Many small businesses to large organizations would secure far greater results if they would think investment not cost regarding training the sales force as well as all other employees. However, headlines such as this one 3 Questions Business Owners Need to Ask About Employee Expenses to engaging in Google searches more often that not refer to salespersons and employees in general as a cost or expense.
Of course these same small business owners to C Suite executives talk about how ?they value their employees? and ?how their employees are their greatest asset.?? Yet examining their C Suite Board of Executive, very rarely will you find a Chief People Officer (CPO) sitting at the table with the CEO, COO, CIO, CTO, CFO, etc. And the reason for this is because employees are viewed as a cost, an expense, a liability and not as an investment.
Part of the rationale for this mindset is that in many organizations when examining the budget look to their greatest expenditures usually employees? salaries, employees benefits and in some cases marketing. By cutting this large percentage of the overall expenditures creates a false belief in reducing costs and improving profitability. The sales force is not viewed as human capital or an asset, but rather a liability to be controlled and reduced.
Another explanation is the value behind training or upgrading the sales skills.? Machines to buildings can be upgraded and that upgrade may last at least a decade if not longer expect for technology.? People may require continual upgrading (learning, training and development) to specific sales skills as they are the individuals dealing with all the changes in the marketplace from compliance to market changes to customers.? The expansion into the global marketplace only adds more change into the mix.
A third explanation goes to the organizational misalignment between strategy, structure, processes, rewards and people.? Sales people are continually asked to be responsible for gaps in the organization that start at the top and cascade down.
The inability to increase sales is usually a symptom not the real problem.
Blaming the sales force is much easier than investigating the real problem for lack luster sales, customer turnover, etc. In many cases, this disconnect or gap happens between the job description, the performance appraisal and inconsistent behaviors by sales management to small business owners.
However, the deeper explanation is truly the lack of value specific to learning and development.? If leadership in sales management, at the C Suite truly valued learning, then investing in their sales teams would be as they say a ?No Brainer.?? Most of the sales training coaching focuses on specific sales skills instead of the attitudes within the sales force.
Possibly the fear of identifying those attitudes might be a reflection upon sales management to executive leadership??
In other words, the ?I?m okay, You?re the problem? syndrome.
The sales force training should always be viewed as an investment instead of a cost or an expense.? When sales management embraces this belief or attitude, then they will probably begin to realize business success, increase sales and even reduced expenditures.
Remember, people buy from people and not from upgraded technology, newest software or the best looking building.
Share on Facebook
hemlock hemlock mark rothko mark rothko wiccan pumpkin carvings mcrib
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.