What’s it like to be part of a winning sales culture?
This is Sales Untangled Co-Founder, Martin’s story on sales cultures…
“It was the early 90s and the afternoon sun was beating down as I floated on my back in the hotel pool. I vividly remember looking up at the neon hotel sign and thinking: Wow! How did a boy from East Hull end up here: The Intercontinental Nairobi.
This was way before the days of discount airlines and cheap holidays. I worked for six years before I could afford a package holiday to a partly-built apartment on a Greek island.
This was the first time I’d left Europe and the last day of an incredible all-expenses paid safari holiday in Kenya.
Yep. My team and I had won the national sales incentive. Wow!
Of course the idea of sales culture didn’t exist in those days. But looking back we ticked all of the right boxes of a sales culture without knowing it. Here’s what we did…
Like many companies at the time we had a big, national sales team. The job of National Sales Director carried real kudos.
I was the area manager for one of the 15 areas nationally, with a team of six.
Shared goal
We were selling soft drinks so the big sales incentive always covered the six months of the summer. As soon as the incentive was announced I believed we could win it.
My very simple calculation was that one third of the teams would think they didn’t have a chance. And inevitably they would be proved right!
Another third would think “wouldn’t it be nice.” But without a plan that would be nothing more than a dream.
I figured that meant before we even reached the start line we had a one in five chance of landing the big one.
Planning for success
I divided the six months into three phases:
Phase one: Establish belief.
My team was used to missing targets. If we were to sustain success over six months they would need to see proof that our goal was achievable.
It was critical that we had a fast start so the team could see we really were in the top 5 after month one. And we were.
A clear focus on big orders from big customers made this happen. We were up and running!
Sales coaching
As a Sales Manager I was targeted to spend 70% of my time on the road with my team.
On each of these days out we had detailed skills development sheets that were used to build each person’s selling ability.
But I set myself a higher target of 80%. I figured that by racing through my weekly reports it would be possible to spend four full days a week out with the team.
Looking back, it was a massive investment in people development, equal to a couple of days a month for each team member.
It not only built sales skills, but during this period it gave us time together to focus on our plan: To get to Africa.
Phase two: Sell out.
Collaboration
The summer period didn’t just mean big orders for soft drinks. It meant holidays. And that brought disruption to our sales calls and customer order cycles.
This time around we didn’t let that happen. Wherever it looked like we’d miss customer visits and have to double orders we re-prioritised the biggest customers.
Each member of the team stepped into each other’s jobs so the customers with biggest potential were those who always received a personal visit. Big orders were nurtured and volumes stayed high.
This added variety too, and gave people a chance to try new things. Which in turn led to….
Keeping it fun
Sales jobs are never easy. If you’re on the road it can be lonely (though not so much if your boss is out with you twice a month!).
It’s often cold and wet, it can be dirty when you’re moving cases of stock around warehouses, and by it’s nature, selling can be disappointing.
In this environment it’s so important to keep it fun. And we celebrated every mis-step or accident with laughter. Whatever went wrong, the rest of the team picked out the positive and kept us moving forward.
I suspect I was the focus of more of these jokes than was admitted, but hey, that comes – literally – with the territory.
The importance of execution
We got ourselves in the leading pack early in the incentive by taking big orders from wholesale customers.
So phase two meant doing everything we could to shift this stock. We worked frantically to build displays, incentivise retailers with special deals and secure new listings.
It worked, which led us to the home straight.
Phase three: Restock the trade.
Constructive competition
This is so hard to get right in a sales team. Ask for too much and people start hoarding leads and “favourite” customers. Not enough and your team lacks the winning edge and targets slip.
Having worked to sell out stock during phase two the home straight meant refilling stock levels at wholesale.
By this stage the incentive was a two-horse race between us and one other team.
Late summer always meant stock shortages and it was our sector that suffered. It was much easier to let down a retailer in Wolverhampton than say No to Tesco.
It was only much later that I found out the other Area Managers in my team were shuffling that scarce stock to my area. Better that one of our colleagues in the midlands wins than that lot in London again!
Customer engagement
By this stage customers too were helping us get across the line. We had to be selective of course, but my team had some brilliant relationships and some of those people wanted “my rep” to do well.
They were more than happy to re-stock after the peak of summer to ensure we started the run to Christmas in good shape.
Big orders came through in September and it was that mad gallop that saw us reach the finishing line in first place.
The experience of a lifetime. Wow!
And finally…
Making sales success repeatable
And this is where it gets difficult when it comes to sales culture. Top athletes often say that the hardest thing is winning for the second time.
Once you’re holding a gold medal it’s harder to motivate yourself for the four years of training you know are needed to win next time.
And so it proved with this team.
Success meant a number of us moved on to bigger jobs within the company. That’s a great thing for motivation of the broader team and a big attraction for new joiners.
But it meant that our winning sales culture was diluted. It really was a case of right place, right time.
It’s why a winning sales culture is such a rare thing. One of those precious things that deserves to be celebrated. And what a way to celebrate!”
If creating a winning sales culture is something you’d like to explore. Let’s chat!
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