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It’s Only Common Sense: The Game of Sales

The World Series is upon us this year and what a series it is! On one side, you have the Chicago Cubs, who have not won a series in 108 years, competing against the Cleveland Indians, who have not won one since 1948. Both teams are from the original leagues when there were only eight teams in each, so they are steeped in history and tradition.

And the one thing both teams have in common this year is that they have both been terrifically managed. The Cubs have as their president of operations Theo Epstein, the guy who put together the curse-breaking 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. And the Indians are managed by none other than Terry Francona, who was the manager of those curse-breaking World Champion Boston Red Sox. Now they are against each other—Francona and Epstein—in this World Series. This is a tremendous tribute to team-building and goal-setting, which come to think of it, is exactly what we need to do when we are managing a sales team.

Managing a sales team is just like managing a sports team. You strive to put the best team on the field and then manage them to greatness. It means, just like a sports team, you must deal with all the team members as individuals, figuring out how to handle each of them, from the prima donnas to the underachievers and rookies. Then you must bring them together as one cohesive unit that will work together towards one common goal of winning the game, or in our case, making forecast.

It means finding and signing the veteran proven superstars, the rookies with great promise, and the so-so middling players, and coaching and motivating them to greatness. It means being able to evaluate the synergy among the players so they can all function as one effective team.

As I said, the most important thing is to put the best team on the field, or in the case of sales, in the field. But be careful; this is not as easy as it sounds, because nasty little details like lives, families, and personal details are involved…or are they?

Yes, they are, but you must deal with them. As a sales manager, you must have a clear and concise direction towards a defined goal. You must know where you are going. You should know exactly what success looks like. And then you must communicate that to your team so that you will all be rowing in the same direction. In short, you must keep your eye on the prize.

And a big part of achieving that goal is knowing what tactics it will take to achieve it. It will also mean knowing what you can expect from each member of your sales team. This is why fundamentals like target accounts, account plans, and account-by-account monthly forecasts are so important. If you are going to meet a lofty goal you must develop a tactical plan that can be broken down into a step-by-step process—a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, quarter-by-quarter process that will eventually lead to you and your team making your goal for the year.

By doing this and measuring your progress with such diligence, you will always know exactly where you are on this journey of making your goal.

But let’s get back to the most important part of the team: the individual players, or in our case, salespeople and how we manage them. Here are five things you must look at when managing a salesperson:

1. Does this person have a passion for sales? Remember: You hire passion and you teach product. This is critical. Passion cannot be taught.
2. Is this person a team player? Is she willing to sacrifice for the team?
3. Does this person treat his job as a career? Does he treat it as something like a craft? Is he always honing his skills and learning how to be better?
4. Is this person teachable? Does she “know everything” or is she willing to learn new things?
5. And finally, is this person willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done? Is this person willing to work day and night to make that forecast? Is this person willing to work weekends if that is what it takes? Is this person ready to help his teammates make their goals, knowing that if they win the entire team wins? And there is one more…always under-promise and over-deliver.
6. Will this person go the extra mile to take one for the team?

Think about these six characteristics and think about your team. Are they ready to go to the World Series? Are they ready to make that forecast and bring in enough new customers and sales to drive your company to have a successful year? As the manager, you had better be sure that they are, because that, my friend, is your job.

It’s only common sense.