Increasing Sales Performance

Lana J. Chandler
March 31, 2010 | COMMENTS

There is no magic bullet for increasing sales performance,” states Patti Yeiser Potter, president of Yeiser Training for the Financial Industry in Cordova, Tennessee. “To be successful at sales, you have to start at the top, be willing to make the needed changes, and devote attention to the process daily.”

For years Potter taught the four key skills that support the development of a sales culture:

• Product knowledge.
• Client service (developing and implementing quality service standards).
• Selling skills.
• Sales management.

“Some clients that I worked with soared following the training, enjoying performance increases as high as 800%,” she says. “Other clients enjoyed improvements initially, but within six months returned to their pre-training levels. Some institutions invested a lot of money in the entire process but ended up with lukewarm results, which always upset me.” For years Potter has strongly encouraged clients to embrace the disciplined approach presented in her sales management program to implement the new systems, processes, and routines.

“Smaller institutions often struggle to get all of these pieces in place and keep them there,” she adds. “Often having one person dedicated to the process seems overwhelming. Since I really like to do all of those things, I suggested to one of my clients to hire me as an outsourced sales manager and let me do it. In the meantime, we could find someone internally to take over once my contract was over. We could possibly even work together, so that he or she could learn the structure and how to manage things daily.”

Potter limits her work as an outsourced sales manager to three clients per year. “It takes that much time to set things up and manage it all correctly,” she says. “I spend at least one week per month in-house with the client and usually have an office or at least a desk that becomes my home away from home. The rest of the month everything else is done via telephone, e-mail, webinars, etc.”

Groundwork for Success

There are senior managers who will tell you that they want to implement a sales culture, but when you get right down to outlining what needs to change and what investments need to be made, they baulk. “Worse is when selected members of senior management support the process and others don't,” Potter says. “The changes needed address every aspect of banking. They can be so profound that it isn't possible to be successful unless you have at least a working agreement among all parties involved. Big egos and turf protection are exhausting and will pummel and weaken the effort.”

Whether you outsource sales management or assume the role yourself, building a successful sales culture takes planning, work, and commitment. Potter offers these tips:

Work with senior management to determine what they want to accomplish and how your institution is going to do it.

• Review employees' current skills levels.
• Assess how you track sales performance.
• Review current reporting processes.
• Evaluate how you reward employees for sales performance.
• Make sure you have the right “sales leaders” in place. Potter works directly with the institution's sales managers and refers to them as “sales leaders.” They are the people who coach and evaluate the employees. “My work with the sales leaders is intensive and similar to a management training program,” Potter says. “If you don't have the right leaders on the ‘bus' so to speak, you won't build a successful sales culture.”

A Daily Commitment

Reinforcing and sustaining sales performance is an ongoing initiative. Potter advises that branch managers:

• Be “sales leaders” for their teams.. It is important for employees to receive their coaching and feedback from their manager. That manager is the person who observes them daily.
• Provide employees with positive reinforcement. Let people know when they do a good job. Be specific with your comments and observations.
• Offer corrective feedback when needed. “I think the cruelest thing a leader can do is to not provide corrective feedback to their employees, but then allow their weaknesses to keep them from being promoted or considered for advancement,” Potter says. “The right people want to do a good job; they want this in their hearts. Although people may not jump for joy when receiving criticism, if it is coupled with ideas on how to change and grow, it will make your relationship with them stronger.”

This story appeared in Branch Manager's Letter at www.branchmanagersletter.com and is reprinted with permission. Contact publisher Lana J. Chandler at 304-343-0206 or Lana@BranchManagersLetter.com.