Manage the Process, Not the Outcome

One of the worst questions a sales manager can ask a salesperson is, “So when is Prospect X going to sign with us?”  I’ve got news for you Mr./Ms. Sales Manager: not only is that question impossible for your salesperson to answer, it clearly demonstrates that your management efforts are misguided.  Instead of managing the sales process, which is squarely under the control of you and your salespeople, you are trying to manage the outcome, something that neither you nor your salesperson is capable of doing.

Understand this: while you and your salespeople are in control of the sales process, your prospects and customers are in control of the buying process.  And the buyer is ultimately the one who controls the outcome of any sales situation.  We’ve all had the experience of executing the sales process flawlessly only to have the prospect we were courting say “No thanks” in the end; it happens, and it’s out of our control.  Getting frustrated or angry about it is silly; it’s like being mad that it rained today.  Recognize that it’s out of your control, let it go, and move on.

Does that mean that sales managers should just forget about the performance of their sales people?  Not at all!  They just need to shift their focus from the things they can’t control (outcomes) to the things they can control (processes).  Are the salespeople in their charge following a good sales process, or are they “making it up as they go”?  Has the process been clearly defined?  Are their rules of engagement and scripted responses for different contingencies?  Those are the things you have control over; manage them.

And if you’re reading this thinking that it doesn’t apply to you because you don’t manage salespeople, think again.  If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner who is an army of one, you have to apply these same principles to your own sales efforts.  Too many solo business owners are not taking their sales efforts seriously.  Sales is something they do when they feel like it or something they will try to get to “when things aren’t so crazy.”  As a result, they’re in a constant feast/famine cycle that they just can’t break.

See if this sounds familiar: you panic because there’s not enough work, go out and make some sales, shift your focus to doing the work you sold, then panic again when the work runs out.  It’s no way to live, and that kind of panicked sales effort leads to trying to manage outcomes and frustration when deals aren’t happening quickly enough.

There is a way off the hamster wheel: implement and execute a consistent sales process that involves some kind of sales activity every day.  If you’ll commit to managing your sales process, you won’t have to worry about trying to control outcomes; instead, you’ll end up getting more of the outcomes you want by virtue of having a consistent process.

A final word of advice to those who do manage salespeople: if you’re trying to manage outcomes and you think that you can get your way by beating up on the people who work for you, think again.  What you’re actually doing is creating a highly motivated sales force for your competition.