{"id":20395,"date":"2016-09-23T01:09:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T08:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=20395"},"modified":"2016-09-23T01:09:23","modified_gmt":"2016-09-23T08:09:23","slug":"the-question-is-what-am-i-doing-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/business-management\/2016\/09\/the-question-is-what-am-i-doing-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"The Question Is, \u201cWhat Am I Doing Wrong?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I truly love is repairing broken things. Often when my wife needs to blow off steam, she\u2019ll preface her comments with, \u201cI don\u2019t need you to fix it, I just need you to listen,\u201d because she knows I will tackle anything for a solution!<\/p>\n

Every week, dealers fire off questions that are absolutely the reverse of my wife\u2019s request. They want me to fix it, and want brilliance and great answers. A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend who owns an office technology business, as he walked up to the restaurant table I asked him, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d He replied, \u201cCharles, where do you find real talent?\u201d I asked him, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019ve been hiring college graduates because I can\u2019t afford experienced sales people, where do you find real talent, Charles!\u201d He used my first name twice in like ten seconds so I knew he was serious. I jumped right into my sales process and asked a probing question, \u201cHow are your college graduates working out for you?\u201d He said, \u201cNot good, I don\u2019t think a single one of them has ever been told NO and when they\u2019re rejected they crash and burn!\u201d He said, \u201cI need you to tell me where do I find real talent and what I am doing wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n

I continued with my probing, \u201cWhat percentage of your team is actually hitting quota?\u201d He asked, \u201cConsistently?\u201d I said, \u201cYes!\u201d He replied, \u201cOne maybe, others do hit quota, but only one consistently!\u201d I asked him, \u201cWhy do you think most of your reps are failing?\u201d He said, \u201cThat\u2019s a question I\u2019m counting on YOU to answer!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"depositphotos_102903050_original\"The question, \u201cWhat am I doing wrong?\u201d has got to be the most popular question I\u2019m asked. Even though I face that question constantly, it\u2019s always asked regarding a thousand different issues from a thousand different points of view. When I hear that question, it\u2019s like an alarm going off as it almost always means that \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d is running the business. Do you get my drift? In today\u2019s business climate, you can\u2019t run your business the old-school way. As fast information is coming and how quickly technology changes, there is no way you can run your business with a \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d mentality!<\/p>\n

His question isn\u2019t really where do you find good sales people, because they\u2019re out there. A better question might be, \u201cWhat can I possibly do to attract, afford and execute a successful sales organization?\u201d When I probed further, I found out that the most consistent sales rep had been around so long that he\u2019d sucked up all of the lease renewals and had enough to make quota each month. Can we say, \u201cFarmer?\u201d<\/p>\n

Honestly, it\u2019s easier to tell someone what they\u2019re doing wrong when you\u2019re looking from the outside in and you\u2019re not emotionally attached to the situation. Why didn\u2019t he say, \u201cI\u2019ve had 20 come and gone sales reps in the last year and most of them were college graduates?\u201d Why didn\u2019t he come to the conclusion that spending 200k on reps who were gone or failing was exposing a flaw in his methodology? He\u2019s too close to the business and is letting business as usual run unchecked!<\/p>\n

CONSULT WITH SOMEONE FROM OUTSIDE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY\u2019RE DOING, TO ASSESS YOUR FAILURE POINTS! Sometimes it\u2019s the person that created the mess who simply doesn\u2019t have the ability to fix the mess. If you have everything invested in your business, like your emotions, your pride and your habits, most likely the business is the way it is because you made it that way.<\/p>\n

Usually when someone asks, \u201cWhat am I doing wrong?\u201d there are three significant contributors causing the overwhelming situation: their comfort level, accountability, and failure to change.<\/p>\n

One of the most popular obstacles I face is the comfort level of a business owner. They have long passed the 12-hour days and the blood, sweat, and tears they once gave to build their business. Not many things disturb their quality of life objectives. The problem is that technology, competition, and the overall speed of business today don\u2019t care about their quality of life. The \u201cquality of life syndrome\u201d affects everyone in the business and can kill a business\u2019 ability to implement necessary and timely improvements due to the lack of responsiveness. That kills morale!<\/p>\n

The second thing is accountability; this is where everyone brings up the sales reps being accountable to the business. But I consider the owner\u2019s accountability as paramount. The owner should be accountable to everyone they employ for the success of his or her business. That means, they\u2019re the thought leader and should be on top of their game as to how their business finds success.<\/p>\n

MORE THAN ANYTHING this is the most popular business illness I find and it\u2019s deep down in the bones. Simple medicine doesn\u2019t cure it. My father used to say, \u201cYour habits will bear you out,\u201d and that is so true. If you\u2019ve moved from the fast lane to the quality of life lane, everyone in your company will act accordingly. You are accountable to lead them and make appropriate timely decisions.<\/p>\n

If you have a slow to act, non-responsive owner at the top, you most likely will have significant turnover and the lack of accountability is probably already present throughout the organization. Like the U.S. Marines always say, \u201cImprovise, adapt and overcome!\u201d there is great business value in that phrase.<\/p>\n

I would never tell you that achieving a great quality of life is wrong or even a bad idea. I would tell you that if you are the captain of your ship, you are responsible for all of your shipmates. They trust you to navigate correctly and to keep the ship off of the rocks. So be the captain and be accountable to your team.<\/p>\n

What was my friend doing wrong? Was hiring college graduates in itself, wrong?<\/p>\n

No, but hiring the wrong college graduate would be. The part that I didn\u2019t mention was that he also has reached that quality of life stage and the business is almost an interruption. He\u2019s tired, tired of being the competitive engine for his ship, and the college graduates he\u2019s been hiring were easy to find, eager to nail their first job and were ready to come to work the next day. But there are so many things out of alignment in his business that the college graduates are really the least of his worries. He is still running an old-school hardware shop with one manager over 12 reps, which isn\u2019t really driving any accountability. They haven\u2019t identified their path to the future and they have no idea who their best target is. They tout that they\u2019re a \u201ctechnology provider\u201d and sell managed services on their website but have yet to share a value proposition with the reps. The sales compensation is confusing and they\u2019re pushing MPS but only really pay on hardware. There\u2019s no marketing going on and the sales reps that are making quota are living in the renewal world. Eight of his sales slots are revolving doors and most stay on the payroll for 11 months. No wonder you\u2019re tired! I meant, he\u2019s tired!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the things I truly love is repairing broken things. Often when my wife needs to blow off steam, she\u2019ll preface her comments with, \u201cI don\u2019t need you to fix it, I just need you to listen,\u201d because she knows I will tackle anything for a solution! Every week, dealers fire off questions that are absolutely the reverse of my wife\u2019s request. They want me to fix it, and want brilliance and great answers. A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend who owns an office technology business, as he walked up to the restaurant table I asked him, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d He replied, \u201cCharles, where do you find real talent?\u201d I asked him, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019ve been hiring college graduates because I can\u2019t afford experienced sales people, where do you find real talent, Charles!\u201d He used my first name twice in like ten seconds so I knew he was serious. I jumped right into my sales process and asked a probing question, \u201cHow are your college graduates working out for you?\u201d He said, \u201cNot good, I don\u2019t think a single one of them has ever been told NO and when they\u2019re rejected they crash and burn!\u201d He said, \u201cI need you to tell me where do I find real talent and what I am doing wrong!\u201d I continued with my probing, \u201cWhat percentage of your team is actually hitting quota?\u201d He asked, \u201cConsistently?\u201d I said, \u201cYes!\u201d He replied, \u201cOne maybe, others do hit quota, but only one consistently!\u201d I asked him, \u201cWhy do you think most of your reps are failing?\u201d He said, \u201cThat\u2019s a question I\u2019m counting on YOU to answer!\u201d The question, \u201cWhat am I doing wrong?\u201d has got to be the most popular question I\u2019m asked. Even though I face that question constantly, it\u2019s always asked regarding a thousand different issues from a thousand different points of view. When I hear that question, it\u2019s like an alarm going off as it almost always means that \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d is running the business. Do you get my drift? In today\u2019s business climate, you can\u2019t run your business the old-school way. As fast information is coming and how quickly technology changes, there is no way you can run your business with a \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d mentality! His question isn\u2019t really where do you find good sales people, because they\u2019re out there. A better question might be, \u201cWhat can I possibly do to attract, afford and execute a successful sales organization?\u201d When I probed further, I found out that the most consistent sales rep had been around so long that he\u2019d sucked up all of the lease renewals and had enough to make quota each month. Can we say, \u201cFarmer?\u201d Honestly, it\u2019s easier to tell someone what they\u2019re doing wrong when you\u2019re looking from the outside in and you\u2019re not emotionally attached to the situation. Why didn\u2019t he say, \u201cI\u2019ve had 20 come and gone sales reps in the last year and most of them were college graduates?\u201d Why didn\u2019t he come to the conclusion that spending 200k on reps who were gone or failing was exposing a flaw in his methodology? He\u2019s too close to the business and is letting business as usual run unchecked! CONSULT WITH SOMEONE FROM OUTSIDE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY\u2019RE DOING, TO ASSESS YOUR FAILURE POINTS! Sometimes it\u2019s the person that created the mess who simply doesn\u2019t have the ability to fix the mess. If you have everything invested in your business, like your emotions, your pride and your habits, most likely the business is the way it is because you made it that way. Usually when someone asks, \u201cWhat am I doing wrong?\u201d there are three significant contributors causing the overwhelming situation: their comfort level, accountability, and failure to change. One of the most popular obstacles I face is the comfort level of a business owner. They have long passed the 12-hour days and the blood, sweat, and tears they once gave to build their business. Not many things disturb their quality of life objectives. The problem is that technology, competition, and the overall speed of business today don\u2019t care about their quality of life. The \u201cquality of life syndrome\u201d affects everyone in the business and can kill a business\u2019 ability to implement necessary and timely improvements due to the lack of responsiveness. That kills morale! The second thing is accountability; this is where everyone brings up the sales reps being accountable to the business. But I consider the owner\u2019s accountability as paramount. The owner should be accountable to everyone they employ for the success of his or her business. That means, they\u2019re the thought leader and should be on top of their game as to how their business finds success. MORE THAN ANYTHING this is the most popular business illness I find and it\u2019s deep down in the bones. Simple medicine doesn\u2019t cure it. My father used to say, \u201cYour habits will bear you out,\u201d and that is so true. If you\u2019ve moved from the fast lane to the quality of life lane, everyone in your company will act accordingly. You are accountable to lead them and make appropriate timely decisions. If you have a slow to act, non-responsive owner at the top, you most likely will have significant turnover and the lack of accountability is probably already present throughout the organization. Like the U.S. Marines always say, \u201cImprovise, adapt and overcome!\u201d there is great business value in that phrase. I would never tell you that achieving a great quality of life is wrong or even a bad idea. I would tell you that if you are the captain of your ship, you are responsible for all of your shipmates. They trust you to navigate correctly and to keep the ship off of the rocks. So be the captain and be accountable to your team. What was my friend doing wrong? Was hiring college graduates in itself, wrong? No, but hiring the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1898],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20397,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20395\/revisions\/20397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}