it here.

Fortunately for Nick Vujicic he learned the same lesson early.

In life and work, we build our own constraints.  It’s those constraints that define our lives.   Nick creates few constraints ands sees even fewer.

This is an inspiring video.

Nick’s attitude reminds me of a saying.  Life is only 5% of what happens to you but 95% how you respond.  How do you respond to life?

I went to the Rocky Mountain Showdown yesterday.  It is the first football game of the season for my alma-matter, University of Colorado, Buffaloes. We play our cross state rivalry, Colorado State, Rams.   It’s a big game and lots of fun.

The only down side to the game was I couldn’t access ATT’s data network.  That meant no Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook or email.  At first I didn’t think anything about it, but as time went on, I continued to find myself pulling out my phone to share something.

It felt awkward at first.  It felt like an addiction as I was constantly looking at my phone like some deprived crack addict. But, as the day progressed I started to realize it wasn’t.   I wasn’t addicted but the way I experience events had changed.  My mind now views events and experiences in terms of what is going on that others would find interesting.  I view events and experiences in terms of sharing.

This is different.  I know.  It’s not how everyone looks at things.  But, for me its fun.  It keeps me thinking about others besides myself.  It broadens my view.  It even creates more context to my experiences.

I like sharing.  Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. all help me do that.  When ATT’s network went down, it felt like someone took my addiction away, but what really happened was they took my voice away.

I don’t think I’m the only one who looks at things this way and I’m comfortable I’m not going to be the last.  For the next generation always on event sharing will be the norm and for them losing connection will feel worse than addiction, they’ll feel voiceless.

—————–

OH, yea!  The Buffaloes won, 24-3 and it killed me I couldn’t post that live.  GO BUFFALOES!

My mom is joining Facebook.  For years she’s said it was stupid.  But now that she’s bought the new iPhone 4, she’s changing her mind.  She says she isn’t going to post anything, but she’s tired of not getting the pictures of family events or being able to keep up with everyone.   The way our family communicates has changed and she is tired of being on the outside looking in.

A friend of mine was over the other day and he was on Twitter.  I didn’t know he used Twitter.  I knew he was on, because I follow him, but I had NEVER seen a tweet from him.  He said he uses Twitter as a his news reader.  He uses his Twitter feed like one scans newspaper headlines.  He said he looks at it every morning, mostly for sports, news and work.

There has been a debate brewing lately that the web is dead, and that mobile is taking over.  I am not sure I buy into that statement just yet, but I do believe something unique is happening, and that is the utility demanded of the Internet, social networking and social media users is going up.  Users are wanting more than just the proverbial “hang-out” place from their social networks. They want utility.

I wrote about the utility of social networks a while back.  You can read it here.  Since I’ve seen written it, I think the trend is gaining momentum.   The fastest growing site on the internet is Groupon, more and more people are joining Facebook not to meet old friends, but to stay in touch with family.  It’s a new communication medium.   Who sends pictures in email or in the mail anymore.

Social networking is changing, the web is changing because like most innovation we find more convenient ways to use it.  Overtime innovation gives way to utilization.  We become more efficient.  The use cases grow.  The novelty wears off and we want greater return.  I think the web and social networking are going through that transformation right now.  How do I know this, because my Mom is on Facebook.

People decide on emotion but buy based on reality.

Sales people need to know the difference.

The emotional sale is easier.  The emotional sale happens when your prospect says, YES I want this.  I need to have it.  I want to buy it.  Most sales people treat the emotional sale as the sale.  Unfortunately, it’s not.  Why, because in many cases, just because a prospect wants to do something doesn’t mean they can or will.

The reality sale happens when the prospect says, I will do this.  I can do this.  I commit to doing this.   The reality sale recognizes the limitations to the buyer, the challenges in executing, the broader picture.

Millions of people, mostly men in their 20′s and 30′s WANT a Porsche.  They’ve been “sold” since they were 12.   The problem is most men can’t buy one.  The emotional sale isn’t the problem.  The reality sale is the challenge.  Getting people to WANT the car is easy.   It’s the reality sale that’s hard.

It’s no different in other sales, our customers want the new inventory management system, they know their HR system doesn’t work, they know the are losing money because the ERP system they implemented in the 90′s is a joke, BUT that doesn’t mean they are ready to buy. Just because they want it doesn’t mean they are going to buy it.

We need to stop selling just to buyers emotions.  Selling to reality is where it happens.  Know your buyers reality, it’s were the sale really happens.

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Buyers are afraid today.   They are afraid of spending too much money.  They are afraid of making the wrong decision.  They are afraid of making a mistake.  They are afraid of screwing up.    Fear is a prevalent emotion in todays selling environment.

Buyers are afraid because things are uncertain.  There is less room for mistakes.  The economy is tight.  There are fewer resources to go around.  People are expected to do more with less.  With fewer resources, the costs of mistakes are much higher and no one wants to be “that guy.”   The one who screwed up.

Selling in an environment of fear takes a lot more effort than selling in an environment of optimism.   Buyers don’t take risks, they want guarantees, prices have to be rock bottom, they don’t want to hear about the conceptual, they want to feel it and touch it and it better have a meauserable, quantifiable return.  There is no such thing as a pet project in fear based selling environments.

To make progress in a fear based environment requires, knowledge, trust, relationships, information and gumption.

When buyers are afraid, the more you know about their environment, their goals, their motivations, and their needs the better off you will be.  When buyers are afraid, they need to trust those around them more than ever, being in the inner-circle is critical.  It’s almost impossible to sell without the relationship.  When buyers are afraid, information is critical; information about the market, the competition, government regulation, creative use cases and more.  You can’t have too much information when buyers are afraid.  But, more than anything, when buyers are afraid YOU can’t be afraid.  When buyers are afraid, they are looking for a leader.  They want someone to make them feel safe.  They want someone with confidence, someone who can do what they can’t — look the challenges right in the eye and not shudder.   Selling to buyers who are afraid takes a sales person who is fearless.

Buyers are afraid.  They are afraid of losing and to the fearless sales person that’s a huge opportunity.

Don’t be afraid, your clients are afraid enough already.

I am busy.  I get pulled in a million different directions.  What makes it worse is I am a spurt worker.  I can’t just sit and do single task for long periods of time.  I have to mix it up.  On top of it all, I can be a bit ADD.   All of this makes it difficult to stay focused and get things done.

I’m never going to be a task master.  I’ve come to accept that.  But, not getting stuff done, or forgetting something until last minute drives me crazy. To become more effective I came up the Must Do List or what I call “Come Hell or High Water” list.  The difference between a “MUST do list” vs a “To do list” is to do lists have little priority and accountability. To do lists are just that to do lists.  They don’t focus on much and get unwieldy.  Mine would just get longer and longer and I then I’d stop using them.   So, I came up with the MUST do list.  A must do list is a list of things that have to get done that day. Must do lists incorporate accountability, urgency and most importantly simplicity.  There is no thinking when it comes to a must do list, no determining wich task to do first or which to push till tomorrow, you just do everything on the list today, period.

My must do list is a list of the 6 or 7 of the most important things I have to get done that day.  They are the actions or tasks most critical to success. They are never trivial tasks like answer email.  They are things that move the ball, that added up get me closer to success.  My must do list is built on the premise that no matter what happens, my day is NOT completed until everything on the list is checked off.  No cheating, no quitting, no excuses.

The must do list is great because it keeps me from getting sucked into email, and other unimportant stuff.  It mitigates the distractions.  When I have 6-7 things that I have to get done to complete my day, they become my priority not all the distractions.   A good must do list keeps me on track, gets the important things done and keeps the distractions from sabotaging the big picture.

To do lists are hollow.  They don’t have focus.   If you focus on what’s critical, if you get done what has to get done, the rest takes care of itself.

My “must do list” has been huge for my productivity.   How do you stay on track?

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Brad Feld posted this on his blog the other day: Attracting Smart People to Your Community Accelerates Entrepreneurship.   The entire time I was reading it I couldn’t help but think in global terms; Attracting Smart People to Your COUNTRY Accelerates Entrepreneurship and Grows the Economy.

I think America is at a tipping point.  We continue to embrace the things that made us great or we morph into something else.  I’m not going to share my opinion on the something else, I’ll let that be debated.   But, I am going to share my opinions on what made us great.   Simply, it’s the perception of opportunity.

The perception of opportunity attracts smart people.   It’s the single most impacting element to the rise of America as the most prosperous country in the world.  The success of America has come almost solely from the perception that it offers more opportunity than any other place in the world.  This perception has drawn millions and millions of people, immigrants, to its shores.  These immigrants have been the backbone to American prosperity.

I think this core element to Americas success is being threatened and it scares me.

With our economy shaky, Americans angry,  China, India and other countries taking center stage in the world economy, Americas place in the world is being threatened and our anti-immigration sentiment  could be the straw that breaks Americas back.

America was built on luring the best and the brightest here.  America has been the beneficiary of her own dream, but that could be beginning to change.

A few interesting statistics:

1. Only 6% of Indian students want to stay in the country full time after graduation
2. Only 10% of Chineses students want to stay in the country permanently after graduation
3. Only 15% of European students want to stay permanently after graduation
4. Over 25% of all US start-ups were started by immigrants
5. Over 25% of US patents were filed by immigrants
6. 60% of Engineering Doctorates were received by foreign students
7. 50% of all Math, Computer Science , Physics and Economics Doctorates were awarded to foreign students
8. Immigration founded US based business employed 450,000 workers and generated 52 billion dollars in revenue
9. Google, Intel, Yahoo, and Ebay were all started by Immigrants

What happens when no foreign students want to stay in the country?

Take away 25% of all US start-ups, where does that leave us?

Take away 25% of all US Patents where does that leave us?

Let 60% of all Engineering Doctorates leave the country, what happens to our future?

Let 50% of all Math, Computer Science, Physics, and Economics Doctorates leave the country, what happens to our future?

The impact immigrants have had in this country is undeniable.  I liken it to the Yankees, get the best talent and the most talent and you win.  (this is hard to say being a Red Sox fan)  America has had this formula down pat for almost a century and we’ve benefitted from it tremendously.   Now, the fear of terrorism squeezing access to visa’s, the onerous process foreign students have to go through to stay in the country after graduation, the boiling animosity towards immigration, especially illegal immigration, the economic rise and prosperity of other countries like China and India, are all threatening the American dream of opportunity.

There is a global race on for brain power.  The winners of this race will lead the worlds economy.  America wrote the book on attracting the best and brightest.  We need to go back to the book and execute it flawlessly.  We need new policies that make it easier for immigrants to set up shop.   We need start-up visas.  We need to be more open of immigration.  We need to embrace the fact that, without immigrants, America will be a very different place, and it’s not a good place.

We can’t pick and choose what type of immigrants we want.  There is no bad immigration.  We embrace immigration or we don’t.   We need to make it easier to come here.  But more importantly, we need to ensure America is a place people want to come to.   If you think things are tough now, imagine what it would be like if no one wanted to come here anymore.

I say we create a new leading economic indicator; the desire of immigrants to come to America. We need to track it and measure it.  I think it’s a telling indicator, one that right now is heading in the wrong direction.

When immigrants no longer want to come to America, we lose.

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Most of you know I am an instructor at Vail.  I love vail.  It’s my favorite mountain and has been since 1989 when I moved from Boston.

Last year I wrote my opinion on why I thought Vail and other ski resorts were missing the boat in social media.  You can read it here. I gave a specific example on how resorts could improve the ski school guest experience.  Ski resorts have been slow to adopt social media and social networking and it frustrated me.

I am passionate about skiing and passionate about my home mountains (Vail and Beaver Creek.)  I wanted to see the industry become a bit more progressive and was frustrated they weren’t moving faster . . . that is until today.

Vail crushed it today with the announcement of their new social networking application EpicMix.   Epic Mix uses Vails RF scanner technology (which I’ve also written about here), to track where you are on the mountain, the total vertical you’ves skied, number of days on the mountain and it allows you to share it all with your friends via Facebook, and Twitter.  It’s frickin’ awesome!

Vail just threw down the social media guantlet for the ski industry with this move.  It combines Foursquare like checkins and accomplishment badges called “pins,” with personalized skier data, with the ability to track friends on the mountain, with the ability to share it all on Facebook and Twitter.  It changes the game.

Vail’s EpicMix changes the on mountain experience.  This is why I think it’s so killer.  Vail didn’t just create a me too social media app.  They built something specific to the skiing experience and I love it.  I ski 20 plus days a year over and above the days I teach. EpicMix will be my homebase for skiing. The idea that I can now know how much I skied, where I skied, how to find my friends who are skiing and share it all, is exactly what social media and social networking are all about

Vail rocks, it has always rocked. Vail lured me to Colorado in 1989. It enticed me into buying a mountain home near its slopes. It introduced me to ski instruction and now Vail has just given me a new mountain experience. Thanks Vail. You continue to reward me and all your guests for their loyalty. I can’t wait for ski season now!

A year ago I challenged Vail to “get engaged.” This year they did, in ways far more impressive than could have been imagined. EpicMix has set the bar for social media in the ski industry and it’s high bar!  – Well done Vail Resorts!

(EpicMix will work at all Vail Resort Mountains Keystone, Vail, Breckenridge, Heavenly, and BeaverCreek.)

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I’m doing this in two weeks. (not the skateboarding, but the ski jump pit)  I just booked a 4 hour lesson at Woodward Copper.

“AIR” has changed a lot since I was a kid.  We’d try to build kickers in out of the way places and ski patrol would always find them and knock them down.  Now, resorts build 50 ft kickers with giant table tops in designated terrain parks.  Boy has the worm turned.

I’ve hit these big kickers before, but it’s been 7 years and it wasn’t pretty.  I figure a lesson can’t hurt.  Wiping out at 42 hurts a whole lot more than than at 22.

My goal; some sick air this year.  Can’t wait!