Accountability and being accountable can be heard in many environments (business, religious, political, educational, sports…) and unfortunately has many interpretations, and without a common and clear understanding of what it means.
There are two major unfortunate situations when it comes to accountability or being accountable in the sales world. First, being accountable (accountability) often has a negative connotation and gives the impression of a “Big Brother” experience. Second, accountability is mostly regarded as a concept and adjective, rather than an executable – a verb, ongoing, measurable and trackable.
When leveraged correctly, accountability is arguably the most important contributor to success for most sales organizations. Sales professionals need to be accountable to themselves and their leaders. A sales leader’s success depends, to a large extent, on their ability to hold themselves and their sales team accountable.
How do you create a culture of accountability in order to leverage its power? Here are a few tips:
First things first: Before a sales team or organization can leverage or benefit from accountability, everyone on the team must be clear on what it means to be accountable. Therefore, it is very important to define and establish who and what the different people in the organization are accountable for in terms of their job titles, roles, duties and be aware that there is an accountability plan in place.
Get clear on expectations: Define goals and expectations. Make sure everyone on the team knows what the expectations are and are aligned on the goals/expectations as well as any consequences for not reaching the said goals. This is especially important in organizations where there are business development folks, inside sales representatives, outside sales representatives, account managers, etc. Without this foundation, your accountability plan will not stick. These must be documented and communicated often, so there is no confusion or doubt.
Provide tools necessary for success: To get the most and best out of your team, it makes sense to equip them with tools necessary for success. A clear sales strategy, aligned upon sales processes, sales enablement tools, a Customer Relationship Tool (CRM) that works best for your unique environment, training and on-going coaching are essential in a winning team’s toolbox.
Measure, track and communicate often: Be sure members of your team regularly know where they stand individually and collectively. Review individual and team pipelines often and take corrective action(s) when necessary. This can have the additional benefit of driving healthy competition among the members. More importantly, it allows members know if they are or not on track to hit their goals. The last thing you want is to reprimand your team for not hitting their goal at the end of a period, when they had no idea how far they were from the goal during that period.
Lead by example – hold yourself accountable: For your sales team to feel accountable, they need to see you model accountability. Give credit often and take one for the team when things don’t go well. Look in the mirror and ask how you can be responsible for the team’s performance. Be a resource to your team and let them know that you are a part of the team. Like John Maxell said: “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.”
It cannot be said enough, accountability is a key element for sales success. For members of a sales organization to achieve and maintain high levels of performance, accountability is a must. A culture of accountability is one where goals are met, people work well together, problems get resolved quickly, there is high engagement and things rarely fall through the cracks. In short, a well-oiled machine. It all starts with defining and implementing accountability coupled with a solid sales strategy and processes.
Not sure if you have the right foundation to create a culture of accountability in your environment and drive high performance and consistent results? Let’s talk: info@thecommissioninternational.com.
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