Sales Leadership: Are You Measuring the Right Things?

Many companies define sales success based on meeting targets of revenue, gross margin, and market share to name a few. Many times, these metrics are referred to as the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which define how well a company is implementing strategy. What some companies fail to realize is revenue, gross margin, and market share are not in themselves KPIs but instead the result of executing on well-defined and meaningful KPIs. As the acronym implies, “indicators” are the things if executed well that will result in performance.

In some sales organizations that are trying to develop more predictive KPIs, I’ve come across these more common ones:

1. Number of sales calls within a defined period
2. Number of new prospect sales calls
3. Number of sales connections made with a customer’s organization
4. Number of technical demos or hosted seminars/workshops
5. Number of tradeshows attended

What these KPIs measure is solely activity and not the engagement level or experience of the customer. Even a highly technical sale has relational and trust components embedded in the sales decision. Successful sales organizations of the future will appreciate how they must more heavily weight their behaviors towards creating a “best practices” customer experience.

Over the past decade you can see the evolution in advertising toward a more engaging customer experience. No longer are companies advertising about a product’s features and strengths, they are showcasing the experience you can have while using it. Coke commercials don’t focus on the beverage’s taste or use words. Instead, Coca-Cola advertisements are visually designed to engage you emotionally by showing you the experience you too can have while drinking a Coke. The real-time customer experience in product marketing also plays out at the higher-end outdoor clothing retailers. These stores are installing freezers, so customers can experience just how warm that winter coat can keep them before deciding to purchase.

What experiences do your customers have when dealing with your sales organization? How are you measuring the customer experience? More meaningful sales KPIs that focus on understanding and building the customer experience may include:

1. Time to respond to customers after they make contact (responsiveness)
2. Number of the “right” follow-ups to secure a new customer (persistence)
3. Number of joint calls so the customer has multiple points of contact within your company (collaboration)
4. Number of business reviews to discuss performance (customer feedback)
5. Number of exploratory or “design the alliance” meetings with customers (partnership)
6. Strategic use of media platforms (LinkedIn and Facebook) to integrate and involve customers with the company and its sales team (engagement)

No one KPI is the silver bullet but tracking and rewarding the right collection of KPIs that are predictive of sales success will help ensure the team meets its goals. If you’d like help in designing measurable KPIs or developing specific actions that drive the customer experience, let’s have a conversation on how we can work together.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership, business development, and sales. She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops. She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues. You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.

Trending: More Business Executives Caught Going to Prison

Two Business Executives Charged and Booked. Their Crime? Caught Being Good.

I heard a statistic that the top three fears that people have are (1) public speaking, (2) public dancing, and (3) going to prison. If true, I guarantee that the thousands of business executives, who have paused from their work schedules to volunteer with the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), would wholeheartedly disagree with that third claim. In fact, I would bet they would say spending a day in prison with PEP men is more fulfilling than the work they do and successes they’ve had.

If you don’t believe me, I’ll let photos tell the stories that words cannot describe. PEP was founded in May 2004 and operates exclusively in the Texas prison system. Their first class started at the Hamilton Unit in Bryan, Texas, and then in 2008 moved to the Cleveland Correctional Facility, north of Houston, which is where many of my colleagues and friends volunteer. Graduates of this program receive a certificate from Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, but the PEP men aren’t learning only business skills. They will tell you the most challenging part of the program is Leadership Academy, where they do a deep personal dive into character and come out transformed men. The program starts with leadership, because people cannot be successful in business long-term without having a solid foundation of character underpinning their decisions and actions.

If you want to learn more about this program which is transforming men, families, and communities, I’d love to introduce you to the PEP Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO), Bert Smith, and his senior leadership staff. Even better, I would love to take you to prison, so you can hear firsthand testimonies from the men and servant leader graduates. Ask me how you can get yourself a Get Into Jail FREE card. I’ve got a few I can hand out.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership, business development, and sales.  She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops.  She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues.  You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.

Six Key Job Search Strategies When You’re Unemployed

Finding yourself involuntarily unemployed can bring stress and sometimes a big bruise to your ego.  In a few cases, people exhale a temporary sigh of relief when they receive a small severance and feel they have a bit of time to re-energize. I certainly see the merit in why many choose to pause in their job search as opposed to dusting themselves off the next day and jumping right back up onto that horse named “Job.”  A few of the common reasons:

• I need some rest and a chance to get my bearings before going at it again.
• This is a good time to spend more time with my kids and family. I won’t get this opportunity again.
• It makes sense to spend some time exploring a career or job that I’m more passionate before I accept the same type of position.

Many job seekers are fortunate to make a successful job transition at the timing they choose. However, others are not as lucky. What you do in the few days after your work release will likely affect your mindset and motivation toward action. In these cases, job seekers may start to experience one or more of the following:

• lose confidence in their ability to find a job
• fall into a daily routine not productive to job hunting
• lose touch with their network of people
• become more isolated from the habits of the working world
• evolve into a daily pattern without intentional purpose

Any of these factors erode the chances of securing a job that excites you as part of your career journey. Job seekers should be aware and intentional in their job strategies and decision-making.  Below are a few habits that effective job seekers should consider to improve their chances of landing that next great gig.

1. Create a powerful resume and LinkedIn profile. Make sure both are engaging and tell a story about who you are, what you’re looking for, what you’ve accomplished, and what you have to offer. Consider hiring a career/job coach if you need help. You can’t afford not to invest in these calling cards. Don’t let either become outdated once you’ve put in the hard work and expense.
2. Treat your job search as a full-time position. If you don’t have a home office already, create a space in your home where you can work full-time. When you are in that space, it will be easier to focus your attention on activities that advance your search.
3. Get out and network. With the internet and abundance of social media platforms, it is easy to apply for jobs online that you’re qualified for and to expect hiring managers and recruiters to call. Eighty-five percent of jobs are filled through networking. Schedule meetings, calls, and lunches with networking groups, friends, and colleagues that may be able to help.  Alumni groups, professional and trade associations, and former coworkers are excellent sources of support, information, and referrals.
4. Create a one-minute elevator pitch. When someone asks you what you do, be able to confidentially and succinctly articulate it and the impact you can have.  Be specific, passionate, and memorable.  Consider having more than one elevator pitch depending on your audience.
5. Join a job search support group. Although job search groups provide opportunities for networking by design, they usually have free resources that can also be useful in your search.  Resume writing, LinkedIn strategies, and interviewing classes can provide support while learning of open jobs.
6. Continue to invest in your skills and knowledge. While working full-time in your job search, there will likely be gaps in your schedule. Consider offering your services for temporary work, volunteer for a non-profit using your skills, and take classes/webinars that would keep you current.

Certainly, take the time you need to care for yourself and family, but understand that falling out of a daily structure after a job loss can influence your ability and motivation to re-engage.  Although some people seem to have luck in landing a job when they want it, others need a more strategic approach. I recommend creating your own luck by adopting these job search strategies.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership, business development, and sales.  She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops.  She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues.  You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.

Does Your Financial “Type” Help You Achieve Your Goals?

Money can be a difficult subject to discuss because of how it influences relationships and incurs judgment by others on how it should be saved, spent, and distributed. Since most people find it difficult to discuss personal finances even with their partner, many are not fully aware of how their relationship with money influences themselves, others, and outcomes.  How would you describe your relationship with money? Brown (2017) identified 7 money types: (1) hospitality, (2) discipline, (3) beauty, (4) connection, (5) endurance, (6) humility, and (7) leadership.  These money types manifest in certain attitudes and behaviors involving money.  What is your motivation behind spending or saving?

Although each money type provides numerous positive influences, each also has a darker side in terms of how it can affect others and the ability to achieve life goals. For example, money can provide an incredible blessing to others when used to facilitate hospitality such as gift giving and hosting others. However, people who drive on hospitality to an extreme may find (1) recipients feel guilty for not being able to reciprocate, (2) they experience hospitality fatigue, or (3) they jeopardize their own ability to provide for their families.  People should be aware of their money types and intentional in understanding their power and using them as strengths.

I would encourage everyone to take the money type survey and ask the following questions:

• What are my money strengths?
• How can I use my strengths for greater benefit?
• Where am I operating on the dark side of my money types?
• What money habits can I change that would help me meet my goals?

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Reference

Brown, T. (2017). The Seven Money Types: Discover How God Wired You to Handle Money, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership, business development, and sales.  She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops.  She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues.  You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.

Design Your LinkedIn Profile to Reflect the Best Version of You

Are you happy with your resume and LinkedIn profile? Do they reflect who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and more importantly, instill confidence in what you can do?

Your resume and LinkedIn profile are tools designed to achieve your professional goals such as a new job, more customers, or a larger network? Many people miss the purpose of the resume–to get the interview as opposed to the job–and fail to create a LinkedIn profile with a focused purpose.

With 2018 only a few weeks away, this may be the perfect time to invest in a one-hour coaching session to learn the latest trends and useful tips on how to write an impactful resume and LinkedIn profile that align with your professional goals. Your best investment next year may not be Bitcoin but in yourself. Reach out for a conversation if you’d like to learn more.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership, business development, and sales.  She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops.  She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues.  You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.

Should Conversation with a Cup of Coffee Be on Your Gift List?

December is typically a month of go-go-go, and if you celebrate Christmas, a month with an additional ho-ho-ho.  Calendars are typically filled with attending parties and holiday shows, decorating the house, cooking, and shopping for gifts to give family, friends, and colleagues.

Regardless of the traditions you celebrate, each holiday season brings to a close another year, and hopefully, also the time to reflect on what you’re most grateful by remembering those people who had the most influence on your life.  I would imagine these people are on your gift-giving list.  If so, the perfect gift might not be wrapped, but instead may be your time in meaningful conversation over a cup of coffee, where you share how important they are to you and why.

I’m part of a generation that grew up writing thank-you letters by hand. As Christmas approaches, I write at least three letters to those who had the most impact on my life that year. They may have done a great kindness, influenced my life for the positive, or changed my thinking/perspective for the better.  Many who’ve received my handwritten letters shared how much they cherished them.

I realize that some people struggle in selecting the right words to express themselves on paper. Although writing may not be a strength for everyone, gratitude is easy to come by.  By whatever means you decide to share your gratitude, your recipient will welcome your words. If writing is not your style, pick up the phone and invite your family, friend, or colleague to share a cup of coffee.  Tell them you have something important to share with them as you celebrate the holidays.

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About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach and consultant with an extensive background in leadership and business development.  She coaches individuals as well as designs and facilitates workshops.  She has a passion to help organizations engage all their colleagues.  You can learn more about Sandra by visiting her website at www.shinecrossings.com.