Weekly Thought – July 28, 2020

Fred spent much of his last years immobilized and limited to his hospital bed at home, in a wheelchair, or in dialysis. Yet, the disciplines he constructed earlier in life allowed him to manage his time and his attitude, bringing his wisdom as a blessing to many. God implanted Fred with the ability to think, process, and communicate effectively in order to move others to healthy living. This final excerpt from his speech to GENESCO management draws together his challenge to supervise rightly.

Management’s Responsibility to the Sales Force, part four

I call this final point “providing healthy motivation.” Management must distinguish between motivation and manipulation. The latter is a counterfeit which artificially or temporarily moves people. My psychiatrist friend Dr. Howard Rome says motivation is a person’s thirst. If we are to understand true motivation, then we must understand what causes the thirst and know how to supply the answer.

In the hiring process we must ask these questions: 1) does the applicant have a thirst we can satisfy? 2) Is this person’s thirst compatible with our philosophy and organizational structure? 3) Is there a conflicting thirst which will eventually create a problem?

Here are a few thirsts we can check:

1) Compensation – money is important and says much about the applicant. To many it scores the accomplishment and social ranking. To many it represents attainment, power, and independence. Studying the subject of compensation in relation to its motivating power within your organization is key.

2) Competition – most sales people are naturally competitive and want to know where they stand in the organization. It is a healthy, productive motivation, but must be guided rather than exploited in an anti-social way. Competition is for excitement, not incitement… to build spirit, not tear it down.

3) Participation – Sales people like to feel a part of “what’s going on.” Sales forces can become lonely and detached. Management can reduce this by implementing feedback channels which then can increase the enjoyment, learning, and retention.

4) Recognition – There is an old sales adage: people work for gold or glory. Most sales people desire recognition from others in the organization, particularly upper management. Management has a responsibility to create systems which bestow recognition widely, and not just on the top producer or two.

5) Attention – I could say communication, but what I am pointing out is the need to listen to the sales force. There is no shortage of “talking to” with memos flying daily. What is often lacking is the focused, intentional time spent listening. It is an extreme compliment which too few of us pay to too few. We choose to listen up the chain, ignoring those who aren’t influencing our future moves. The sales force is a critical element in any organization’s success and often has important information gathered from front-line communication with customers.

The relationship between management and the sales force is a mutual responsibility. The sales team owes the company: productivity, a fair trial of the prepared tools, effective use of time, a clear and accurate presentation of the sales proposition, as well as appreciation for the opportunity to earn a living, develop talents, and utilize abilities.

This week think about: 1) How do these principles apply to me? 2) What can I do to better practice my responsibilities? 3) Who could benefit from these words from Fred?

Words of Wisdom: “Competition is for excitement, not incitement…to build spirit, not tear it down.”

Wisdom from the Word: “A laborer’s appetite has labored for him, for his hunger has pressed him to work.” (Proverbs 16:26 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – July 21, 2020

Fred opened a management consulting firm in 1957, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, but working with companies with national and international reach. His ability to capture the sense of a corporate culture gave him a national reputation. One of his clients, GENESCO, reprinted the text of a speech given to their annual management conference. This excerpt is part three.

Management’s Responsibility to the Sales Force, part three

Respect for the dignity of the sales force is critical to a successful operation. In my experience, I find the attitude toward them determines the supervision policies. Able sales management finds many ways to express respect for the individual dignity of the sales team. Unfortunately, some are violated daily.

Personal and professional respect ties the sales force to the company, creating loyalty and camaraderie. It creates stability for the sales department and ultimately affects the success of the entire company.

Here are a few ways to show respect:

1) Ensure home office/sales force relationships reflect respect. The push/pull between home office staff and sales force creates a negative environment. Respect is breached with the sales force is by-passed in communication with customers, or used by executives to pass the buck. Home office negativity about the sales people should be actively discouraged. Respect is basically an attitude. Scratch the surface of shabby treatment and you find a shabby attitude.

2) Create sales meetings which recognize the professional qualities of the sales force, as well as the provision of helpful training sessions. Some meetings are so boring and demoralizing companies would be better to invest time and money somewhere else.

3) Use positive discipline to maximize performance. Many times we confuse punishment and discipline. Discipline is the fence we put around the sales force’s behavior and activities…broad enough to include the proper and narrow enough to exclude the improper. It is critical for management to clearly outline the definition of proper and improper. A good sales person appreciates organizational discipline. The secret of effective, constructive discipline is doing it according to our responsibility, not our authority. We discipline to be a championship team, not a tough boss.

4) Encourage personal development through delegation. Theodore Roosevelt said, “The art of good management is the ability to pick people and the humility to leave them alone.” Often management fails to delegate, not because the sales person doesn’t do the job, but because the manager wants to feel needed. Some sales managers treat the sales people like bird dogs to shoo up the birds while the sales manager shoots them. This violates individual development and dignity.

This week think about: 1) How well do I express respect for others around me? 2) What do others around me do to show respect? 3) Who is a model in my work, school, and community of respect?

Words of Wisdom: “The secret of effective, constructive discipline is doing it according to our responsibility, not our authority.”

Wisdom from the Word: “I know, Lord, that your regulations are just. You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me.” (Psalm 119:75 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – July 14, 2020

Fred presented an in-depth study of management’s responsibility to the sales force to an annual management conference of GENESCO. They reprinted it “due to the importance of the thoughts presented.” This excerpt is part two of four.

As our Christian educators and students return to campus after months of staying away, please pray for them. The adjustments will create disequilibrium for some, but challenges for all. May the Spirit of God lead and direct them.

Management’s Responsibility to the Sales Force

My talk today will be a change of pace. Instead of a pep talk on what the sales force should be doing, I want us to think about the responsibility of management to the sales people.

Think about ways to keep the boat steady enough to let the sales force keep on fishing for orders. This can be done by promoting them to concentrate on selling, not administration. Most took the job wanting to sell. Their responsibility is to move product; ours is to help by keeping our focus on the main thing.

1. Management needs to consciously guard against accumulated red tape that uses much time and energy. Are too many memos required? Are too many reports expected? Only management can really protect selling time from the erosion of organizational detail.

2. Give challenging opportunities. It flatters the top-flight sales person to know professional sales skills are required to be successful.

3. Provide a competitive product which fills a need/desire at a reasonable price. Our selling proposition should be geared to the professional, but not “can sell ice to Eskimo” types.

4. Establish an excellent customer service department -asking sales people to use up time and spirit settling complaints is wasteful. If service is faulty, the salesperson looks like a liar, or at least creates embarrassment.

5. Maintain corporate good will and reputation – having a good name makes it easier for the salesperson to get appointments.

6. Provide effective presentation materials – written pieces, samples, and sales tracks all make it easier for the sales person to sell the company products.

7. Design a territory with sufficient potential – asking a sales person to grow crops in scorched earth is unrealistic.

8. Develop a training program – product knowledge and sales approaches give confidence; understanding of personal styles eases sales interviews.

Management has a responsibility to give sales people the tools which can reasonably be expected to suffice to do the job for which the sales person is hired. And I underscore – recognize and respect the primary function – selling, not administration. Smooth the path and let them hit the road.

This week think about: 1) As a manager, how often do I forget the number one job for my sales force is selling? 2) As a sales person, how can I keep my time and energy focused on selling? 3) What is my biggest challenge in my job?

Words of Wisdom: “Management’s job is to keep the boat steady so the sales force can keep on fishing for orders.”

Wisdom from the Word: “You must not muzzle your ox when it is treading grain.” (Deuteronomy 25:4 NET Bible)
Note: This was one of Fred’s favorite responses to Mary Alice, his wife of 67 years, when she “encouraged” him to clean up his home office.

Weekly Thought – July 7, 2020

Fred’s appreciation of excellence applied especially to sales. “In tough times one of an organization’s most important hires is an accomplished sales force.” In the late 1950s he addressed the management of GENESCO focusing on the topic: “Management’s Responsibility to Salesmen.” Fred used the masculine noun in the title assigned, but demonstrated his great admiration for the talents of men and women. The month of July will feature excerpts from the speech.

During these off-kilter times, prayer for Christian institutions of higher education are much needed. Please consider joining us as we pray each month. Sign up for the monthly BWFLI Prayer Network.

Management’s Responsibility to Salesmen

“Reach that quota,” “Make those calls,” “Get those reports in…”

Salesmen hear this constantly, don’t they? I agree these are necessary in effective sales supervision. However, these commands of leadership will be more actively heard and translated into increased sales when a foundation of mutual responsibility between sales force and sales management has been built.

It starts with management’s responsibility to the salesman. The accent is on our “sowing before reaping”…a Biblical principle continually validated in the successful development of people.

& bull; Management’s first responsibility to the salesman is: Be sure he qualifies for the team. Two problems face us immediately: a) the selection-placement of salesmen and b) the termination of sales people.

First of all, the selection of salesmen should be placed in the hands of responsible management – those with a proven record of successful selection. It takes knowledge, experience, and almost a sixth sense to select the right person, even with all the interviewing and mechanical assistance available. For examples, The Marines and the New York Yankees have a superior selection system. Motivation cannot overcome poor selection.

Even with the most careful selection, however, mistakes will happen. These must be corrected. Pruning the team is difficult but critical. It takes an unusual brand of stamina to remove people from the organization. Many managers do not have the stomach for it. They will wait for a downturn in business or postpone until the sales person fails to the point of starvation.

Usually they rationalize they are being humanitarian, when actually they are being very selfish in trying to avoid an unpleasant experience for themselves. Is it humane to let people out when business is depressed and jobs scarce, or when they are years older rather than doing it when it becomes clear that it needs to be done?

Misfits with little possibility of success should be removed as soon as possible with as little pain as possible. When removal of a person is considered a responsibility rather than a right, there is a great deal more urgency and understanding. Perhaps some of you have had the experience of having a former employee say to you, “Thanks for letting me go. That’s the best thing that ever happened to me, even though I didn’t think so at the time.”

This week think about: 1) How do I think about my responsibilities to my employees? 2) What is the difference between a right and a responsibility at work? 3) Who models this principle for me?

Words of Wisdom: “While these points are specifically for improving management-salesman relationships, many will be helpful in considering management’s relations with all its people.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Commit your works to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3 NET Bible)