Once the excitement wears off, there’s a good chance that your new manager is nervous and even a little scared about their ability to succeed.
Here are 10 things running through their head that they’re afraid to tell you (from the point of view of a typical newly-promoted Inside Sales Manager):
It’s impossibly hard to be the boss of my old team. Who do I go to lunch with?
Half the skills that made me an awesome rep (competitive? High maintenance?) make me a pretty awful manager
Um, how DO you run a pipeline meeting?
I’m not actually sure how to coach, so I just take over the call or give my team scripts of how I did it
Truth is, I’m actually hanging on to a few accounts (cuz if you’ll let me, I’ll try to keep doing my old job)
If it doesn’t work out, you’re down a manager AND a top performer (because I’m not going back on the phones – humiliating!)
If an unengaged rep can ruin 200 customer relationships, I can ultimately ruin over 2000!
What AM I supposed to cover in a 1:1??
When I run out of candidates that look just like me, I’m not sure how to hire.
I don’t know how to explain how I did it. It’s an ART not a science! How do I teach that?
I’m sure I missed a few. What was running through your head once you got settled into your first Inside Sales Management position?
Folks, training your managers is critical. Jump out to our YouTube page to learn more about what training to provide, why train managers first, and the online job training we recommend when face-to-face training isn’t feasible. You can also follow Factor 8 here on LinkedIn or at Factor8.com
Lauren Bailey (LB) is the President of Factor 8, and has been recognized by the AA-ISP as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Leaders in Inside Sales” for 4 years running. You can connect with LB on LinkedIn, Twitter (@Factor8Sales), or the newly launched website – www.Factor8.com.
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This month Factor 8 turned 8 years old. I’d have missed it completely if I hadn’t gotten your LinkedIn Congratulations. Thanks you guys! So it’s on this auspicious occasion that I want to publicly acknowledge the complete tool that I used to call my boss. My friend, you drove me right into entrepreneurship.
Can you picture him or her? If you’ve been to one of my leadership seminars, you could actually picture MY boss (you BET I show his picture!), but how about YOUR worst boss? The worst jerk you ever reported to? Got his or her picture in your head? See how it makes you feel in the pit of your stomach? I actually still get a little involuntary sneer on my face when I do. Now answer this question:
How many of these guys or gals work for you today that you don’t know about?
Inside Sales Managers are some of the very worst offenders in the crappy-boss arena folks. We’ve taken young and inexperienced sales reps and promoted them. Then we gave them little to no training and let’s be honest, not a lot of great role models (we do have a pretty young profession). So this is it, I’m going on record to blatantly say:
Poor Sales Managers are THE NUMBER ONE REASON that you have high turnover on your inside sales team.
And believe me, they appear completely differently to you than they do to their team. Here are a few nuggets to consider:
Who has the highest turnover and lowest? If you’re not tracking this, start!
Who has the highest number of reps making quota (vs. just percentage of the team to quota that can be carried by one or two sellers)
How are your managers doling out leads, inbounds or web inquiries? Is there an objective process in place?
Do each of your managers have regular 1:1 meetings with every single person on their team?
How soon do your managers reach out to your employees after they’re hired (hint: Before they start and day one are best practices)
How often do your managers touch your customers (the good ones, not just the ones that are pissed).
How much training have you given your managers?
Call to action 1: Folks, you need VIRTUAL SALES MANAGEMENT training – not just the good touchy-feely stuff from HR. Check out my LBTV posting on what training you need here.
Call to action 2: Consider re-appropriating your rep training budget for your managers (you’ll get more ROI from your rep training that way).
Call to action 3: If you have under five managers, check out the online training from AA-ISP. Sure online training isn’t as good as live, but this will take you a good way down the field.
MAN that’s a lot of calls to action. Hope this was helpful everyone! And boss man (you know who you are): You were really truly awful.. Thanks! 🙂
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If your Inside Sales team is relatively new, chances are you don’t have a defined training budget at your disposal (am I getting warm?). I’d also venture a guess that your somewhat green team could definitely use some inside sales training. (Still warm?) Which means that either:
You’re individually training each of them yourself (ouch!)
You’re sending them to some form of field or other training that doesn’t seem to actually fit
You’re pulling out your hair and ready for some help! (ooh! Now she’s hot! Ha ha)
We’re here to help!
STEP ONE: DETERMINE NEEDS
The average company spends around $1000 / rep / year on training. Companies that score in the “best practices” range for sales spend closer to $2K. This goes right next to your incentives and recruiting budget my friends. Every year. In the meantime, ask for the equivalent of $1750 / Rep. You have some gaps to fill. This should buy you a few days of training per rep.
STEP TWO: FIGHT FOR BUDGET
Enter the Big-Bad–Doesn’t-Want-to-Spend-Money-On-Your-Silly-Little-Team-Boss:
“Why would I spend money on training! I heard that by the time you back to your job, you’ve lost 90% of what you’ve learned in training and 3 months later the rest is gone too. And by the way, these Reps will be gone in six months anyway, right?” (Whoa Boss Man!)
Don’t panic…we’re gonna get through this. Ready for your side of the negotiation?
A recent survey found that 40% of employees who receive poor training leave their positions within the first year (and site “lack of training” as a reason for leaving!)
A second study found that companies with training programs that “exceeded expectations” achieved 94.8% of quota – ten points above companies with mediocre programs (and X points above you today with no training???) – So providing good sales training will raise our performance to quota!
Best in class sales training improves individual performance by an average of 20% – So if we raise even 10%, we should recoup ____ $$ and pay for training in X months!
85% of companies rated best in class in Sales use an outside professional sales trainer / curriculum – So we probably should buy this not build it. I’ll do the legwork…
STEP THREE: FIND YOURSELF A VENDOR
So, what does good inside sales training look like? How can you prevent the “fall out”? Check out my recent video for quick tips to get the most from that training budget you fought so hard to get!
Hope this helps you Super Star Inside Sales Leaders out there! Cheers!
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It’s so simple, so obvious, you couldn’t help but be drawn in. Bob is your top producer. Bob knows the systems better than anyone on the team. Bob can sell with his wireless headset tied behind his back. So when the time came to hire a manager for the team you had no doubt in your mind. Bob was the choice. Now you’re 6 months into your “Bob the Manager” experience and it’s a complete disaster.
Bob is frustrated, his team is frustrated, you’re frustrated, and the numbers are tanking. How can this be? You keep asking yourself…what’s wrong with Bob?
The answer is that you hired Bob based on his abilities as a rep, not his ability to be a manager. They are two different jobs, and being good at one does not automatically make you good at the other. Think about when you first hired Bob out of school. Did you hire him because he was a good student or because he showed the skills, attitude, and characteristics of your top sales reps?
You didn’t assume that because he was doing well at his current job (student) that he would automatically be good as a sales rep. You hired him because he was able to display skills that were consistent with people who are good at sales and then you trained him to do the job.
You need to take the same approach when hiring a Manager – screen and hire candidates based on how well their skills and abilities match up with the profile of a strong sales leader. And by the way, then you need to train them! (Doh!) I mean really, do they need to be a strong closer or an accurate forecaster? Truth is, great sales reps actually have to UN-learn some skills to be a great sales manager. . .and they’re not going to know how to do it without some development.
I’ve attached a clip from last year’s AA-ISP Leadership Summit that talks about why this is such an important topic, and what you can do about it. And the fact that it made my Top 10 list means that you can rest assured that you’re not the only one that’s made this mistake.
Here’s a sneak peek at the 4 tips for Sales Manager development, watch the video for all the details:
Provide Management training and job training (yeah, they’re different!)
Stay away from vague management / leadership theory
Whenever you train your reps on a new skill, train your managers on how to recognize and coach it
If you’re not already planning to attend, there is still time to register for the AA-ISP Leadership Summit where there are LOTS of great tips on developing your management team.
Let me know if you’re attending and we’ll get you hooked up with a discount!
And if you want to get more sales management development tips, follow us on LinkedIn . . . by clicking here or check out our website!
LB
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Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking to a phenomenal group of Inside Sales Senior Executives in Dublin, Ireland. It was the first InternationalLeadership Summit hosted by the AA-ISP and it was fantastic. The energy and participation were amazing – and that was before the Guinness! I covered the top ten blunders I’ve seen in our industry this year and did my best to advocate for sales manager and rep development. Many organizations represented at the conference were absolute innovators. I loved hearing about how Intel Security is a top company to work for in Ireland and how IBM is enabling the social and digital aspects of selling (really, how do I get a wall I can roll AND write on!?).
Believing In Inside Sales
Most of the folks who sought me out afterward, however, were facing the same very big challenge: Senior Leadership doesn’t really believe in Inside Sales. “Our product can’t be sold over the phone. Now be a good VP and go fetch me some leads.”
It was so frustrating to them, and rightfully so! Any of us in this profession has faced this at one time or another. I’ve literally ridden this wave for the past twenty years through IT hardware and software to distribution & industrial companies, to big-box retail and pharma today. And now the wave is crashing hard on the shores of Europe, and I’m here to tell you to jump in and swim.
Here are a few reminders of why the Inside Sales wave is righteous (and why it cannot be stopped):
Your customer demands it. It’s not OK to get back to them a few days later. We want NOW and that means folks perched by the phones.
There is no faster way to attack a new market – be it customer set, product set, our geo. I can talk to 20 people a day. If you got your field rep a jet pack, he’ll max at five (but how cool would that be).
The one-two punch. Let field take down the big game and let inside pick off the rest of the herd. You know your field reps aren’t calling anyone but their top three contacts at that account, right? And how about the bottom 20% of their book?
Three little letters: S M B. It’s not efficient or cost effective to tackle this massive market with field resources.
Product maturity: Margins and complexity decrease as the product lifecycle moves to the right – you’ll need to lower your cost of sales.
Accountability and scalability – there’s a reason you don’t see many field reps successfully transition to Inside Sales. It’s harder, it’s faster, and there’s no “appointment” where you can hide on a Friday afternoon.
Ride The Wave
Surely one of these can serve you as you fight for your piece of the wave. Obviously I’ve also picked a fight with a pretty large and mobile group of sellers, so I say game on. If you have a comment about why this is wrong or how you’ve proved one of them right, please leave it! No argument is quite as strong as your own success story about a big deal uncovered or won by the Inside.
Hey, history has proven across the globe that this wave is real. You may be paddling a bit longer, but you’re on the board and you’re in the water, and the Wave. Is. Coming. So get your house in order because it will be fast and furious when it does. Today you’re proving the value, but mark my words that in a year or two you’ll be asked to grow 10x. Will you be ready? Enjoy the ride; you’ll be running the place in no time if you time it just right.
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In the twenty years I’ve been at this, I’ve found one singular topic that lights me up the fastest:
Rep ramp time.
I wish I could tell you that every client and every event focuses here with me, but the truth is they don’t. I’m a bit of an island on this one, but I think that’s only because we’re not all exactly sure just how much slow ramp is costing us (or could be saving us) – more on that in a second.
According to the most recent research from my friend Trish and her team at The Bridge Group (full report here), the average ramp time for an Inside Sales rep is 4.4 months. Let’s be honest, Trish works with awesome tech companies, and they’ve been doing Inside Sales longer than anyone. If you’re a distribution company, an outsourcer, big box retail, or manufacturing, chances are you average 6 months until Reps start paying for themselves (or “six months ramp”). If your training department is less than 5 years old and/or reports up through HR instead of sales, chances are you’re north of 9 months.
When you are spending 2-3 times the rep’s annual salary to onboard him, every extra week it takes to get him to start paying that back is a big deal. Especially when 1/3 to 1/2 of them will be gone within the year. So which costs more…attrition or ramp? Well this blog is about rep ramp time, so I hope you guessed it. Man I bet you were surprised. But wait till you hear how much more!
We modeled it for a little company called Microsoft.
They were hot about the cost of attrition with some outsourcers, so we ran a model comparing the cost of their industry-average attrition vs. best in class, and then compared that against their industry-average onboarding vs. best-in-class. It’s basically a magic wand question – If you could fix either, which saves you more?
Cutting the ramp time saved nearly DOUBLE than cutting attrition
(BONUS ALERT: help reps make money faster, you’re also going to impact attrition).
The money is in the green seat. The what? The cost of having your customers worked by a rep ramping. The same book or leads worked by a tenured rep produces double or triple that of a green rep. Multiple that by the six months that your rep is green. Ouch. NOW assume that 20-50% of your floor is “green” due to attrition, and we’re talking big dollars.
I don’t know your numbers (email me if you want to plug them into our model). But I’m betting big money that cutting your ramp time in half would be like adding an extra sales team to your numbers.
So, how do we do it? GET TO IT LB, right?
Well, I often like to blame your training team, but ramp time is a function of a lot of different groups: Are you recruiting the right candidates? Is your hiring process designed to identify the attributes that align with your most successful reps? Does your new hire training provide practical experience that mirrors what reps will see when they hit the floor?
Here’s one trick that I think is CRUCIAL to cutting ramp time: Use Call Recordings! But not the way you think. They don’t even have to be those green Reps’ calls; any calls will do. When used right, recorded calls simulate experience. Months and months of it! It’s the reason all Factor 8 sales training uses call recordings and live floor time: simulate real experience.
(Here’s the secret sauce folks)
Simulated experience is crucial because the key isn’t really about WHAT skill to apply. . . it’s about WHEN to apply it.
This is what takes so darn long to collect and thereby ramp.
So infuse it as often as possible using the Pause Game. Check out the video on how to do this:
(I think I filmed this one in my front courtyard, so enjoy the stupid plane overhead that just wouldn’t land!)
Personally, I’m a fan of hands on engagement from Sales leaders here. Have your Supervisors grab a bunch of recorded calls and pull your new hires into a room for a few rounds of The Pause Game. Then sign them up to do it every day during new hire training.
The more real life situations you can expose new reps to, the faster they can build up their bank of experiences. That experience bank is what will get them ramped and producing faster.
Man this was a long one. I’ll work on that. I hope this is helpful!
ACTION suggestions:
Forward this to your lead Manager / Supervisor and tell them to make it happen
Forward this to your New Hire Training Manager and tell them to make it happen
Ask both of them to invite you to the first one.
Email me if you want to plug in your own numbers or learn more ways to reduce your ramp
Here’s to you (and your ramp),
LB
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