As a sales rep, you are required to sell stuff. You are given targets to meet and to exceed. You are also expected to fulfill operational tasks and duties to assist in the maintenance of the work environment. Ideally, employers also like reps to be professional, courteous, respectful, outgoing, willing and preferably on time. Sales reps also have one more thing to embrace…other sales reps.
Next step in the series…team player. Are you a team player? Or is it, can’t we all just get along?
As I have been composing this series on the art of selling, I have wondered who is reading this and how will it factor in their day? Originally, I thought, it is for sales reps. These parts highlight those things that surround their ability to execute the steps or science of selling. However, a vast majority of my posts are written for the manager and leader of a team of sales reps. So if you are a sales rep, embrace these thoughts and encourage how they would work into your own selling skills. If you are a sales manager, look at how you can encourage the same considerations within your team’s skills.
Growing up, you have to admit, it has always been nice to be part of a team. Common goals and expectations. Collective awareness of tasks, tools and targets. Joint responsibility and accountability to getting “it” done. You know…there is no ‘i’ in team. And yet, we still want ‘wiifm’ (what’s in it for me). We constantly face barriers to being part of the team. “I hit goal and you haven’t”. “I know more about that widget than you do”. “I have been doing this longer than you have”. “I feel like I always have to cover for the other guy or gal”.
We like the idea of team and we enjoy the fruits of our own efforts. Let’s be real, should worrying about the other rep or paying attention to what they bring to the team really be part of the job? And if it is, what percentage is it because there are the things you must do personally to be successful? Can we see the possible conflict? I contend both can work together and must work together to amplify everything we do in a store. And we don’t even have to socialize with them. It is about creating and maintaining a work place team dynamic where everyone is given a chance to be successful without having to send Birthday or Christmas cards.
So what to do?
Are you committed? This is somewhat odd. Here’s why. You have accepted the exchange of behaviors a company wants you to do in exchange for pay. It is loosely called the ‘behavioral rental agreement’. The baseline is “I’ll pay you this to do this”. The expanded personal view is everyone wants to better each day. We want to grow. We instinctively want to help others. We may even want to help someone else be great. Is there a risk? And I think is the major stopping point. We have such a strong self-preservation mechanism, we forget those around us and how much we can actually help someone else. Committed?
Are you respectful? This is easy, right? It is the golden rule; “do unto others as you would want others do unto you” or a very like phrase. How far does this go in your world? Do we complicate respect with liking someone? I do not have to like you and I should without barriers respect you. I believe we put degrees of respect in relationships; especially in our work relationships. In other words, I agree to respect you until you give me reason not to. This is an interesting realization. Respect much?
Are you a good listener? OK, flat out. I need to work on this. Everyone has a voice and contingent upon the last point, even so I may still selectively listen. And that is a major issue. If respect waivers, almost every other aspect of the relationship suffers. And listening is one of those components. There is an irony here. As a human species, we have been uniquely designed to listen. And it is more than the “two ears and one mouth” biological reality. Through time and the ages the major means to exchange ideas and information has been story telling which implies listening to gain information and knowledge. Our tripping point is you can find information on the click of a mouse and we have made the exchange an individual journey. Are you listening?
Are you open to collaborate with others? My daughters crave play dates. They cannot wait to interact with their friends. Why do we lose this avarice or greed to be with others and share in “whatever” moment we are given? Does our need for self-need inhibit our natural abilities to connect with other people? If I were to isolate any one aspect of where my training and learning workshops have intensified, it would be in the sharing of best practices. The one key I have fully embraced is that people crave to hear from one another. They want to share thoughts and ideas…are you OK with that?
Are you improvisational? OK, life is unscripted. You never really know what you are going to get in any given day. Teams get this. Think sports teams. They practice and practice the basics so much so that in a game when anything is possible, the basics just happen so that the players are free to be flexible and adaptable. They can accomplish the art surrounding the basic skills. Can you change your line of sight quickly and easily?
Who doesn’t want to be part of a team? It is a safe feeling. It helps us connect to something bigger. And yet, it challenges our ego…that we can do it without someone else. Especially sales. And we are all competitive by nature. This can be a tough one. Can you play nice with others? Cuz we want to shine and even out shine others. So how do we be team players, share a common goal, help the customer and still keep our personal edge? The irony is that teamwork starts with you, your skills. And it also starts with a realization that the greater good is “we”, not “me”. Team is great and a challenge.
Cheers