Setting clear expectations is an important part of any sales leader\u2019s\nworking day. Unfortunately, it\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t always happen as\neffectively or as consistently as we might like. Here are five simple steps you\ncan take to get better at this critical part of the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eliminate the words\n\u201cobvious\u201d and \u201cobviously\u201d from your vocabulary. <\/strong>If you ever find\nyourself tempted to use one of these words in conversation with a salesperson,\nbe aware that you are about to make communication more difficult than it has to\nbe. What is \u201cobvious\u201d to one person may be totally counterintuitive to someone\nelse\u2026 and pointing out, after the fact, what should have been \u201cobvious\u201d can\nmake it harder for salespeople to feel comfortable asking you for clarification\nwhen they are confused about something. Many times, we believe our expectations\nare \u201cobvious\u201d simply because we<\/em> know\nwhat our desired outcome is, and we <\/em>can\u2019t\nsee any reason why someone wouldn\u2019t do what we<\/em>\nwould do automatically in the same situation. But suppose someone doesn\u2019t have\nour perspective or our level of experience? How \u201cobvious\u201d is the desired\noutcome then? We have a saying at Sandler: \u201cNo mutual mystification.\u201d The goal\nis for you and your team members to be totally clear about what you\u2019re all\nfocused on, what the goals are, and what specific results are expected by what\npoint in time. Fixating on whether something is or was \u201cobvious\u201d is a\ndysfunctional game, one that gets in the way of that kind of clarity. Assume\nthere is always room for discussion about whether something you expect is clear\nto the salesperson. Make it easy for people to have that conversation. By the\nway, other phrases to avoid include \u201cyou know\u201d (maybe they don\u2019t know!), \u201clike\nlast time\u201d (way too vague to be helpful to anyone) and \u201cjust do a good job\u201d\n(meaningless).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set specific income\nexpectations, break them down, and tie them to the salesperson\u2019s personal\ngoals. <\/strong>Focus first on that which is countable. Let\u2019s say the salesperson is\nresponsible for delivering $1 million in total revenue this year, which breaks down as $250,000 a quarter. That\u2019s a great start\u2026 but\ndon\u2019t stop there. The salesperson should know both their business goals (their\nquota) and their personal goals (the answer to the question \u201cWhy am I working?\u201d).\nThe personal goals will push each person to exceed the business goals. People work\nfor their families first and the company second! So connect all the dots. Note\nthat revenue goals are\ntechnically known as lagging indicators. Eventually, you\u2019ll also want to focus\non the leading indicators \u2013 the behaviors\n<\/em>that support the revenue goals you\u2019ve both taken on. (More about leading\nindicators in a moment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set specific expectations\nin terms of the product mix.<\/strong> Say something like this: \u201cOut of that $1\nmillion, we want to spread the annual figure out evenly among the following\nfive products.\u201d This discussion is just as important as the discussion about\nthe annual and quarterly revenue goals. It helps eliminate the situation where\nsalespeople spend most of their time, effort, and energy on the products that\nthey feel the most comfortable with\u2026 and do not put forth a full portfolio of\noptions for customers to pick from, or look for new, diverse opportunities\nwithin an account. The mix and the approach will be determined by the account\nplan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set specific\nexpectations for the types of clients you want to work with.<\/strong> Say, \u201cSo this is\nthe number that we both agree we need to hit, here’s the product mix that we’re\nlooking for\u2026 and now here are the types of clients that we would like you to\nfocus your energies on.\u201d The KARE account planning tool groups business opportunities\ninto four logical, meaningful profiles that you can use in setting business\ndevelopment priorities with the salesperson. They are: KEEP, ATTAIN, RECAPTURE,\nand EXPAND. Help the salesperson set the appropriate targets within each <\/em>of these four very different\nobjectives. (To learn more about Sandler\u2019s KARE tool, check out this video<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Create and coach to\na cookbook.<\/strong> The cookbook, also known as the behavioral plan, builds on and supports\neverything we have been talking about. Take the revenue goal, the desired\nproduct mix, and the types of clients you want to serve, and then work side by\nside with the salesperson to create a daily, weekly, and monthly \u201crecipe\u201d that uses\nreal-world ratios to identify the specific daily, weekly, and quarterly\nactivity levels that will deliver the revenue outcomes you\u2019re both committed\nto. These activities are the leading indicators we mentioned in step #2. The\nright cookbook is incredibly important, because it helps the salesperson to\nfocus the appropriate amount of time and energy on the behaviors that support\nyour expectations. There is no ambiguity about what is expected. A personalized\ncookbook gives your salespeople a clear behavioral and activity plan they can\nfollow every single working day. It also serves as a kind of GPS, letting\nsalespeople know when they are going off track and exactly what they need to do\nto get back on track. Last but not least, the cookbook helps you, the leader,\nto coach and train the person during periodic check-ins. Note that you\u2019re not\nmanaging the end result, the revenue, during these meetings\u2026 you\u2019re simply\nmanaging the behaviors, the leading indicators that support the salesperson\u2019s\ngoals (and yours). You\u2019re helping the salesperson to identify for themselves\nwhat they need to do in order to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The part about periodic check-ins is extremely important. It’s unfair to both you and the salesperson to set an expectation for quarterly income, and then only check in on the salesperson\u2019s progress the week before the quarter ends! That\u2019s stressful for everyone. We suggest periodic, private one-on-one check-ins three or four times a month. That level of frequency will support each of the five steps I\u2019ve shared with you here, and it will make setting and reinforcing clear expectations for each member of your sales team a matter of habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n