The sales manager decided to teach his team about the benefits of determination and perseverance. So, instead of a sales meeting one day he rented a boat and told his team to assemble down at the marina the next morning.
He told them to be prepared to demonstrate their grit and that the best way to prepare for the day was to just be ready for anything.
The day dawned a beautiful pink and blue - filled with possibilities.
At 8 a.m. they pushed off from the dock. The engines picked up speed as the inlet was left behind and the ocean spread out before them. After about a half hour there was nothing to see except water and sky, water and sky. The captain gave the boat a quick little spin as he cut the engines and whereas before a few of the account managers who had been paying attention could have told you from whence they had come, there was now no way to know for sure.
There was no sound except for the lapping of waves against the side of the boat and the sales manager called them together and he said,
"The most successful sales people are those that are most determined. Those that persevere despite extraordinary challenges. Today, we will learn a lesson about determination and perseverance. We are approximately six miles from shore. Each of you will jump into the water and swim to shore. There is no doubt that this will be difficult but I know you can do it. This team has been hand selected by me and I have the greatest faith in each of you."
The sales manager had read many books about the development of winning teams and he had learned his lessons well. He knew that demonstrating faith in his people was one of the keys to getting top performance.
Before the sales manager could say anything more, the most Aggressive account manager dove into the water and started swimming. The most Competitive account manager saw the most Aggressive moving away from the boat and she dove in to try to catch up. The Contrary account manager noted the direction of the first two and dove off the other side of the boat and headed in the opposite direction. Two account managers hesitated and asked the sales manager for more direction. He was frantic however because his three best people were headed in different directions and were now too far from the boat for him to do anything about it. Here's what he said to the two looking for more direction:
"I don't have time to help you right now because I'm busy with an emergency. You're both very smart and talented and I have the greatest faith that you'll take the appropriate action. The key is to get started."
Both Hesitant account managers then dove into the water. They headed in the direction of the first two account managers but, since they had lost sight of them, they were off course from the beginning.
The Rookie account manager was the last one on the boat. By now, the sales manager was busy talking to the captain. His people who were now ridiculously spread out and he had no way to coach them or guide them. Not wanting to bother him, the Rookie account manager dove in and began swimming.
After what he thought was about three hours of swimming, the most Aggressive account manager stopped and looked around. The most Competitive account manager caught up and joined him in looking for land.
"How long do you think we've been swimming?" asked most Aggressive.
"Well, I counted my strokes and based on my usual pace, I would say that we swam about 5 miles," replied most Competitive.
"If that is the case," countered Aggressive, "we'd be able to see land by now."
"I don't see any land, do you?"
"No."
And with that, most Aggressive changed direction. Most Competitive thought about it for a half minute and then raced to catch up to his rapidly disappearing associate. Unbeknownst to both of them, if they had swum another 200 yards in the original direction they would have caught site of land.
At the same time in the complete opposite direction, the Contrary account manager was completely lost and exhausted. She decided to stop and do nothing.
The other three ended up finding each other, decided the task was hopeless and just treaded water until a passing boat picked them up and took them back to shore.
The sales manager was beside himself. He couldn't see any of his people and had no idea if they were succeeding or not. Instead of the day turning into a lesson about determination and perseverance it had become a rescue mission. He stood on the crow's nest and directed the captain to criss cross the ocean until he had rounded up his three best people.
Each was exhausted and extraordinarily discouraged because they didn't achieve the goal. Each had tried as hard as they could to do what the sales manager had asked and they weren't sure how their failure was going to affect the way the sales manager treated them in the future.
The sales manager had literally lost three of his people and his best three were looking at him differently than they had before the day had begun. As the boat made its way back home, he wondered how things had gone so terribly wrong.
Lesson for Account Managers: If you work for an organization that expects your determination and perseverance to take the place of their guidance and coaching, you should look for another job. The best sales organizations work hard to develop an ideal customer profile so they can provide specific direction to account managers. Instead of dropping you into an ocean of possibilities they will be able to point you in a specific direction. Along the way, they will gauge your progress and offer a blend of encouragement and critical feedback that combined with your determination and perseverance will pay off in the form of results.
Lesson for Sales Managers: Talented account managers do not need their talents to be tested by you. If you've done a good job of hiring the most determined or the most focused or the most courageous sellers, then create an environment for those professionals to achieve their goals.
4 comments:
Too many times managers feel their jobs are done once their sales people are off and running, making money for the company. My boss once said that one of our team members acts like a manager - he comes into the office, expects others to do the work, then he sits back and gets paid.
I agree that managers should not expect these characteristics WITHOUT those same managers being able to lead their salespeople. My company has lost billions of dollars of value recently, and morale is low. We are being told to remain determined (even though our personal wealth has plummeted due to the drop in stock price), yet they have not provided a plan going forward. Perhaps I should forward your blog to my branch manager...
That being said....why was it that the Contrary account manager had to be a woman... hmmmm?
You should definitely send this blog to your branch manager. Don't just suffer, find a reasonable way to express your dissatisfaction and low morale. Even though the branch manager may not like it initially, you'd be doing the whole branch a favor. As for the Contrary account manager being a woman - I must throw myself at the mercy of my readers!
so i am at a new job and its the first time where i havent had to get new business i am soo bored since its not a challenging thing to maintain accounts.. it pays the bills.
Talented sellers don't all fit one mold. Knowing what drives you is an important consideration when deciding to accept a job. In your case, Clel, new business development gets your juices going but the job you accepted doesn't include that function. While you may be temporarily satisfied to "pay the bills" your performance at an easy job will eventually suffer due to your boredom. Start looking for a job that fits you better before the company realizes that they, too, made a mistake.
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