Last summer, the middle of my back would hurt the morning after I ran. I run three times per week, so that meant my back hurt quite a bit. I tried many techniques to help cure this issue: extra stretching of my back and hamstrings, sleeping in different positions, taking a warm bath after my runs, and focusing on my mid-back muscles during my resistance workout. None of those ideas worked.
Then I read an article that discussed a source of back pain that none of us consider – tight chest muscles. What? My pain is in my back, not my chest. That’s right – tight chest muscles pull the shoulders forward and force the back muscles to work hard to maintain stability … especially when performing activities like running. The next day, I stretched my pecs before my run and guess what? No pain.
When something is wrong, we typically look for the solution near the problem. We think the cure has to be obvious and directly related to the problem. If someone is depressed, they just need to participate in more fun activities in life. If someone is unhappy in their job, they should find another one. And if one’s back hurts, then they should focus on making their back feel better. While these cures may work sometimes, the solution is usually much more complex.
I’ve seen the same dynamic from management judging their sales people. If a salesperson hasn’t found new customers on their own, then they “don’t have the hunter mentality”. The solution subscribed by most is to either accept it and give them accounts to manage, take away accounts and force them to find their own new business, or terminate and start all over with someone new. If they need assistance on designs or presentations, then they’re “not technical”. Many leaders’ solution is to send them to technical training, provide extra support, or terminate and start over with someone new.
Most of the time, the right solution isn’t obvious. The sales person without no hunter mentality has probably never been taught to prospect or find new business. If they’ve been in sales for less than twelve to fifteen years (as of this writing), then they probably think hunting for new business is the act of following up on a website lead within 24 hours. Maybe your process doesn’t hold them accountable to new business generation – which I see all the time. You may have the most aggressive and competitive hunter on your staff that doesn’t know what you mean by “prospecting”, and they don’t care because no one holds them accountable to it. The “non-technical” person may not understand the basics of electronics or software or database architecture, and many people need a fundamental understanding before they acquire the confidence to learn the rest. Again, the solution is not obvious or simple.
These problems used to be solved more often because a large part of a sales manager’s job used to be to coach their people. For a million reasons, that’s no longer part of their job description… and the result is a never-ending cycle of misdiagnosed ailments of sales professionals; leading to a revolving door or consistent below-average performance ... and a lot of executives boldly stating things like: “He’s not a closer!”
If you’re a leader, think about this concept for a few minutes. Do you have talented people on your sales team that just can’t seem to fulfill their potential? Think past the obvious diagnosis. What’s really between their current performance and where they can be? I know you’re slammed in this world that expects immediate and thoughtless responses from you. Just take an hour and think about it. Think about one of your sales people. Ask them. Ask others on the team. Figure it out because the cycle you’re experiencing never ends until you make the right diagnosis.
BTW, my back hasn’t hurt since that first day of stretching my chest.
