Peak Performance Training & Development Blog The Critical Importance of the CEO, President or Business Owner playing an integral role in Sales Development?

This management tip focuses on why Business Owners often fail to implement the change necessary to drive their companies forward. Today we focus on some of the major errors that lead to failure in implementing and enforcing the steps necessary to grow your company. The first most obvious error that most Business Owners make is that they fail to recognize when they need to change. In other words they fail to acknowledge market conditions, lackluster sales performance or human resource issues, among other things that signal that change is a necessary component to achieving growth. However it is usually not this first error that holds companies back but the second management error: Upon recognizing the need to change they fail to take action and commit to staying the course and navigating through change, as such keeping their companies stuck on a plateau. In the sales arena these mistakes usually manifest as follows: Visit: http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/ Mistake Number One: Management Complacency Management does not establish a great enough sense of urgency for new business development. Instead of implementing change they hope that a change in results will occur by itself. Sales inefficiency or sales decay, often are the result of several factors that occur over time. Unfortunately, many Business Owners and Presidents don’t develop a sense of urgency until things have gotten out of hand. For example, when making a new hire, the employer has an optimistic outlook on the new hire’s performance that lingers for several months. Often this outlook lingers in the face of diminished performance until the employee perceives his or her inadequate performance as being their expected level of production. While this transformation in expected performance is evolving in the new hire, the business owner or manager is under the impression that he or she is expanding the sales team when in fact both parties are compounding an existing problem: Sales team complacency. Sales team complacency is the result of two key factors: 1. A business owner or manager who runs their business through hope and optimism. 2. This type of manager hires optimistic sales people with the attitude of wanting to move mountains but who soon settle into an attitude of hoping to meet quota. 3. The optimistic manager hopes that change will take place instead of implementing change—change in himself or herself, change in the sales system, or change in how they hold their team accountable. Before they know it the optimistic manager must suffer a team of underachievers running the company and they are forced to take drastic actions to rectify the problem. Change must take place prior to the problem getting out of hand. Quick Links... Home Page >> http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/ Peak Performance Events >> http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/Seminars/OnlineCEOGrowthWebinar CEO Diagnostic >> http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/CEOSolutions/ComplimentaryCE... Request Info >> http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/Contact/RequestInformation Mistake Number Two: Management Fails to Prioritize Sales as the Primary Initiative Although every manager or business owner desires to increase sales performance and productivity they fail to articulate this desire as a priority. Everything takes precedence over sales: marketing, accounting, product development, and so on. But what could be more important than identifying and removing the common obstacles to sales success and the growth of your business? When speaking to upper level management and business owners, we see a common and dangerous denominator present in many: Because of their numerous time-consuming responsibilities they tend to repeatedly perform comfort zone activities. It is uncomfortable and risky to attempt to change the mindset and routines of their sales team. Driving people out of a non-productive comfort zone is stressful. They too often become paralyzed with the downside possibilities and fail to do what is most important for themselves and their company, to drive sales productivity! In other words they have begun the process of allowing their sales team to manage, management! Regain control over your company and sales team by attending the 2015 CEO Sales Strategy Conference Visit http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/Seminars/OnlineCEOGrowthWebinar Mistake Number Three: Letting Past Success Block Future Performance Another reason for sales team complacency is that senior management will often accept excuses from sales people who have been successful in the past. It is usually those previously successful sales people who are most resistant to change—despite the fact that their past success may have occurred some time ago and been more the result of positive market conditions rather than stellar sales ability. It is also the business owner or sales manager who has experienced significant growth in the past who often defers realizing that change is essential to repeat that past success. To make top line growth a primary initiative management must first engage in a brutally frank discussion regarding potentially disturbing facts such as. - Shrinking margins, - Client decay, - Limited success in developing new accounts, - Limited success in further penetrating existing accounts - Poor lead conversion When is a company’s sense of urgency high enough to commit to and sustain change? Typically this occurs when at least 75% of the management team is convinced that status quo is more dangerous than change itself. However, what opportunity cost has that company suffered until 75% of management came to this realization? Have you come to the realization that maintaining the status quo is more financially damaging than change itself? To discover how to drive your top line growth as a primary initiative within your company visit: http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/CEOSolutions/ComplimentaryCE... Management fails to adequately and uniformly communicate the need for change and their new corporate objectives. In a recent article in Harvard Business Review, the subject of clarity, or clearly understood guidelines and objectives were discussed. The article described how often Presidents and others in upper management “own” information and ideas, yet fail to clearly communicate how to achieve the desired end result. Case Study on Clearly defined Objectives: FeDex® is known for “absolutely, positively” having packages arrive overnight, without question! In New York a FedEx truck broke down towards the end of the day and the replacement truck was running late. The driver initially resorted to running a few packages on foot. At the point of inevitable failure, this driver flagged down a competitor driving through the city and convinced the driver to take her to her last few stops. This story is a tangible demonstration of a company’s commitment to achieving goals and a complete understanding of the communication between management and the team responsible for carrying out the company’s objectives! The goal was not to drive a particular route each day. The goal was to ensure results. PEAK PERFORMANCE SALES TRAINING, LLC 630 Freedom Business Center, King of Prussia, PA 19406 866-816-0991 | (610) 878 9400http://www.peakperformancesalestraining.com/ © 2015 Peak Performance Sales Training, LLC Authorized use granted by express permission only. Unauthorized Distribution, Duplication, Appropriation or Reproduction in Whole or in Part Strictly Prohibited. CEO Coaching TipsCEO Tips and ArticlesSales Management Tips and ToolsSales Objection | Sales Blogsales obstacles