Creating sales stars a guide to managing the millennials on your team

PRAISE FOR CREATING SALES STARS “Schiffman and Krebs a masterful job of turning timeless principles into specific tools to enable salespeople to sell Treat people with respect, listen, show empathy, personalize relationships, communicate, and make others better—all are translated into proven techniques that will create sales stars Wonderful ideas not just for Millennials and salespeople, but for all of us wanting to make a difference.” —DAVE ULRICH, Rensis Likert professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; partner, The RBL Group; and author of Victory Through Organization and The Why of Work “Stephan Schiffman’s legendary and iconic sales training and coaching strategies have been instrumental in supporting my own sales and leadership growth and success for the past twenty-five years In his latest timely book, Creating Sales Stars, he has transcended his earlier trainings into meeting the critical needs of today’s generation This book offers simple steps and techniques to ignite your sales team to be successful performers Thank you, Steve, for giving us another GEM!” —DONNA TERJESEN, managing director, HBR Consulting “Millennials are the most powerful influencers to enter the twenty-first-century workforce Their ability to challenge and be challenged has been defined in Stephan Schiffman and Gary Krebs’s wellthought-out book, Creating Sales Stars Truly a powerful generation with ambition and drive for results!” —MITCH PODOB, vice president, Global Human Resources, Timex Group “Stephan Schiffman is always focused on results and the steps needed to achieve them We operate in very competitive markets, and his ideas, insights, and techniques are both ageless and dynamic This book is sure to help you adapt to a new and ever-changing world.” —BOB JOHNSON, CEO and founder, Kaffe Magnum Opus “Schiffman gives you the tools you need to break through to the Millennials in your organization, who have a different mindset from past generations Schiffman’s clear and concise guidance in Creating Sales Stars provides the answer on how to get this group of people to thrive in your organization.” —JOSH SANDERS, vice president, Sea Breeze “Schiffman’s book unlocks the secrets for managing the new sales force He provides the steps needed to achieve positive results from any sales team—especially the incoming generation.” —J PETER BENET, CFP®, CLU, owner, Benet Financial Services “Stephan Schiffman’s books and training are often watershed moments for sales teams and their leaders I have witnessed the results of Stephan’s teachings firsthand and watched them move the sales needle upward almost immediately Many of my past employees comment to me that his books and training continue to have an impact on their sales careers and their lives This book surpasses Schiffman’s prior works in terms of relevance and timeliness, and will no doubt also become a watershed moment for generations of sales professionals and leaders to come.” —DAN STARR, vice president of sales channel development, pdvWireless “Steve Schiffman has done it again! In his most important book since Ask Questions, Get Sales, he has delivered a hands-on, street-level instruction that bridges the gap between past-gen and new-gen salespeople Steve and Gary Krebs’s compelling and useful approach to managing this new era of sales professionals will deliver positive results and take your sales team to the highest level Creating Sales Stars is a must read for business leaders, sales managers and, yes, even millennials.” —STEPHEN MUELLER, managing director, OneBeacon Insurance “Nothing happens in a company until someone sells something You might offer the best product or service in the world, but if your sales team is stuck and not closing deals, your organization won’t go anywhere The twenty-five principles in this book will supercharge your team to make sales—and help you become a better leader too From implementing the right training to creating a fun and interactive work environment to communicating in a manner that translates to employees of all generations, Creating Sales Stars is the one book you need to retain your best people and get them fired up to make sales while maintaining your own sanity.” —RICHARD O WARTHER, founder, president, and CEO, Vanguard ID Systems, Inc © 2018 Stephan Schiffman All rights reserved No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins Book design by Elyse Strongin, Neuwirth & Associates Epub Edition September 2018 9780814439401 978-0-8144-3940-1 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2018954570 978-0-8144-3938-8 Printed in the United States of America 18 19 20 21 22 LSC 10 Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook Please note that endnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication Dedicated to Sales Leaders everywhere—who suffer a lot more than people realize ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Whenever one takes on a project like this, there are numerous people who should be thanked for their efforts First, with deep appreciation, I’d like to thank my agent and friend, Gary M Krebs It was Gary who persuaded me to write this book in the first place, and I am grateful for his steadfast help and guidance I don’t think this book could have been done without him I am deeply indebted to all our clients, as well as the myriad business leaders, salespeople, and HR professionals who offered their wisdom in helping create this work The folks at HarperCollins Leadership and the former AMACOM have been exceptional to work with I am especially proud to be working with an editor as exceptional, enthusiastic, and responsive as Timothy Burgard I would also like to acknowledge Ellen R Kadin, who originally received the proposal and passed it along to Tim for acquisition The talented folks at Neuwirth & Associates— Phil Gaskill, Jeff Farr, and Beth Metrick—did an excellent job copyediting and seeing the book through production I have had the good fortune of having written and published 72 books over the years It has taken a lot of patience and persistence from others to enable me to accomplish that Anne, my wife and partner, has been with me every step of the way I not know how far I would have gotten if it hadn’t been for her She never stopped believing in the story that I told her when we first met—how I planned to speak, write, and travel throughout the world This has all come to pass and we are still together My two children, Daniel and Jennifer, now have their own beautiful children: Justin, Julia, Dylan, Jordan, and Zoe Thank you, with all my love Gary would like to offer his special thanks to Evan Krebs, a natural-born salesperson if ever there was one, who provided inspiration along the way On the HR front, Mitch Podub has been a source of never-ending support and wisdom Also thanks to Bill Gladstone, Peter McGuigan, John Willig, Grace Freedson, Alan Axelrod, Rick Frishman, Anne Alexander, Michael DeMartin, Mark Donenfeld, and Sheila Buff, without whom GMK Writing and Editing, Inc would never have materialized And, of course, Gary sends his personal love and gratitude to Liz, Justin, and Ilana for putting up with his oddball writing quirks and Pearl Jam turned up to eleven CONTENTS Foreword by Jeffrey Hayzlett Introduction: Old-School Management Doesn’t Work! Breaking Through Their Mindset Getting Them to Buy In Convincing Them They Don’t Need Approval for Everything Training, Training, Training! Inspiring Team Spirit and Unity Assigning Sales Mentors Conveying Their Targets Guiding Them on Prospecting Broadening Their Sales Community 10 Applying the Right Pressure While Appreciating Their Work/Life Balance 11 Leading by Example 12 Teaching Without Preaching 13 Conducting Team Meetings 14 Communicating on a Regular Basis 15 Giving Them the Tools to Overcome Sales Objections 16 Keeping Them Fired Up and Aggressive 17 Recognizing That They Know Way More About Technology Than You 18 Shielding Them from What May Challenge Their Values 19 Helping Them Make a Good Impression 20 Creating a Fun, Interactive, and Meaningful Work Environment 21 Coaxing Them to Do Stuff They Don’t Want to Do 22 Showing Them How to Make a Difference to Their Customers 23 Encouraging Them to Make Deals and Close FAST 24 Ensuring That They Feel Appreciated, Respected, and Valued 25 Providing New Opportunities and Future Challenges Conclusion References Index INDEX AA-ISP (American Association of Inside Sales Professionals), 70 accountability for behavior on teams, 13, 38–39 for employee development, 45 for following rules, 76 of leaders, 86 for meeting team targets, 162–163 of outsiders to team members, 131 visible, 84–85 active listening, 29, 154 agendas, for team meetings, 92–93 alumni programs, 71 American Association of Inside Sales Professionals (AA-ISP), 70 appearance, see personal appearance appointments, in prospecting, 55 appreciation frequency of, 166 showing, 151, 166–169 in team meetings, 93 verbal display of, 167 approval need for, 21–25 from peers vs from bosses, 22, 23 assigning tasks/responsibilities, 13 authenticity, 115, 129 back bench of salespeople, 2, 3, 114 “bed checks,” 75–76 behavioral surveys, 141 BNI, 70 body language, 102 bonuses, targets tied to, 53 boredom, 147 brainstorming, 37, 116, 143 Bull Durham (film), 101 buy-in, 15–19 team exercise fostering, 17–19 through charitable efforts, 17 calendars, 75, 77 Candy, 62 celebration of buyers’ good times, 155 of wins, 37 charitable efforts, 129 to get buy-in, 17 to increase engagement, 115 closing deals, 159–164 getting quick orders, 160–161 holding team accountable for, 162–163 identifying prospects for, 160 clothing, 136–138, see also personal appearance coaching, 102 cold calling, 58–60 collaboration to overcome fear of failure, 102 in team meetings, 8, 30, 91 comedians, 22–23 commissions, targets tied to, 53 commitment to company, communication, 99–105 frequency of, 103, 104 to get new reps started, 101–102, 104 during meetings, 95–96 and Millennial jargon/language, 94–95 over-communicating style of, 102–104 with prospects, 55–60 of targets, 49–54 technologies for, 93–95 of training decisions, 32–33 use of informal language with customers, 122 community, 77 social vs sales, 65 in team meetings, 91 see also sales community company structure, as demotivating, 115–116 company vision, 116–117, 129 competition in play activities, 140 in prospecting, 60–61 conferences, as development opportunities, 172 confidence communicating, 102 in explaining targets, 52 in Google searches, 87, 88 of Millennials, earning, 85 providing, 101 conflict Millennials’ lack of experience with, 107 on teams, 38–40, 87–88 content downloading, 130 conversion rate with e-mail contacts, 56–57 in prospecting, 55, 56 cost of trade shows, 66–67 of training, justifying, 29–30 Costner, Kevin, 101 criticizing employees, 150–151 culture of workplace, 11 and appropriate dress, 137 embedding appreciation in, 166 and play activities, 140 work schedules in, 74 customers earning trust of, 177 getting quick orders from, 160–161 highest revenue-generating, 55 identifying real problems of, 110 personality types of, 107 questions to get information from, 85, 108 reactions to personal appearance of reps by, 134, 135 rejection by, 107 reps praised by or in front of, 168 serving and making a difference to, 153–157 unethical behavior of, 131 use of informal language with, 122 The Daily Sales website, 60 data mining, 124, 160 decision-making authority for, 12, 14 and need for approval, 23–25 for training, 32–33 developmental opportunities, 171–175 disappointing you, fear of, 100 Disney, Daniel, 60 downloading content, 130 dress, appropriate, 136–138 dress codes, 134, 137 Edison, Thomas, 14 education, as development opportunity, 172 e-mail cold calling vs., 60 inappropriate, 82–85 lack of relationship in, 63 in prospecting, 56–58 as prospecting follow-up, 59–60 slang vocabulary in, 122 as trade show follow-up, 68 and work hours, 73–74 emojis, 122–123 empowerment, 148, 172 engagement creating environment for, see work environment in team meetings, 93, 142–143 through charitable efforts, 115 Enneagram, 141 enthusiasm, 17–18, 140 equality perception of, 11, 13–14 in treatment of employees, 129 ethical behavior demonstrating, 128–129 in exercising freedom, 130–131 gray areas of, 82–83, 128, 131 as job requirement for Millennials, 129–130 Millennials’ ethics codes, 82–83, 110, 127–128 shielding reps from challenges to values, 127–132 see also unethical behavior expectations, unrealistic, 1–2 failure, fear of, 100, 102–104 fairness, sense of, 127–129 fear of disappointing you, 100 of failure, 100, 102–104 feedback about yourself, soliciting, 151 corrective, 121–122 lack of, as reason for unliked tasks, 148–150 Millennials’ need for, 7, 124 positive, 121, 151 presentation of, 150–151 when team is stuck, 116 see also approval flexibility, job, 73–76 fulfillment, 172 fun, 139–140 games in training, 89 video, 37–38, 140 in workspace, 140 gaming, goals, helping employees meet, 172–173 Google, vision statement of, 117 Google searches, 87, 88 “Go!” signal, 102, 104, 161 Grant, Cary, 81 gray ethics, 82–83, 128, 131 hands-off management, 101 home offices, 74–75, 77 hypercriticalness, 102 IM (Instant Messaging), 74 impatience, 113 industry associations, 70 industry organizations, 70 in-person meetings with off-site employees, 77–78 with prospects, 59, 60 with trade show contacts, 68 Instant Messaging (IM), 74 interactivity in assignments, 142 in meetings, 142 in training, 89 intranet sites, 74 jargon, of Millennials, 94 job flexibility, 73–76 Jobs, Steve, 137 job titles, 113–115 jokes about purpose of product, 144–145 about tech knowledge differences, 119 telling, 95, 96 language, 94–95 body language, 102 conciseness of, 122 of emojis, 122–123 informal, used with customers, 122 see also communication Law of Ratios, 55 laziness, leaders lack of trust in, 23 role of, 92 unethical behavior of, 81–86 leadership by example, 81–86 in meetings, 93 Millennials’ perceptions of, 11–12 in prospecting, 60–61 lectures as development opportunities, 172 teaching without, 87 listening active, 29, 154 in meetings, 95–96 to training input, 30, 33 lying, 81–85, 129 making a difference, 153–157, see also purpose Mandel, Howie, 22–23 Martin, Steve, 62 meetings attendance at, 21–22 avoiding teaching in, 90 changes in types of, 91 conducting, 91–97 hatred of, 91 interactive, 142 off-site, 37 one-on-one, 102 phone or video conferences, 94–96 with prospects, 59, 60 team, see team meetings too much time spent in, 91–92 for trade show debriefings, 67–68 voting in, 30 mentoring benefits of, 43–44 check-ins about, 45–46 following trade shows, 68 by leaders, 92 mentors, 43–48 leader’s conversations with, 44–46 matching employees and, 43, 44, 47 other Millennials as, 46–47 micromanagement, 101, 102, 148–150 Millennials, xv, 4–8 adapting to, 94–95 career focus of, 113, 165 characteristics of, 4, 28–29 desirable qualities of employers for, 129 getting results from, issues with, 6–8 use of term, see also specific topics mindset of Millennials, 9–14, 74 mission company, 129 team, 36, 39, 143, 144 moderating meetings, 95–96 motivating employees, 113–117 and company structure, 115–116 to unliked tasks, 147–152 with job titles, 113–115 old-school means of, 166 with promotions, 114 qualities of company for, 129–130 for retention, 166–169 and vision, 116–117 and you as a cause of problems, 116 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 141 National Association of Sales Professionals (NASDP), 70 National Sales Network (NSN), 70 networking organizations, 70 “niceness,” 22 Nintendo video game console, 37–38 North by Northwest (film), 81 NSN (National Sales Network), 70 objections, see sales objections old-school management, 1–3 one-on-one training, 90 “on hours,” 75, 77 opportunities, developmental, 171–175 over-communicating, 102–104 ownership of training, 30–32 pain points, 154 performance reviews, 13 personal appearance, 133–138 appropriate dress, 136–138 customers’ reactions to, 134, 135 evaluating policies for, 134–135 manicures, 24 piercings, 134, 135 tattoos, 133–135 personal freedom, 73 in doing unliked tasks, 148 ethical exercise of, 130–131 for off-site employees, 77 see also work/life balance personality types, 107 phone calls cold calling, 58–60 as trade show follow-up, 68 phone conference meetings, 94–96 phoniness, 129 piercings, 134, 135 Planes, Trains and Automobiles (film), 62–63 play Millennials’ need for, 76 work as, 139 during work time, 140 praise to encourage doing unliked tasks, 151 in front of others, 168 to get employees unstuck, 102, 104 from other colleagues, 168 in team meetings, 93 at unexpected moments, 167–168 preaching about personal appearance, 138 teaching without, 87–90 price objections, 108–109 problems of clients identifying, 110, 154 solving, 154 process structure, 148, 149 professional appearance, 137, see also personal appearance promotions, 114 prospecting, 55–64 by cold calling, 58–60 e-mail as follow-up tool in, 59–60 by e-mail only, 56–58 establishing relationships in, 62–63 importance of, 55 information exchange in, 59 in-person meetings in, 59, 60 leadership in, 60–61 to meet targets, 52 sharing results of, 61–62 public speaking organizations, 70 purpose company, 129 creating a, 143–146 and future in organization, 171 in making a difference to customers, 153–157 Millennials’ need for, 139 personal opportunities for, 145 questions about targets set, 52 to ask mentors, 45–46 to focus on targets, 36 to get information from buyers, 85, 108 needing repeated answers to, 23, 24 in overcoming objections, 108, 110 in prospecting, 58, 59 reassurance, providing, 101 rejection by clients, 107, see also sales objections Millennials’ lack of experience with, 107 relationships built at trade shows, 65–66 meaningful connections with customers, 154 in prospecting, 62–63 relaxation time, 76 research on buyer’s company, 108, 109 depth, accuracy, and validity of, 124 resistance Millennials’ lack of experience with, 107 overreaction to, 108 see also sales objections respect of employees, 10, 129 need for, 12–13 for other expert leaders, 89–90 and perceptions of equality, 13–14 for product of your company, 144–145 showing, 166–169 retention, 114, 165–169 main issues of, 165–166 motivating people for, 166–169 purpose for, 143 rewards to encourage doing unliked tasks, 151 in real world, 93 results-based, 50 Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI), 70 The Sales Association, 70 sales associations, 70 sales community, 65–71 options for expanding, 70–71 and trade shows, 65–70 sales objections new reps’ belief in, 108 regarding price, 108–109 tools for overcoming, 107–111 sales position titles, 113–115 Sandberg, Sheryl, 136 scheduling team meetings, 92 Schultz, Howard, 136 self-motivation, seminars, as development opportunities, 172 serving needs of customers, 153–157 SEV Litovel, 14 slang vocabulary, 122 SMEI (Sales and Marketing Executives International), 70 social media, 65, 119 stories from the past, 89 when offering compliments, 168–169 StrengthsFinder, 141 stretch goals, 172 systems, cumbersome, 148, 149 targets changing, 52–53 chart of attributes for achieving, 39–40 conveying, 49–54 creating wall board of, 36 dealing with questions about, 52 explaining logic behind, 51 explaining reasons for, 51–53 and flex schedules, 76 maintaining focus on, 36–37 reminding employees about, 53 set by corporate, 50 setting, 49 tattoos, 133–135 teachable moments, 90 teaching, without preaching, 87–90 team meetings agendas for, 92–93 canceling, 92 community and collaboration in, 91 conducting, 91–97 to encourage closing deals, 162–163 engagement in, 93, 142–143 establishing ground rules for, 95–96 poor communication in, 93–94 scheduling, 92 separating training from, 92 time spent in, 92 use of technology in, 93, 94, 142–143 team(s) behavioral surveys of, 141 creating purpose for, 143–146 critical issues with, downsides of, 35 earning trust of, 177 environment of, 21 including yourself as part of, 12 inspiring spirit and unity on, 35–41, 143 interpersonal conflicts on, 38–40, 87–88 learning from, 87 multigenerational, 39, 40, 87–88 over-communicating with, 102–104 performance and reputation of, 10–11 unethical behavior toward members of, 131–132 vision and mission of, 36, 39, 117, 143, 144 technological knowledge, 119–125 channeling, 123, 124 coping with differences in, 119–120 encouraging reps’ application of, 120–121 providing corrective feedback about use of, 121–122 providing positive feedback about, 121 and use of informal vocabulary/emojis, 122–123 technology as fun for Millennials, 141–143 for meetings, 93–95 Millennials’ immersion in, 119 old-school, 141–142 over-reliance on, 123–124 and work hours, 73–75 texting, 73–74, 91 Toastmasters International, 70 Trade Show Debriefing Form, 67–68 Trade Show Meeting Summary, 67–68 trade shows, 65–70 training, 27–34 as development opportunity, 172 to get new reps started, 101 interactive lessons in, 89 justifying expense of, 29–30 need for, 28–29 one-on-one, 90 ownership of, 30–32 providing context in, 89 separating team meetings from, 92 set up by an employee, 33 speed of, 89 teaching without preaching in, 88–90 and turnover, 114 transparency in explaining targets, 52 in gray ethical areas, 131 and perceptions of unethical behavior, 84–85 trust of buyers, 161 earning, 177 in leaders, 23 of Millennials, earning, 85 in off-site employees, 77 and pretense of tech knowledge, 120 turnover, 2–3 cost of, and job titles, 113–114 and unethical behavior, 130 see also retention turntables, 14 25 Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople (Schiffman), 177 25 Toughest Sales Objections (and How to Overcome Them) (Schiffman), 107 unethical behavior, 81–86, 159 of customers, 131 gray areas for, 82–83, 128, 131 lying, 81–85, 129 by Millennials, 130 from Millennials’ point of view, 83–84, 130 of old-school sales reps, 128 unliked tasks motivating employees to do, 147–152 reasons for not liking, 147–148 validation from mentors, 47 need for, 35, 43, 99 value proposition, 146 values, challenges to, 127–132 valuing employees, 166–169 video conference meetings, 94–96 video games, 37–38 vision company, 116–117, 129 team, 36, 39, 117, 143, 144 vision statements, 116–117 “What If ” exercise, 148 wins, celebrating, 37 work, as play, 139 work anniversaries, recognizing, 166 work environment, 139–146 creating purpose in, 143–146 and flex schedules, 73–76 on- and off-site employees in, 76–78 and perceptions of leadership, 11 play and fun in, 139–142 as reason for unliked tasks, 148, 149 see also work/life balance work hours, 5, 73–76 work/life balance, 73–79 flex schedules for, 73–76 and on- and off-site employees, 76–78 play/relaxation time in, 76 workshops, as development opportunities, 172 ... a perception from anyone on the team that he or she is “equal” to the manager—even in a non-hierarchical workplace You, as manager, are looked upon to coach and mentor your team and provide team. .. warehouse, a back office, a sales team, a marketing team, a board of directors, and several executives Sure, sales are soft and times are tough They have In an ideal world, always been tough Your sales. .. targets/goals, and explain to all parties that these are shared and everyone is in it together as a team, including you The thing not to is draw attention to any age or generation gap within the team, as