You want a high-performance sales culture? Give credit where credit is due.
Organizations that stand out as top-sellers celebrate success. They post sales reports on the wall. They spend lots of energy shining spotlights on the top salespeople. At times, the top salespeople have even more respect than those in leadership. High-performance sales cultures do these things because recognition is key.
Recognize Top Sellers
In high-performance sales cultures, the top salesperson is king. When the organization updates the sales report every day for all to see, everyone acknowledges and respects the person at the top of the list. This list says, “These are the most important people in the organization.”
If your organization relies on salespeople to find business, those high-end salespeople help sustain the company. They secure the jobs for everyone in the company. Of course you could make a case that customer service representatives keep the customer happy, but in reality, he who brings the customer in the door first will be recognized as the most important piece of the puzzle.
The Test: Find the Weakest Link
If you want to keep your sales up, you also have to recognize those who fail to contribute. Try this simple test for those who seem to lack interest: Send emails with sales stats and see who checks them. Put each salesperson’s numbers on a shared dashboard they can check any time, then watch who actually looks. Email open tracking used to be the shortcut here, but mail clients now load images automatically, so an “open” no longer tells you whether anyone read anything. Often, a weak salesperson won’t even check the report.
A real winner looks up at the scoreboard. Even if his team is behind, he wants to see how to catch up. A rep who never looks at their own numbers is telling you something, and it is worth a direct conversation. Have that conversation — don’t infer it from tracking data.
This approach may sound harsh, but it’s an early warning sign of apathy. Let’s just say for a moment you don’t track any sales statistics at all, but you try this email test. I would be willing to bet money that 100% of your “losers” never click on their reports.
Your Strongest Salespeople
This test works both ways. The top salesperson not only looks at that email but if you have a real-time system, he may pull up that sales tracking every single minute. He’s constantly refreshing to see where he scores. The “loser” thinks, “Yeah, I’ve lost. I don’t care.” The “winner” never stops checking how close he is to securing the win.
You have the stats. Use them to your advantage. Give credit where credit is due and say goodbye to those who lack interest in your company.
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