親愛的安妮:您最近一篇關(guān)于實(shí)現(xiàn)2016年銷售目標(biāo)的文章,吸引了我的注意,因?yàn)槲艺J(rèn)為我們可能達(dá)不到自己的目標(biāo)。主要原因在于,團(tuán)隊(duì)中的兩個人在過去幾個月中的表現(xiàn)極其令人失望。我感覺我怪不了誰,只能怪我自己,因?yàn)槭俏夜蛡蛄诉@兩個人——其中一個還是替代我的,因?yàn)槲以诮衲?月被提拔到了現(xiàn)在銷售經(jīng)理的位置。(實(shí)際上,我聘用他,是因?yàn)樗屛蚁肫鹆俗约耗贻p的時(shí)候,但是,看來是我搞錯了。)現(xiàn)在我在尋找這兩人的替代人選,可能還會再增加一個銷售崗位,不過這次我承擔(dān)不起犯錯的代價(jià)了。關(guān)于這一方面有許多文章,我也正在研究它們,但是我還是想聽聽您的意見。——“踢我自己” 親愛的“踢我自己”:首先做個深呼吸,不要再自責(zé)了。出色的銷售人員沒有道理自動轉(zhuǎn)變成出色的銷售經(jīng)理,盡管各公司總是不斷試圖把前者變成后者。《銷售流程的背后:以客戶為導(dǎo)向的世界里的12條金科玉律》(Beyond the Sales Process: 12 Proven Strategies for a Customer-Driven World)的作者戴夫·施泰因表示:“銷售和管理,包括招聘,需要的技能天差地別。”施泰因有著30年培訓(xùn)銷售團(tuán)隊(duì)和銷售經(jīng)理的經(jīng)驗(yàn),他表示,不管是誰,讓你在沒有經(jīng)過足夠(甚至沒有經(jīng)過任何)管理培訓(xùn)的情況下提拔你,都得為你現(xiàn)在的困境“負(fù)至少一半責(zé)任”。他指出,研究顯示,像你一樣作為“獎勵”獲得提拔的銷售明星,失敗的概率高達(dá)驚人的85%。 不僅如此,即便是經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的銷售經(jīng)理也會雇傭許多不夠出色的員工。施泰因注意到:“根據(jù)研究的不同,企業(yè)對企業(yè)的銷售人員每年的淘汰率為25%至40%。部分原因在于許多銷售人員十分擅于在面試中推銷自己。”他還補(bǔ)充道,那些讓你回想起年輕時(shí)的自己的人,“可能很擅于巧妙地模仿你。”因此,不要太自責(zé)了。施泰因表示,相信本能,或“直覺”,是許多銷售經(jīng)理在招聘時(shí)最常犯的錯,即便是有多年經(jīng)驗(yàn)的經(jīng)理也不例外。 那么你應(yīng)該怎么做?施泰因給出了三種方式,幫助你提高找對目標(biāo)的可能性; ?不要一個人做決定。想要搞清楚應(yīng)聘者多么契合機(jī)構(gòu)的文化,多么了解機(jī)構(gòu)的目標(biāo),有一個久經(jīng)考驗(yàn)的方法,就是請幾個同事來參加面試。施泰因推薦由三個人組成面試小組,不過其他兩個人不必每次一樣。例如,如果原來招聘你的經(jīng)理還在,你可以邀請他/她,再加上一個你現(xiàn)有銷售團(tuán)隊(duì)中表現(xiàn)突出的員工。這樣做的目的,是對每個應(yīng)聘者有不止一種看法。施泰因認(rèn)為,即便是有多年經(jīng)驗(yàn)的銷售經(jīng)理,也建議這么做。 ?不要改變招聘流程。施泰因見過許多銷售經(jīng)理試圖即興修改流程,這是錯誤的。他表示:“你需要仔細(xì)考慮清楚,根據(jù)接觸你客戶的最有效的方式,你最優(yōu)秀的銷售人員擁有哪些技能和特質(zhì)。一旦你掌握了這個情況,就能據(jù)此列出一系列有著絕對正確答案的面試問題——沒有例外。”他補(bǔ)充道,這要預(yù)先做出大量思考,但是這是值得的,因?yàn)橐揽俊耙?guī)范、有著明確雇傭標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的流程招聘的銷售人員,每年的淘汰率為5%至15%” 。 ?要求應(yīng)聘者模仿現(xiàn)實(shí)情境打推銷電話。如果沒有親眼看到應(yīng)聘者的表現(xiàn),就很難推測他/她究竟有多好。所以,施泰因推薦讓應(yīng)聘者進(jìn)行角色扮演,他把這稱之為模仿。他表示:“據(jù)我所知,有許多銷售經(jīng)理帶著他們剛招聘的員工第一次見客戶時(shí),感到了害怕或者尷尬。這種情況出現(xiàn)的概率比你想得更高。”你可以看看施泰因博客上最近的一篇文章,其中有設(shè)計(jì)情境模擬的簡短指南。 引申一下:除了你提到的正在學(xué)習(xí)的內(nèi)容,施泰因還推薦了三本關(guān)于銷售管理的“出色”讀物,你有必要看看。他們分別是《銷售經(jīng)理的導(dǎo)師》(The Sales Manager’s Mentor,杰夫·雷曼著)、《銷售經(jīng)理的生存指南》(The Sales Manager’s Survival Guide,大衛(wèi)·布洛克著)和《簡易銷售管理》(Sales Management Simplified,麥克·溫伯格著)。 施泰因補(bǔ)充道:“讓你的雇主出資開展一些個人指導(dǎo)和培訓(xùn)課程。除了招聘以外,管理還需要一系列專門技能”——無論你有沒有達(dá)到2016年的銷售目標(biāo),“你在新崗位上能夠取得多大成功,取決于你學(xué)習(xí)它們的速度。” 祝你好運(yùn)!(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:嚴(yán)匡正 |
Dear Annie: The recent article about meeting 2016 sales quotas caught my eye because I think we’re about to blow ours. The main reason is two members of my team whose results over the past few months have been extremely disappointing. I feel like I have no one to blame but myself, since I hired both of them — one as my own replacement, after I got promoted to this sales-manager job back in March. (In fact, I hired him because he reminded me of myself at a younger age but, boy, was I mistaken about that.) Now I’m looking at replacing these two, and possibly bringing on one more person, but I can’t afford to get it wrong this time. A lot has been written about this, and I’ve been studying up on it, but I’d welcome any suggestions you might have. — Kicking Myself Dear K.M.: First, take a deep breath and stop beating yourself up. There’s no logical reason why talented salespeople should automatically make strong sales managers, yet companies persist in trying to turn one into the other. “Selling and managing, including hiring, require very different sets of skills,” notes Dave Stein, co-author of Beyond the Sales Process: 12 Proven Strategies for a Customer-Driven World. Having spent the past 30 years coaching sales teams and their bosses, Stein says that whoever promoted you without enough (or perhaps any) management training “deserves at least half the accountability” for your current pickle. He points to research showing that the failure rate among star salespeople “rewarded” with promotions like yours is a startling 85%. Not only that, but even seasoned sales managers hire plenty of people who don’t work out. “Depending on whose research you read, annual attrition rates among business-to-business salespeople average from 25% to well over 40%,” Stein observes. “That’s partly because so many salespeople are excellent at selling themselves in an interview.” Someone who reminded you of your younger self was “probably really skilled at subtly imitating you,” he adds. Again, don’t kick yourself too much. Relying on instinct, or “gut feel,” is one of the most common hiring mistakes sales managers make, Stein says, even after years of experience. So what should you do instead? Here are three ways Stein says you can increase the odds of hiring the right people this time around: ?Don’t go it alone. A time-tested way to tell how well someone will fit into your organization’s culture, and understand its goals, is to invite a couple of colleagues to sit in on meetings with candidates. Stein recommends a three-person interviewing team, but they don’t have to be the same two people (besides you) every time. If the manager who initially hired you is still there, for instance, you might ask him or her, along with perhaps a high-performing member of your current sales team. The point is to get more than one set of insights about each applicant, and Steinrecommends it even for sales managers with years of experience. ?Stick to a consistent hiring process. Stein has seen many sales managers go wrong by trying to wing it. “You need to think hard about precisely which skills and attributes your best salespeople have, based on what’s been most effective in reaching your particular customers,” he says. “Once you have that profile, make a list of interview questions with definite right and wrong answers — no exceptions.” This takes a lot of thought ahead of time, he adds, but it’s worth the extra effort, since relying on a “disciplined, black-and-white set of hiring criteria cuts sales-staff turnover to an annual rate of 5% to 15%.” ?Require candidates to simulate real-life sales calls. It’s hard to guess how well someone will perform without seeing him or her in action, so Stein recommends role-playing exercises he calls simulations. “I’ve known many sales managers who have been horrified or embarrassed during their first customer meeting with a new rep they just hired,” he says. “It happens more often than you would guess.” For a short guide to designing effective simulations, take a look at a recentpost on Stein’s blog. One more thought: Along with the studying you mention that you’ve already been doing, Stein recommends three “terrific” books about sales management you should be sure to read. They are The Sales Manager’s Mentor, by Jeff Lehman; The Sales Manager’s Survival Guide, by David Brock; and Sales Management Simplified by Mike Weinberg. “Get your employer to foot the bill for some in-person coaching and training classes, too,” Stein adds. “Beyond hiring, managing takes a whole set of specific skills” — and, whether or not you hit your 2016 sales targets, “your success in your new role depends on how quickly you can learn them.” Good luck! |