I just left another company to return to more familiar territory and I am so happy. First of all, at my most recent employer, I was in the top ten in the country and not making any money based on some weird commission structure. Consequently I returned to the company I had worked for two years ago. Smart move on my part. Why? I was just informed that my company had implemented a new "Strategic Call Initiative" to all the reps. What does that mean? It means "get ready to be micro managed until you quit or get fired." Fortunately for me, I found another job right when they made this transition so I don't have to put up with the bullshit. The reps are now required to log all their calls into salesforce.com... from the field! What's funny is management is not even trying to hide the fact that they want the reps to do this in order to track their sales rep's position. In other words track them via GPS! What is this an episode of "Homeland?" Are Carrie and Brody going to show up and arrest a rep who isn't logging in their calls properly?
What is even more bizarre is the message management is sending to the field. "We don't trust you to manage yourselves or your time so we're going to do it for you."
I think the Communists had more freedom under Stalin than this blatant form of salesforce fascism. Here's a clue to all sales managers, junior and senior. MICRO MANAGEMENT DOES NOT WORK! Here's why:
- It Turns Reps Into Liars - If you're a manager and you tell a rep he has to do 10 calls per day or even 20 cold calls per day, they just start making shit up. So why do it? I'll tell you why, because the manager is an idiot who doesn't trust his/her reps. If a sales rep doesn't want to work he/she won't make money and will eventually be fired. Whether they log in 20 calls per day or 2. If they don't work, they get fired. Sales is about results...NOT ACTIVITY! If a rep isn't working instead he/she is just going to get creative with the calls they supposedly make during the day. Do you want people working and telling the truth, or do you want them sitting at home putting more effort into creating a story then Nicolas Sparks. I would rather have a rep producing sales than producing lines on a page. If management wants screenwriters, just try to micro manage sales reps, and the management team will read more bullshit on salesforce.com than you'll find after the bulls run in Pamplona.
- Do You Want Sales Reps Or Data Entry Clerks - If a rep is on salesforce.com throughout the day, logging in calls on his/her phone or computer, then when are they selling? I know that it's getting easier and easier to log these calls but if as a manager, I have reps more worried about keying in data then selling product, they're no good to me or my company. Logging calls should be short,sweet, and simple, not an arduous task where you have to input who you called on, what was discussed, and what is the next course of action. If I wanted a data entry clerk I would hire a nerd straight out of high school with an aptitude for computers, not a sales rep. Simply put, logging in sales calls, IS data entry, and it has nothing to do with sales. The philosophy here is that if you have a lot of activity, eventually you'll sell something. Personally I would rather shoot a sniper rifle at a sales target then a shotgun full of buckshot. I can be more deadly with a rifle. If you don't get the analogy please don't ever purchase a gun.
- It Alienates Your Entire Sales Team - If managers think some reps have a bad attitude and they implement this nonsense, they are sure to piss off every rep in the country. Why do you think sales reps choose their profession? For the freedom to manage their own work schedule! Any manager who doesn't know this is a moron. Ask a senior manager how they would respond if he/she were asked to log in calls from the field, and I guarantee they wouldn't like it one bit! It's hypocritical for them to ask the same thing of their sales reps. The reason work in the sales profession is so they can manage themselves and manage their own lives. If you can manage yourself and your time you can be a successful rep. It's about freedom. If management takes this away from a rep, then it just upsets the rep and they will inevitably leave the company.
- Do Not Confuse Activity With Results - When I was a young and inexperienced sales manager, I always assumed sales was about the numbers. It was about the activity. So I rode my reps like plow horses to get activity from them...and they hated me. What's even worse is that I had them focused on all this activity and never on the final result. So what happened? My numbers were so bad, I finally had a meeting and I asked my reps, "Obviously our focus on activity is not working. So what do you think we should do to get better results. And I want honest answers." Maybe that was the wrong thing to say but they gave me candid responses:
- "Get off our asses about the stupid call logs. We can't be writing pre and post call plans for every frigging call. It takes up time when you're doing ten appointments per day. Sales reps don't like paperwork that's why we're in sales. "
- "When we spend 30% of our time logging in calls, when are we supposed to market to our bigger accounts? When we're sleeping? I need to hit my top ten targets with seeding pieces and I don't have time when I'm logging in calls all day and night."
- "When I sell a big account don't cheer me one minute and then chew my ass out for not filling out all my call log the rest of the day. It just pisses me off. I had just sold a big account and one minute your praising me and the next minute you're asking what the fuck is wrong with me, and why can't I fill out an activity report. "
- " Get a new tie. I hate that stupid brown one you always wear. It looks like a dog took a shit on your shirt. Go out with me, we will sell an account and I'll buy you a new tie, but please don't wear that thing anymore." I gotta big kick out of that one. And I did go buy a new tie. And the next year, after I eased up a bit, we were #1 in the region.
- Micro Management Is Micro Minutia - In light of the changes in the sales arena in recent years, and the advent of Sales 2.0, everyone seems to think Sales is now a science. Sales is a science but activity is not what will always lead to results. There a many components to the sales process and a happy and engaging sales force is the best weapon to have in you want to increase your numbers. I can remember as a new sales manager there were times when I was so bogged down with paperwork that I couldn't leave the office! There was always one more call to make, one more conference call to be on, or one more report to file. I was buried in minutia, and I never wanted my reps to get caught up in the same type of scenario. So I made sure they weren't bogged down with entering data, keying in orders, writing up presentations. I assisted them as much as I could so they could focus on the more important things...like selling!
I am so glad I will not be participating in the "Micro Management Marathon" at my previous employer. I'm sure there will be a lot of fierce competitors, and many contenders, but unfortunately it's hard to run a marathon in lead shoes. Because management has just shackled their reps with a bunch of clerical duties and not given them the freedom they need to be successful. Can you say the word "implosion", because that's what I see in the company's future.
Have a great day selling!
-M
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