How to define a "sales culture"

At the time of writing, the economy in Europe is in a much more difficult situation than has been seen in recent years. Budgets are being tightened, decisions are being taken higher and higher up the hierarchy, selling on value is critical (even if few people know how to do it) etc, etc....

But the reality is that people are still buying. There has never been a better time to sell than now. And why is that? Because the past isn't coming back and we don't know what the future holds. And, once again, people are still buying.

However, I've noticed that very few organisations have what we call a ‘sales culture’. It's a rather abstract term, a sales culture. But it's an important dynamic for guaranteeing the success of an organisation. So here, in my opinion, are the key characteristics of an organisation's sales culture:

ABR - Always Be Recruiting

At the risk of being blunt, a very large number of salespeople arrived in a sales role by quirk of life and would be happier and more successful in another job. There was a vacancy and they were looking for work. So not a lot of people have the skills needed to succeed in sales, including, for example, the will to sell. All recruitment mistakes can be avoided by a number of means, which we deploy when rolling out sales recruitment processes. It's important to understand that salespeople are unique ‘animals’. So recruiting salespeople, like recruiting other functions, is a source of many headaches.

Focus on behaviour - the leading KPIs - not the results - the lagging KPIs.

Focus on the business - the leading KPIs - not the results - the lagging KPIs -. ‘Sales is a numbers game’ the saying goes. And this statement can be debated, but one way or another, numbers are important. However, far too many organisations and sales leaders don't focus on the numbers that would help them most. They focus on results. So-called lagging KPIs.

Why not focus - just - on results. Because sales people don't control the final decision. They control two things. What they do. And how they do it. And therefore, at the end of the day, the ratios throughout the process. By concentrating on the activity - the what - and the way of doing it - the how - it is possible to improve ratios.

Take the example of a CEO or VP Sales who has noticed a lack of confidence or a lack of new business. Focusing on what sales people are going to do to improve their self-confidence (mindset issues) or improve the number of leads by prospecting more, will automatically improve results. Lack of confidence can be improved by internal rehearsal sessions on different phases, on how to try to sell differently, in a more consultative way than by presentations and demos, etc...

But focusing solely on results will not help salespeople to resolve the difficulties that are leading to results that are not as good as they could be.

Leaders who aren't rescuing their sales people. But develop them.

Many sales managers are good sales people who ended up in a management role as a promotion. They're asked to do something they've never done before: manage salespeople.

So when one of their team is in difficult situation with a prospect, rather than guiding them and letting them find the solution themselves, they come to their rescue, jump into the call and try to rectify the situation. Assuming, by the same token, that the sales rep has learned something.

Sadly, that's not the case. You learn by doing, not by watching. Worse still, they may also have eroded the confidence of the sales rep in question. A company with a sales culture is one that has taught its sales leaders to develop the salespeople in its team. Not to rescue them.

A focus on constant reinforcement.

Ok, I may preach for my choir here but, as mentioned, sales is a counter-intuitive activity. Many of the things that are asked of sales people go against what they've learned all their lives. Not getting validation from prospects. Asking for money. Disturbing strangers to prospect. No longer limiting yourself. Ask challenging question. And so on.

Ongoing training for sales staff is therefore essential. Even if I've noticed that it's all too often seen as a ‘band aid’ that you apply when the figures aren't going well.

Develop a culture with a strong accountability

Another term would be responsabilisation. Make individuals responsible. Teaching them not to externalise the difficulties they encounter by pointing the finger at external factors. The cultural aspect is important, because this attitude has to come from the top.

I often meet managers who come up with excuses for their sales people: ‘The figures weren't good last year but that's because of Covid, the product, etc.’. If managers come up with excuses, it should come as no surprise that, afterwards, the sales people come up with a whole range of reasons to justify their lack of performance.

Celebrate success through proper recognition

Strange as it may seem, there are still organisations that pay salespeople bonuses. Sales people are the driving force behind the company's development. There is no logic in capping their bonuses. The best salespeople are often those who are extrinsically motivated, i.e. those who are interested in money. So restricting this motivation makes no sense. I also see, in service companies, compensation structures of €5k a year for salespeople who sell €100k tickets. Incomprehensible.

Clear and shared goals

Selling is a difficult business. No's and refusals are part of salespeople's daily lives. It is therefore difficult for some individuals to have to deal with these refusals on an ongoing basis, especially, I have the impression, for the new generations who have received an upbringing where their emotions were often validated and did not face many blocks from parental authority.

To manage this difficulty, it's important that sales people have an understanding of ‘why’ they do what they do. Warning. At the risk of surprising you, dear reader, the why of the organisation and the why of individuals are not the same thing. The reality is that few individuals have clear goals. It is therefore the company's responsibility to ensure that sales people define their long-term and short-term goals. It's not reasonable to ask sales people to define their goals and share them without leadership doing the same.

The points below are just a few of the important ones. How would you define your sales culture?