managing & motivating top sales performers

Managing & Motivating Top Performers

Managing & Motivating Top PerformersMatt Heinz, President, Heinz Marketing Inc

Agenda

• Hiring and identifying top performers• Management best practices• Metrics• Discipline, course correction and incentives• Additional best practice examples• Q&A

Best practices guide

Tips for hiring more top performers

• Look for make-up, not just experience• Hire for sales skills, not industry knowledge• Find the good listeners• Align with your commission structure

Identifying more top performers

• Are they hungry to learn?• Are they coachable?• Have they struggled and overcome obstacles?• Do they know the difference between selling

and solving customer problems?• Do they naturally mentor or inspire others?

7 keys to inside sales management

1. Creativity2. Consistency3. Curiosity4. Conflict Management5. Confidence6. Can-Do, Will-Do Attitude7. Calm

Managing top performers

• More selling, less paperwork• Make more than the CEO• No micromanagement• Manage pipeline from bottom up

Bottoms-up management

• Start at the bottom of the pipeline, and work up until you find the problem– Opportunity review– Lead review– Activity review– Intangible challenges/roadblocks

Use better metrics

• Customer lifetime value• Addressable market size & penetration• Sales cycle length• Deal size• Qualified leads

When top reps break the rules

• Find out why• Demonstrate the path to bigger checks• Reinforce & empower their leadership role• Re-evaluate your rules• Learn from them• Get rid of them

Top performers need bigger toys

Getting back above quota

• Focus on the numbers• Focus on what they can control• Compare current & previous habits (watch the video

tape)• Deal walkthroughs• Evaluate effort, attitude & drive• Make sure your comp plan requires consistent

performance• Create longer-period contests contingent on

exceeding quota

Mentorship programs

• Responsible for new hire• Play manager role w/out management

responsibilities• Portion of new-hire comp back to top rep for

period of time

Recognition

• The power of tangible vs. intangible rewards• Get your executive team involved• Ask for advice on sales & non-sales issues

Questions?

• Matt Heinz• matt@heinzmarketing.com• @heinzmarketing