A semester after being initiated into my fraternity at the University of Florida, we were suspended from campus. Many of our members were also suspended from our chapter by our national office, and most of our executive officers were removed from their positions. Even though I had just been initiated the previous semester, I was appointed to the executive board as the Sergeant-At-Arms. To say I was challenged is an understatement. The Sergeant-At-Arms position was difficult in any scenario; but having to enforce the rules and keep our recently-suspended members from eating meals at the house or participating in any other activities was daunting to me.
One day, early into my stint, I had to ask one of the suspended members, a senior, to leave the lunch room. I did it with an under spoken tone, and that style worked. He was a gentleman and left. He was angry, but not at me - he understood my position. As I was walking back into the lunchroom, Jeff Cameron was walking out. Jeff was my age, but pledged two years before me – which is a lifetime in the fraternity hierarchy. (I transferred to UF and pledge as a junior.) Jeff was a consistent hard-ass – always challenging authority and showing little respect to the executive team. He stopped and expressed to me how well I handled that situation. After looking around to see if I had any witnesses for Cameron’s praise of me, I responded with:
“Thanks. I just hope people listen to me – I’m trying to do the right thing.”
Jeff’s next comment changed my perspective of my current position, and perhaps my course in leadership. Jeff replied with:
“You’ll be surprised. They’ll listen.”
It’s funny – that was all the encouragement and confidence I needed. It was like he gave me permission to lead. I moved forward with humble boldness, and a year later was elected president of our chapter … which changed my life. I know, without a doubt, that I wouldn’t have this amazing life right now if I wasn’t elected president of my college fraternity almost 30 years ago.
If you’ve read any of our material, you know that our philosophy is all about staying in front of the way businesses purchase security and IT. The old ways don’t work anymore. In fact, sometimes we make fun of the old-school ways.
As a sales manager today, you’ve got access to 18-month indicators of performance, technology to track where your sales people are driving at any given moment, and personality software that will tell you in the finest detail who to hire and how to manage them. These are great tools. Heck, we help our clients implement these tools (except the automobile tracker – this concept goes against our sales culture philosophy). With all these changes in the selling and buying cycles, and methods of managing a team, there is one thing that is still missing from most sales managers’ routine. The one thing that we’ve lost over the last 50 or so years. One of the few old-school things with which we agree…
You’ve got to manage and encourage your sales people.
No matter how many gadgets or cool 21st century Wharton School acronyms you use, you still have to get in front of your people, tell them their expectations, and inspire them to do their best… and you can’t do that with a CRM report. It still comes down to these fundamental questions: Are your people rushing out the door to attack the day? Are they pushing through discouragement to rise to the top? Are they doing the things they’ve been trained and asked to do when you’re not around? Are they prepared for their meetings? Are they smart and influential with their customers? Are they making an impact on their marketplace? Are they getting better? Are they happy working for you?
I don’t care how much or how little experience you have, or they have. If you’re their boss, they’ll listen to you. They want to listen to you. They want a leader.
Manage them. Encourage them. You’ll be surprised. They’ll listen!
