PPB November 2017

the client on an appointment. I saw the texts; the sales manager’s communication was not specific and it appeared to be an easy mistake to make. Her sales manager, however, reacted badly. While sitting at the customer’s location, within earshot of the decision maker’s office, the sales manager said to my friend, in a loud voice, “Good grief, if you can’t get the right forms for a meeting, how can I ever trust you to work deals on your own?” The manager’s tirade went on for a few minutes and other people in the company could obviously hear. The salesperson, of course, was mortified, and her confidence plummeted. Had this happened a year down the road, after she had established herself as a proven performer, she could have let this behavior roll off her back (although it still shouldn’t happen). But because of the timing, her confidence took a hit. The sales manager committed several errors. As we all know, a manager should praise in public and reprimand in private. Second, a manager should never air dirty laundry at the customer’s location. Third, right before a sales call, any issues should be put on hold so they don’t affect the customer visit that’s about to take place. These hold true for any salesperson, but when the salesperson is new, each of these errors is magnified. So, what does your new salesperson need you to do in the launch stage? 1 Instill confidence. You’ve been there before, and in many cases, your salesperson hasn’t. Your job, as much as possible, is to help them become more familiar with the unknown. Show the salesperson what to expect, based on their sales activity and proposal level. Help them forecast which sales will close and which ones will not. Impart as many good selling techniques as you can, and let the salesperson work independently as much as possible. 2 Praise liberally. In the earliest stages of a salesperson’s development, such as the onboarding and pre- launch phase (typically the first 90 days), watch your salesperson’s activity very carefully and offer gentle correction whenever things are taking a wrong turn. Bad habits can settle in quickly, so correct early on rather than waiting. However, once you’re past the onboarding phase, try to hold off on calling out problems and, instead, praise what the new salesperson is doing right. This is particularly important with Millennials. In the launch phase, your new salesperson should be seeing some successes. Those wins might be small or they might be big—but in the salesperson’s mind, they’re all big, so you need to reinforce and praise them. There’s plenty of time in the long term to polish up techniques or point the salesperson to other accounts that need to be targeted. But for now, every win should come with high-fives and bell-ringing. 3 Hold your tongue. This is tough, but it’s one of the steps that separates the great sales managers from the mediocre. Remember that the launch phase is temporary. Typically, it lasts from 30 to 60 days. At the end of that period, salespeople are usually able to convince themselves that things are going to be good going forward, they toughen up mentally, and they are better able to handle criticism and adversity. The question that you, the sales manager, must ask yourself during the launch phase is this: If the salesperson makes a mistake, is it indicative of a pattern that could endanger success on more sales calls, or is it a one-time issue? If it’s a one-time issue, make a note of it, store it away and come back to it after the launch phase is over. If the misstep is indicative of a pattern, correct it now, of course, but in as non-threatening a manner as possible. For an example of how not to do it, refer to my story above. Here’s the best news of all. If you handle the launch phase well, your salesperson is more likely to become one of those whom you don’t have to worry about—and you can devote your attention to the next one to launch. Troy Harrison is a speaker, consultant, sales navigator, and author of Sell Like You Mean It! and The Pocket Sales Manager. He helps companies build more profitable and productive sales forces with his cutting-edge sales training and methodologies. For information on booking speaking/training engagements, consulting or to sign up for his weekly E-zine, call 913-645-3603, e-mail Troy@TroyHarrison.com or visit www.TroyHarrison.com . In the launch phase, your new salesperson should be seeing some successes. Thosewins might be small or theymight be big—but in the salesperson’s mind, they’re all big, so youneed to reinforce and praise them. | NOVEMBER 2017 | 51 GROW