Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

This week’s piece is fairly long and so I will, if I may, provide you with a taster and if you would like to read the whole article, you will be redirected to the JF site.

When I originally wrote this, it was my intention to identify and prove the four component parts of professional selling, but actually I realised afterwards, that the same principles and the same formula can be applied to any commercial function.

I first began to recognise the need to be able to benchmark sales performance more objectively and more rigorously over twenty five years ago: The motivation to do this was strong because I knew I was wasting thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds on sales skills training programmes which were not providing me with a proper return on my considerable investment. But I needed to prove my theory because without an accurate analysis of my requirements, I would continue to abdicate that responsibility to the training providers, most of whom had only their own interests at heart.

So with this quote from Drucker, “The most effective way to manage change is to create it” firmly in my mind, I set about my task, a task that became a journey, which began in 1981 and is still ongoing.

By taking an analytical approach, I arrived at the following equation:

Attitude + Skills + Process + Knowledge = Success

My initial reasoning was this: Attitude is fundamental to any achievement because individuals with the right Attitude are far more likely to embrace the essential Skills, recognise the control that Process brings and have the desire to continually expand their Knowledge.

Skills are the ‘tools of the trade’ and have to be developed on an ongoing basis. They also need to be specific, because too much time can be wasted over-burdening employees with inappropriate and irrelevant skills without any identifiable plan for their future requirements.

Process brings organisation, efficiency and control, both for the individual and for management. Effective process provides objective analysis and indicators which can be benchmarked and accurately measured.

Then there is of course a need to build in Knowledge and that must include knowledge of products, industry, market sectors, competitors, business, own company and last but not least, self! – More

Well it has been another incredibly frenetic week: The guys are working very hard to complete the new JF site, which I have to say is looking extremely good and of course they are also on a tight schedule to launch the ASP Profile site – due at the end of February.

Over and above that, a post by Chris Knight on Ezine Articles Blog:

http://ezinearticles.com/blog/2007/01/jf-directory-awards-2006

Attracted an awful lot of comments, particularly on the subject of me possibly ornating a facility to judge the best business articles on a weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual basis. I do believe the idea has considerable merit and as I commented yesterday:

“I have “kicked” the idea around for a couple of days, brain-stormed it, white-boarded it, even produced a consequential analysis and objectively, it works. The time issue really is critical but I am certain I can coerce some of my generous staff to assist me from time to time. Subjectively, it also feels right as it produces so many “wins” for an awful lot of people.

I will open preliminary discussions next week and see how far we get. It will need support from several key communities/directories etc but I do believe that endorsement will be forthcoming as they have so much to gain and it will not be a competitive initiative - in fact totally the opposite.”

Before I take it any further, I will continue dialogue with David Bain from www.buildyourownbusiness.biz who I identified as being the ideal person to use as a sounding board and potential partner in the venture. His initial reaction was very positive and so I do believe we will launch something and I will of course keep you fully updated through this medium.

At last!! The Sales Community is finally up and running – and receiving rave reviews! I do urge you to visit and have a good look round. To enjoy all of the facilities you will need to pay a small annual subscription, but I can assure you it will be worth it.

Very occasionally, I am alerted to a piece of marketing genius and this week was one such occasion: The creator is a really nice guy called Tino Buntic – take a look for yourselves and see if you can spot any familiar faces:

Check out Tino’s, 2,000 bloggers project at: The Faces of 2,000 Bloggers

New articles: On my personal site, jonathanfarrington.com – “The Changing Face Of Sales Management” - “Old ways of doing business no longer work: the increasingly intense competitive challenges of the world economy challenge everyone, everywhere, to adapt in order to prosper under new rules. In the old economy, hierarchies pitted labour against management, with workers paid wages depending on their skills, but that is eroding as the rate of change accelerates”.

On Group site, thejfagroup.com – “The Nature Of Successful Leadership” –“People have been debating the nature of leadership for as long as records have been kept – certainly as far back as Homer and his peers. The topic continues to fascinate and enthral us today, but the way in which we assess leadership roles is changing.

Where once we looked to military and political leaders for inspiration and insight, now it is increasingly business leaders who hold our attention and provide role models”.

As I always say – both highly readable pieces, hopefully but I will let you judge for yourselves.

Finally, I came across another “sales specific community” last week and was pretty impressed with the quality of articles and general sales related information I found there – www.salesopedia.com - based in Toronto. It is owned and managed by a very efficient and responsive guy called Clayton Shold – although with the temperatures he was quoting, maybe it was, Slayton Cold!!

Do pay them a visit as I think you will be impressed at the author line-up.

That’s it, as ever have a great week, keep the comments coming, particularly on whether or not you think the “article of the week/month/quarter/year” is a good idea and if you do, why?

JF

The value of the Pareto Principle is that it reminds us to focus on the 20% that matters. That is to say, of the things we do during our day, only 20% really matter!

Those 20% produce 80% of our results, so doesn’t it make sense to identify and focus on those things?

When our time robbers begin to sap our time, we need to remind ourselves of the 20% we need to focus on. If something in the schedule has to slip, if something isn’t going to get done, we have to make sure it’s not part of that 20%!

A New Management Theory:

There is a management theory that proposes to interpret Pareto’s Principle in such a way as to produce what is called Top Gun Management. Those advocating this theory suggest that since 20% of our people produce 80% of our results we should focus our limited time on managing only that 20%, the so-called “superstars”. In my opinion the theory is seriously flawed, because it overlooks the fact that 80% of our time should be spent doing what is really important and that includes developing all of our people. Helping the good to become better is much more important than helping the great become terrific.

When we work to develop our subordinates, we should be concentrating on converting what I term, the “reactive mindset” because we can certainly apply Pareto’s Principle to reactive versus pro-active. Or, to describe these two mindsets in a different way: The “running towards” mindset and the “running away” mindset: Let me provide you with an example:

The “Running Away” Personality:

The “running away” person is awoken by his alarm clock and he immediately hits the “snooze” button. Ten minutes later, the buzzer goes off again. “Just ten more minutes” he says to himself, “I won’t go for a run today” and he again activates his friend, Mr Snooze. This happens three more times and each time he determines that he will skip a vital activity in order to enjoy a few more minutes slumber – he has already decided to skip breakfast and he will shave in the car on the way to the office. Finally, a full hour after his first alarm call, he leaps out of bed, the image of his boss standing outside his office door, purple with rage at his continual poor time keeping is just too horrible to contemplate and it acts as his spur.

So what actually happened here? Well, if we apply Pareto’s Principle, we identify that approximately 80% of the world’s population fall into the “running away” category. That is to say that they do things not because they planned to do them or that they want to do them, but rather that they fear the consequences of not doing them. They drift through life, as I have said often enough before, like “rudderless boats” completely at the mercy of the currents. They never go beyond the first few stages of Maslow’s “Hierarchy Of Needs” and certainly “self-fulfilment” is completely out of reach for them because they either lack the courage, or the commitment required, or quite simply they lack the energy. After all, it is nice and cosy in the comfort zone isn’t it?

As someone famously once said: “Some people make things happen whilst others just stand and watch what happens”
My take on that is: “A few people make things happen, others just watch what happens, but the vast majority wonder what the heck happened!” (But “heck” is not the word I usually use!”) The “running away” mindset falls into the last category.

Let’s look at the other side of the coin, let’s see how a “running towards” personality handles their relationship with their alarm clock.

The “Running Towards” Personality:

To begin with, our “running towards” person has invested some of their time the previous evening preparing for the next day: The suit has been pressed, shoes cleaned, notes prepared for those important meetings, in fact all of the next day’s objectives have been thoroughly rehearsed mentally and planned for.

When the alarm clock goes off, our “running towards” typically awakes refreshed and completes their final preparations for the day. They have plenty of time for exercising, for bathing, and to eat a proper breakfast with their family – they are in control. They arrive at the office before most of their colleagues,(80% of whom arrive at 8.55 am – just in time, because they fear the consequences of being late!) so that they can respond to e-mails and attend to essential administrative tasks which would otherwise take up valuable “business time”. Life for these people appears effortless, relatively stress free, because they have made it that way, they are busy working at self-fulfilment as they have no need to worry about shelter, security and the like.

These people are”Winners”.

The “Winners In Life”

“Winners in life constantly think in terms of I can, I will and I am. Losers on the other hand concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have done or what they don’t do”
- Dennis Waitley

Can we all become “Winners”? Yes, of course we can. We cannot have everything we want in life but we can have anything that we really want, because if we want it badly enough, we will find the means to bring about its happening – this is called “fulfilled expectation”

Unfortunately, most people when asked don’t really know what they want from life. Some talk vaguely about success without being able to articulate precisely what success means for them. I have heard many interpretations of the word, but the one I still like the best comes from Earl Nightingale:

“Success is the achievement of a worthwhile goal or set of goals”

Therein lays the secret – in order to be successful, to become a “Winner in life”, we must have goals.

This extract from “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” accurately illustrates my point.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat

“I don’t much care where” said Alice

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat

“– So long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation

“Oh, you’re sure to do that” said the Cat “If you only walk long enough.”

– Lewis Carroll
(1832 – 98)

Each of us has the choice, we can choose to be successful – however we measure success - or we can choose not to be. But if we really do want a more fulfilling and satisfying life – more happiness, greater security, improved health, the means to help others - then we have to accept full responsibility for ensuring we have a rudder on our boat and work to the maxim: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”.

To those of you who have been attempting to login to The Sales Community, may I apologise: My chums “down under” are experiencing some technical gremlins, which are being dealt with gradually. A project of this magnitude was always going to encounter “challenges” but I have complete faith that Greg and the guys will win the day.

This week I have been updating my “deliberations” on just what makes a highly successful sales professional – what are the component parts, the characteristics? Those deliberations began in 1981, so you can begin to imagine how much time I have invested developing the ASP Profile.

The result of this week’s labours is an in-depth article: “Reconstructing The Pieces Of The Sales Puzzle” which I will share with you here next week.

But this week, two further pieces of work:

On my personal site: jonathanfarrington.com – “Management - Some Thoughts About Structure, Self-Sufficiency And Responsibility”, I reckon is a pretty good read for young and seasoned managers alike.

The Group site: thejfagroup.com – features another “management focussed” article that highlights the need to continually look ahead, without ever taking your eye “off the present ball” – “Successful Managers Focus On The Present But With One Eye On The Future”

OK- that’s a long post this week. For those of you who would prefer to communicate with me one-one, as a reminder, my e-m is jf@jonathanfarrington.com

Have a great week - JF

In my mailbox this week was a message from a young guy in Australia who has just taken his first step up into management: His question was quite simply – “What is the most important management trait I should consider developing first?”

Very interesting question because there are several essential traits that need to be developed as early as possible, but choosing just one - the most important, was a “no-brainer” for me and this is an extract of my response to him.

Nothing puts you in the “bad manager” category more swiftly than poor communications skills.

Staff view an inadequate communicator as someone who is unclear, ambiguous, says too little, speaks up too late, or not at all (keeps secrets unnecessarily) and most importantly, someone who doesn’t relate to their viewpoint.

Managers should resolve to communicate:

• Using appropriate methods (memo or meeting, e-mail or notice-board)
• From the right perspective (talk about we not I and put things personally – “You will find” rather than “This is the case”)
• Using good communication principles (keep it simple, make it clear, be precise and succinct)
• Explaining both the what and the why of things.

Communication is one of the most important aspects of a manager’s role and if you feel you need to bone up on it, do so. Ignoring failings or uncertainties risks disaster.

Your early communications will be looked at or listened to carefully. Lines will be read between and inferences about you and the way you do things will be drawn – for good or ill. Take care!

While thinking about communication, make one firm rule for yourself:

Always be courteous to your staff.

The old adage that politeness costs nothing is true. Any temptation that staff may provide to descend into insults or even to be offhand may cause problems and will certainly not engender respect. This applies whatever the provocation – and, believe me, sooner or later if you manage people there will be some!

So, keep cool, count to ten if necessary and moderate your language and your manner.

A final point about communication is that you need to be constantly well informed about what is going on: in your department, around the organisation and in any other area that is important to you.

Never forget that informal communications are as important here as formal ones.

You need to develop a good network of contacts and here I must flag the importance of the grapevine. This exists in every organisation.

• Discover how it works and who is key to its operation
• Get yourself “plugged in”
• Remember that communication is two-way (you must contribute to receive)

Use it constructively: ignore and do not start rumours, use it for firm information, early warning and dissemination and keep your eyes and ears open.

Keep In Touch

Take away communication from an organisation and not much is left. Yet, the subject is often neglected. It is the foundation of a good relationship between manger and staff and thus the basis for success.

Make sure you take action to create good – two-way – communication by, for example:

• Practising MBWA: that is Management by Walking About. Talk to people informally, ask, listen, take note and ensure feedback.
• Regularly informing people of your thinking: by memo, e-mail, at meetings, etc. Tell them what your vision is, what you plan, hope and intend, what’s happening – and how it will affect them.
• Systematise the processes involved: make aspects of what you do formal and regular (e.g.: regular departmental meetings and updates on operational issues).

Fundamental to good management is being seen as open and honest, concerned that people should know what is going on and concerned also to encourage and receive their inputs.

I am looking forward to hearing how he gets on in his first six months in the role!

The latest edition of my newsletter launched this week (if you haven’t read it yet you may do so here ) and as I said within the editorial, 2007 is already really revving up and promises to be an extraordinary year, just when I thought it could not possibly become more hectic; but with hectic comes excitement, opportunity and of course, fun.

Since forming jfa way back in 1994, I have always tried to apply the F.I.P. formula to everything I do i.e. it must be Fun, Interesting and of course, Profitable - however profit is measured.

With F.I.P. in mind - as a founding partner, I am delighted to announce the imminent launch of The Sales Community a fantastic new venture, which, technical gremlins allowing, should go live early next week. You can read all about it here.

The more observant of you will have noticed that the list of recommended article directories in the right hand column has shrunk considerably. This is because I have conducted a “cull” having made the decision that I want to concentrate on supporting sites/directories/communities that provide a proper return on my investment in terms of my time. All of those remaining meet my criteria and provide an excellent service.

Which leads me nicely into my BYOB Business Author Of The Year Award acceptance speech – no just kidding. I can tell you that I was very surprised because I have only been submitting my work for seven months and what started as a minor interest to help me relax away from the “commercial frontline” has become something of a passion and immensely enjoyable and rewarding. I am still a novice and quite overawed – as an author – by the illustrious company I often find myself in.

So again, to David and the readers/visitors of www.buildyourownbusiness.biz thank you very much indeed and I will faithfully try to reproduce work of a similar or even higher quality over the next twelve months.

Ok that is just about it for this week other than to point you towards new articles posted on The jfa Group site: “Transactional Analysis And The Part It Plays In Customer Interaction” – sounds very highbrow but actually the theory is relevant to all of us in the way we communicate with each other. On my personal site – jonathanfarrington.com I outline some ideas on achieving optimum performance levels from your teams – “Getting The Best From The Team”.

Have a great week and do keep those comments coming! - JF

I received an e-mail from an ex-student this week hoping to reserve a place on the next Vanguard Sales Management session in the UK – as it happens, we no longer deliver public classroom sessions as the online interactive programmes will be launching around June. However, I did send him a downloadable version and he knows I am available for ongoing advice.

The point of me mentioning this is that I was surprised that his company had decided to promote him because to begin with, he is a Top 5% Achiever who consistently exceeds all targets and is responsible for approximately 20% of the company’s revenue. He has developed very strong commercial relationships with many of the most important clients over the past ten years and has obviously played a prominent role in the firm’s dramatic growth. In this particular instance, knowing the board as well as I do, I feel sure they will have thought it through thoroughly and will have prepared contingency plans – but that is not always the case.

I do believe that the single most common mistake that organisations make is promoting their number one salesperson into the role of sales manager, thereby depriving themselves in a single stroke of their best producer and hamstringing their sales force with an ineffective manager. The skills required for managing, mentoring and developing a sales team are totally different from those required for selling. As a result, it’s not uncommon to find newly promoted sales managers who regret having taken a management position and may even leave to get back into sales.

Insufficient Time for Sales Team Development:

The most common danger in having sales managers who are basically super salespeople is that “relations with subordinates” including the critical tasks of development and supervision may deteriorate.

Even when they do recognise the importance of developing their salespeople, many sales managers find that they lack the skills and resources to do it effectively. It then becomes easier not to bother. The majority of sales managers – new and experienced alike – say they do not have sufficient time to train and develop their sales teams. They are so focused on sales results – and so accustomed to achieving success through their personal pursuit of those results – that they overlook their greatest potential source of power, the power to increase sales performance by developing their people.

An Overwhelmed Manager:

To make things worse, most sales teams consist of a number of individuals with differing levels of experience and ability, so the whole issue of team development becomes too daunting for the overwhelmed manager to contemplate.

The Important Role Sales Directors Can Play:

Sales Directors, who recognise that the different roles played by salespeople and managers require different skill sets; factor those differences into their recruitment and selection of sales managers. Instead of promoting top-performers purely on the strength of their sales performance, these Sales Directors look for management candidates who can demonstrate an ability to help others strategise, work effectively with customers, and build their self-confidence. These Sales Directors recognise that coaching competence is absolutely pivotal and feature it highly in managers’ performance reviews and remuneration packages.

Additionally, successful Sales Directors ensure that some sort of training and development program is in place to help sales managers continually improve the way they coach and develop their team. Equally important, top-performing Sales Directors look for ways to provide sales managers with the resources they need to perform effectively. This may mean, for example, giving managers tools with which to identify each individual salesperson’s strengths and development areas, providing them with an easy-to-use framework to address development needs, and putting a process in place that helps their team to implement new skills.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like to read:

Sales Management – The Core Competencies and

Sales Management – What’s Involved?

I have been asked to remind you that the latest edition of the Newsletter is out next week and if you haven’t already subscribed, you can do so by following the link within the panel on the right.

I received a lot of mail this week, both wishing me festive greetings and also commenting on the results of the JF Directory Awards – thank you very much to all of you.

We have a very busy period coming up with the new JF site launching at the end of January, this blog receiving a complete makeover and change of name and address to: www.jonathanfarringtonsblog.com plus of course the imminent launch of ASP Profile.

However, I can share with you some exciting news: This week we finalised our plans to launch a new venture which will provide a “one stop” experience for sales leaders and sales professionals. It will be a site dedicated to promoting the work of the very best authors of sales related material – articles, white papers, training material and sales process tools – strictly by invitation only. I will of course keep you fully updated with the progress we make.

And finally……two further new articles:

On The jfa Group site: “How Small Companies Can Compete And Win” provides an insight into the secrets of the most successful “bidders” and reveals how, with just a little tweaking, every organisation can improve their success rates.

“It’s The Time Of Year For Account Reviews” is the lead feature on my personal site: jonathanfarrington.com and I have taken the opportunity to reiterate my belief that regularly reviewing your performance against a set of objective criteria within your most important accounts, is vital if you wish to continually improve and remain competitive.

Ok, as ever, have a great week - JF