Overcoming Barriers to Sales
by: Richard Gorham
Ever thought to yourself, กIf only my team members would complete the tasks that we mutually agreed to in our action plan.ก
Most managers have felt this way about certain employees at some point in time.
Letกs face it, some employees have a very hard time consistently executing tasks that กshouldก be relatively simple to complete.
So what are the barriers getting in the way of their success?
Actually, there are several types of barriers but perhaps not the typical sort of barriers that you may be thinking.
Barriers can be classified in three major categories. Each category identifies strong barriers that, if not quickly identified and corrected by the team leader, can negatively impact the progress of your team.
The Three Major Types of Barriers are: (Hint: Remember A, B, C)
Attitude Barriers
Behavioral Barriers
Conceptual Barriers
Attitude Barriers
Every employee must take ownership of his or her own attitude.
A manager is NOT in charge of anyoneกs attitude except her own. If an employee has a poor and nonproductive attitude and is not willing to correct it, that is a personal choice and that person needs to be held accountable for that decision.
Quite simply, there are too many quality people who are willing to learn and add value to an organization, for a leader to invest time and money on anyone who makes the conscious กchoiceก to portray a poor attitude.
Keep in mind, if a leader does NOT hold team members accountable for nonproductive attitudes, then he/she has in essence told the team กitกs okก.
Employees’ displaying poor attitudes is NOT ok. A leader should never allow herself to be seen as กsanctioningก this kind of behavior.
Here is a great way to communicate expectations about กowning your attitudeก to your team.
Go to any hardware store and buy the largest coat hook that you can find. ‘the Hookก will be a visual reminder to your team members that you expect them to leave any personal issues or poor attitudes on this hook prior to beginning their day.
(Suggestion: You might want to paint The Hook a bright silver or gold color, and perhaps even mount The Hook on a nice piece of stained wood. Hang The Hook in a common area, away from customer view, where employees will see it often and be reminded throughout the day about your expectations of leaving poor attitudes on The Hook as they do not belong anywhere in the workplace.)
When you introduce ‘the Hookก, and your expectations relating to attitude, you might say something like:
‘rest assured, if you each will make sure to leave all your personal issues on the hook each morning when you arrive, I will take personal responsibility for guarding it on your behalf. I will watch over it for you throughout the day, and I promise that every night when you are ready to return home, it will still be there just waiting for you to take it back home with you. That is my solemn promise to each of you.ก
Behavioral Barriers
Behavioral barriers equal actions not taken or completed, which hinder the achievement of maximum results.
Behavioral barriers refer to an employee not completing critical sales management tasks as expected despite having mutually agreed to do so.
Managers spend most of their time coaching to behaviors working to increase results of the midlevel and lowlevel producers.
Examples of behavioral barriers include techniques, strategies and skills such as:
Prospecting
Profiling
Telemarketing/scripting
Overcoming objections
Asking for the business
Closing the sale
Following up and managing the relationship
Leaders who are very successful in overcoming behavioral barriers follow this threestep approach in this sequential order:
Managers must TEACH employees what behaviors (actions) are expected
Managers must COACH employees to build their confidence to master sales management behaviors
Managers must EXPECT and hold employees accountable for completing the desired behaviors on a consistent basis
Conceptual Barriers
Conceptual barriers are the absolute most difficult barriers to overcome.
Conceptual barriers are the barriers that are right behind the eyes, DEEP within the brain. กBeliefsก which were planted at a very young age and reenforced over a long period of time which is why they are so hard to กdislodgeก.
Here are a few quick examples of conceptual barriers:
(Think back to your own childhood. Were you ever taught any of the following rules?)
Don’t talk to strangers
It is impolite to talk about money
Never interrupt important people
Wait to be asked
Now think about what you are asking your sales people to do.
Telemarket (cold call)
Profile/Prequalify based on ability to buy
Create new relationships
Do you see how many of the things we were taught as children fly directly in the face of today’s daily sales management expectations?
It is no wonder why some folks have such a difficult time adopting certain routine sales management practices. They are quite literally กhandicappedก by a belief system that limits their potential for success.
As a leader it’s your responsibility to approach performance issues with a clear understanding of these predetermined belief systems. Armed with this knowledge you can more quickly address issues in a way that can help both the sales rep and your entire organization.
About The Author
Richard Gorham is the founder and President of LeadershipTools, Inc. His web site, http://www.leadershiptools.com is dedicated to providing free tools and resources for todayกs aspiring leaders. Offering highquality tools in the areas of Business Planning, Leadership Development, Customer Service, Sales Management and Team Building.
This article was posted on January 01
by Richard Gorham