Sondra was holding her head between her hands, staring directly down to the surface of her desk. I tapped the door and she looked at me over her glasses.

“Why the long face, said the bartender to the horse?” I asked.

She smiled through her temporary state of mind. “Gotta work tomorrow, Saturday,” she replied.

“Not the end of the world, what’s the matter?”

“I assigned a project, a major project to Dale on Monday. He asked when I needed it. I said ASAP. Today is Friday. He hasn’t started it and he is leaving town for the weekend.”

“So, what does ASAP mean?”

“It means it’s important and I need it right away. The client meeting is first thing Monday. Another communication breakdown.”

“Oh, it looks like a breakdown in communication,” I replied. “But the responsibility lies with you, the Manager.”

“What do you mean? I told him it was important and that I needed it as soon as possible.” Sondra had pushed herself back from the desk, arms extended.

I shook my head. “This is basic goal setting and you have committed the classic mistake. When you assign a task, any task to achieve a goal, what are the elements in that assignment?”

“Well, I tell them what I want them to do, you know, how many of whatever, and any important details.”

“And what else?”

Sondra was stumped. But in all fairness, her mind was thinking about Saturday. I am sure by now, she just wished I would go away.

“How about when you want the project completed by?” I prompted.

“Well, if it has a deadline, but if I just need it done, it’s going to take whatever time it takes.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said slowly. “Every task assignment ALWAYS has an expected completion time. The classic mistake most managers make is ignoring the importance of the expected completion time. Tell you what. You come in tomorrow, on Saturday, finish your project, that should have been finished yesterday and on Monday, we will talk about the importance of expected completion times.” -TF

“Brent, let me get this straight. You said that your salespeople may not be doing their best because they may not be interested in the work? Do your salespeople understand the work?”

“You’re right! Sometimes, it’s like they are brain dead. They are just mechanistic, going through the motions,” Brent described.

“So, they understand the prescribed duties, show up, make a presentation, ask for the order. But let me confirm, they may not understand the problems that must be solved or the decisions that must be made to create a successful sale?”

“Exactly, I mean we train them and train them again on the presentation, until they have it memorized, down cold, but you are right, that does not make a successful sale. The success of the sale depends much more on the questions they ask and the data they collect about the customer’s problem.”

“So, as the Sales Manager, do you sit with your team and talk about the problems that must be solved and the decisions that must be made during the sales call? That’s where the work is. That’s where the excitement is. That’s where the challenge is. If you are looking for interest from the salesperson, the connection is in the work, not the prescribed duties.”

“You are going to have to go slow, because I am still not getting it,” Brent shook his head.

“In order to close the sale by the end of the second sales call, what are the problems that must be solved and the decisions that must be made by the salesperson?” I repeated.

“Well, we know that to make a sale that sticks, that doesn’t get canceled or delayed, we have to collect certain information, then do some research and then present a case that is difficult to resist. Right now, it can’t even be, just a good deal. It has to be difficult to turn down.

“If the first meeting is going too fast or the data we collect is too superficial, we cannot do the analysis and we won’t be able to make an irresistible offer. The salesperson has to use judgment to determine if the information is right. It’s almost a gut decision.”

“So, the work of the salesperson is using discretion to judge the pace and quality of data collected in the first sales call?” I confirmed.

“Absolutely, the customer, in the first three minutes will tell you how this sale is going down, if you listen.”

“I’m still not following you. Showing up, making a presentation and getting the order, is not the work of a salesperson?” Brent protested.

“Those are valid activities, prescribed duties, but not the work,” I replied. “Tell me, on every sales call, what must be discovered about the prospective customer, before a sale can be made?”

“Well, you have to find out the customer’s need. If they don’t need it, they are not going to buy it, especially right now.”

“And what is the goal?”

“To write the order,” Brent shot back.

“By when?” I asked.

Brent stopped. “We have sort of a two-call closing process,” he finally concluded. “The salesperson needs to write the order by the end of the second call.”

“So, tell me, what are the problems that must be solved, what are the decisions that must be made by the salesperson to reach the goal by the end of the second sales call? Because that’s the work.” -TF

“You mean they might not be doing their best, because they are not interested in the work?” Brent repeated.

“So, tell me what is it, about the work, that is not interesting?” I asked.

“Look, we are in sales. This is a down economy. It’s easy to not get excited.”

“You are not answering the question. Tell me about the work,” I insisted.

“We show up to an appointment, make a presentation and ask for the business.”

“That’s a good start,” I nodded. “Those are the prescribed duties. Now tell me about the decisions your salespeople have to make when they are on these appointments.”

“I don’t understand,” Brent furrowed his brow.

“I think that’s the disconnect. You are right. Showing up and making a presentation is not very interesting. Of course, that is what you have trained them to do, but that is not the work of a salesperson.” -TF