What is Coach K’s Sales Management Triangle™?
My Sales Management Triangle™ is the overriding philosophy of how we think about leading, managing, and drawing solid performance out of our Salespeople.
Here are the three key points of the Sales Management Triangle™ :
Point One: Hit quota
Point Two: Low Churn (Clients / Customers and Employees)
Point Three: NO DRAMA
The Nirvana of sales management arrives when we achieve these three points!
One of my favorite questions to ask sales leaders is: “Who in their right mind would choose to go to work every day… and lead salespeople?”
These dynamic, driven, opinionated, risk - taking humans are a challenge to work with.
Albeit a fun challenge; a challenge that requires US to grow, yet the opportunity to develop these professionals further… to draw performance out of them… to achieve something (with them) - as a team, attracts people like you!
Why adopt the Sales Management Triangle? Because becoming The Ultimate Sales Manager will advance your career, increase your professional footprint AND…. It is SO MUCH FUN!
You chose the Profession of Sales Management. Why? Because you:
Love a challenge
Understand what GROWTH is about
LIKE TO WIN
Want to serve
The Profession of Sales Management is incredibly demanding! It has tremendous potential, AND it can be extremely difficult. Put my Sales Management Triangle(™) to work today, by becoming very cozy with the Three Points…
Take a moment to watch this passionate video on this very topic, HERE.
Point One: Hit Quota
I'll tell you what; the best way for you to ever exceed your quota is to regularly hit the assigned goal! It is a fantastic accomplishment! Why? Because it serves the business, and the energy around this LIGHTS YOUR PEOPLE UP. This gives you momentum to start building towards hitting your next quota. You and I know that in the sales game, in the sales profession, you are only as good as your most recent performance. This is part of why we asked the question: “Who in their right mind would choose to go to work every day and lead, manage and attempt to inspire sales people?”
The practical fact here is that the contribution each of your people make to the overall number will not be evenly distributed. (See below: LOW CHURN - Not NO Churn…)
It is YOUR responsibility to identify who among the team is just not going to make it.
They're not going to fit. They will not step up to the challenge.
Sales people are very proficient, very effective interviewers! Salespeople can sell themselves extremely well. What we have to do is ferret out the people who appear to have the greatest potential … but for whom (or from whom) something will be missing.
Plan on Hitting Quota? Make sure you know HOW people are pacing, WHO will make the larger contribution… and WHAT to do about (or with) the people on the team who do not pull their weight.
We are looking for those rare performers who actually:
tap into their potential
show up
bring a positive attitude and
exert the effort necessary to be successful in sales. And for you. And for the business.
Point Two: Low Churn.
We want to avoid consistently replacing sales people, and we do not want to lose customers only to find new ones and lose even more! We need to keep churn as low as possible.
So, with two words {low churn} it's like getting a tattoo saying: “This is what I believe in, this is what I work toward… this is what I want my salespeople to be thinking (about and feeling!) as they work toward meeting their goals!”
Point Three: No Drama
My good friend Michael Albanese tells his two growing (sometimes overly dramatic) children: “I prefer my drama on stage and screen.” Yes, there is a parental component of Sales Leadership. Sorry… it is just a fact.
We do not want drama on the sales floor, in the online meeting, nor in the sales team. Nor in the hierarchy. Nor any kind of drama that is going to impact or affect other departments.
We are here to develop the business acumen and professional demeanor of our salespeople. -Coach K
Wow. That’s a lot of responsibility! (“Who in their right mind…?”)
The positive? The thrilling? We are here to draw performance out of them. We are here to deliver on the expectation of the business, and that is to
hit our quota
to maintain low churn And
to avoid drama.
This requires leaders to know their people; be engaged with them regularly.
Often I discuss Language and its power in other articles, and videos.
When you think about the language you craft and deliver, you employ Key Phrases.
Take a moment to ask yourself the question posed HERE.
We also need to know who needs to have the bar raised. Who needs to be reminded of the definition and expectations of their role? Who needs a little encouragement today? Who's performance needs to be celebrated? AND… who needs to prepare themselves for a future career… elsewhere
We must develop people. In order to consistently sculpt high performers, to support mid-level performers, and maintain a consistent message for them and the people who are just not making it, we practice, embody and implement “The Sales Management Triangle™.
Hit your quota. Keep Churn Low. And No Drama.
We want to invest in the people who have reasonable potential to succeed in this role.
Let’s start with a few conditional axioms:
you will never be able to teach someone a good attitude
you will never be able to insert a sense of drive into someone
When the Three Points of Coach K’s Sales Management Triangle(™) are implemented effectively, - when you bring this triangle to life… your team will be operating in wonderful harmony. How does that sound?