Before our next sales meeting, I laid plans hoping they
would effect a cure. As part of our sales force motivation
program, we formed a Million-Dollar Club with award plaques
and jewelry. Since Bill had reached that sales plateau
first, he became the first charter member and president of
the club.
That did it. All Bill needed was recognition, and he had
not been getting it. The change was remarkable. Bill
continued to have occasional problems with his drinking,
but these episodes became less frequent and of shorter
duration. He has since retired, but was at the top of the
sales force when he left the company. Had we attempted to
treat the initial symptom, all would have been lost.
Another man in the district (Pete) was on the opposite end
of the sales ladder from Bill. I arrived in his hometown
the evening before we were to start making calls, and had
made arrangements to take him and his family to dinner.
Pete's records showed a borderline volume. When I saw him,
the reason seemed obvious. His chin was almost on his
chest, and his eyes looked about as happy as a basset
hound's. Who would buy from anyone so morose?
At dinner, Pete's wife mentioned that this was the first
evening meal they had all had together in months, except on
weekends. Pete was working 14 to 16 hours a day, and
arrived home after the children were in bed. As a result,
his home life was miserable, and his low sales volume added
to his woes.
When we made the next day's calls, I noticed that he was in
such a rush to keep his schedule he seldom gave the
customer or prospect a chance to talk. At my suggestion,
we stopped early and went to my hotel room. We went over
his record book, account by account. I asked him how often
he called on each of them. Some, he said, he contacted
every week, some on alternate weeks, some monthly.
Obviously, he had too many small accounts and was spending
more time with them than the volume or potential could
justify. This left him no time to develop the large
profitable prospects in the area.
We drew up a new list of priorities. Some accounts were to
be contacted by telephone or just an occasional visit.
Nearly all were to be called on no more frequently than
monthly. We initiated a daily reporting system for him
(replacing the long weekly synopsis report). I also told
him to spend more time with his family. In short, work
smarter and not so many hours.
At the next sales meeting, Pete was all smiles. His head
was held high as he accepted an award acquiring the most
new business. Pete's morale problem originated from a
lack of communication and direction. He did not know what
the company expected of him. Nor had anyone shown him how
to reach his goals in a normal working day. It was ruining
his family life as well as his mental and physical health.
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Thotsaporn is the owner of http://www.startfinance.org
where he provides finance information and resources.
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