Leadership 2.0
2.0 is the new buzzword for new and innovative ideas that look at the current model (business in this case) and asks why. There is Web 2.0, Business 2.0, Identity 2.0, .NET 2.0 from Microsoft and now Leadership 2.0.
What is Leadership 2.0? It is my new way to look at the hiring and firing process of sales organizations in America today. Are you ready for an upside down look?
What are the problems faced by businesses, as it relates to the sales force? Businesses spends bazillions of dollars on pre-hire testing, from IQ, to personality, to sales skills. Then they spend gazillions more training and getting these “new” hires ready for the battlefield. All this effort to make sure they hire the “right” people: the ones that show the talent and motivation to be successful.
They train them to cold call, how to set appointments, how to open calls with prospects, how to conduct the call, and how to close the call. They teach them closing techniques and how to overcome objections, because these are the “right” people. Hiring the wrong people is too expensive, so every effort is made to hire the right people.
When a sales team is not performing, the manager fires the sales people and hires more to replace them, and the cycle continues.
Now, let’s look at another extremely competitive endeavor in America today. Sports … I don’t think anyone would argue with the fact that sports … football, baseball, and basketball … are among the most competitive professions today. Less than 1% of the population makes it to the professional level in these sports.
In sports, the teams spend gazillions in finding and hiring the personnel, and bazillions training them to be competitive at this level. They “hire” only those that have the talent and desire to succeed, and will commit themselves to the team.
When a sports team has a losing season and can’t get on the winning track,
THEY FIRE THE COACH, NOT THE PLAYERS.
In business, when the team fails to perform at the expected levels,
THEY FIRE THE SALES PEOPLE, NOT THE MANAGER
Which is right?
Business continues to languish in the misconception that if they just keep hiring a lot of people, somebody will work out. In sports, they know the people are right, but the coaching methods are not getting results. It is obvious that a change in methods is needed to bring out the best in the people.
Astronomical turnover rates are common in most sales organizations, yet management refuses to look at alternatives. How can all the money spent on finding the right people, and training them result in such low numbers of success?
From my experience, business has been doing it backwards for so long, they don’t even realize there is another way to get more out of a sales team. Leadership and motivation are not bestowed on a manager, they must be learned, and it is not easy. If it were, there would be no need for this post.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Dave J. (64 comments.) // Dec 2, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Disagree: Don’t a lot of major companies fire top managment when performance suffers?
Agree:
But for middle management, what you are saying is probably more true. Perhaps the challenge is at the ‘tactical’ level, they are more afraid of getting rid of a mid-level manager that knows the company’s process & products, since those are sadly harder to change than people. They have made themselves irreplaceable.
There certainly are a lot of ‘worker bees’ that would LOVE to see your theory applied…to their boss! LOL
2 Larry Hendrick // Dec 2, 2005 at 5:33 pm
Part of my preparation, but what I forgot to say, is that at the CEO, CFO level, they do apply this theory. It is just at the first and second level of management that they seem to divert their thinking.
Also, we all know there are some workers that need to be replaced, but in my business life, I have seen a lot of very good sales people fired for their manager’s sins.
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