I’ve been asked multiple times: How do I know my sales people are in a good place? How do I know my sales reps are happy here? One way to tell is measuring their results or activities. However, this is measuring one dimension only. My response to questions like the ones above is: Mindset and effort.
Although difficult to measure, the more important factor to measure is where everything starts – the mindset aka the thinking pattern or background thoughts that play all day long – the small voice that no one else hears.
Unfortunately, too many leaders are either oblivious of the fact that there is more to a person than the results they bring in or they assume that subtle threats will get a person to ‘shape up’ and hit their numbers. These leaders end up losing talent repeatedly because they don’t pay attention to the impact the sales profession can have on a person’s mindset.
How can you measure mindset, or at least, tell if someone is in a good place mentally? I can’t read minds, but I observe and interpret behavior as well as listen to subtle cues during conversations. When I have the opportunity to have a conversation with sales professionals, I listen for where their heads are. In the absence of a conversation, I observe behavior.
Certain behaviors let me know where their head is, including: showing up on time, preparing for each call or meeting, trying new things, seeking input from the team or leadership and expressing gratitude. You can use these as a baseline to get a gauge for where your people are, mentally. This way, you’re not guessing or assuming.
Everything can be measured. If you want to manage it, find a way to measure it, or at least observe it.
If you need help getting a sense of where your sales team is and impacting that before it’s too late, contact us!
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