My only beef about this book is its title.It should be "Leading for Sales Results".It is rare with all the "me too" books out there to see something that delivers.Mr. Marks does just that.It's a book I simply couldn't put down.
Leadership has become quite the buzz word lately.You can't pick up any business magazine without seeing a relevant article.But most of it just transposes the word leadership for management.While Mr Marks book is still a top down management style vs my training in Dynamic Governance--it brings some of the concepts to light.
I won't go through the book on a one by one line item--but a few ideas will entice you to purchase.
Ideas on where to find salespeople using "Guerrilla" tactics are not new but bear repeating.Prospecting is very important to me.I often cold call an office to receive not an inquiry for a product, but an interview.If cold calling is important to you, and you are cold called upon--there you go.Look for places where people use this skills but may be underpaid and opportunity challenged.The author suggests Nordstroms, where they probably not only have the skills but a professional wardrobe.
In interviewing, evaluate how the person thinks about his/her purchases.If you market a product with a one time close cycle and your candidate is a slow, think it over, take your time kind of sales buyer--they may have trouble pushing a prospect to purchase differently than their own style.The Japanese have a saying, "as above so below".Its amazingly basic but I never thought of it that way.
A recent blog entry on my website was a article on dread.Salespeople live their lives in dread because of prospecting, yet managers pick their battles and don't push it.As the author points out, prospecting is discussed during the interview and is given lip service by the candidate, but no follow through.As a manager if you allow that to happen, you are more at fault than the salesperson.Marks "call to action" is so simple and step by step, you don't have any more excuses.
Nothing here is hard to implement.One easy "take away" I will implement in my sales training and coaching is the C-Letter or commitment letter.It simply says as manager you agree to give the employee all the tools they need to succeed.The employee agrees to use those tools.This letter becomes a talking point in follow up evaluations.
Follow up evaluations are explained in wonderfully simple detail.This is a great read and one of the very few I'd heartedly recommend.
Product Description
Ron Marks puts his decades of experience in the field of sales leadership to work to spell out an effective, profitable management method for the most important and unique employees in any business: salespeople.With an intelligent and easy to understand argument for the kind of leadership that motivates salespeople and instantly useful practical tips to improve productivity, reduce turnover, increase employee satisfaction, and ensure that you hire smart instead of hiring often, this book proves that there is a much quicker route to effective management than years of trial and error.
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