No Poaching!

No Poaching!

You’re a Sales Leader (remember, if you've read my posts you will know that I detest the use of the word ‘manager’ for a leadership role), and one of your reps discovers another rep calling into his/her account. This is one of those time eternal dilemmas – territory, and who owns it. So what do you do?

There are many points here that are worthy of discussion. But what I want to focus on is the leadership role in this scenario. As Sales Leaders part of your job is to take care of your people. Sometimes that means making unpopular decisions both in their favor and against them. Remember, leadership is not a popularity contest. Now when you assign a territory to a rep you have tasked him/her with the responsibility of generating a certain amount of revenue (and preferably, exceeding that amount). Reps are very territorial, and a Sales Leader should be too. So when one of your reps encounters another rep poaching in his/her assigned territory, there is only one question to be answered first. Whose territory is it? To me, every other action stems from the answer to that question. And if there is no clear answer, the leadership team has failed their customers and their reps. I know there may be some sales leaders would disagree with me here but if you give a territory to someone then you should protect that territory for them, too. And for the rep, you should be working your entire account set. If you can’t, you need to let your leadership know about it.

So, let’s take a look at this. Why did another rep call into someone else’s account? Was it just an honest mistake or was it intentional? An oversight is easy to deal with, but an intentional encroachment is a different animal. Why would a rep intentionally call into an account that is not theirs? To me, there is no excuse for that. If a lead comes to you for an account that is not yours, it needs to be passed on to the right rep. Who knows, depending upon the situation, you may find yourself getting part of the deal. It’s not unheard of. But passing it on is the right thing to do and I don’t want reps that lack integrity representing me or my company.

Again, some of you may disagree with me here. But you assigned account to your reps and gave them the belief that they owned it. They shouldn't have to worry about poachers. And you, as a Sales Leader, need to back your reps. After all, you put them there. And as far as poaching goes, it doesn’t matter what the level of activity your rep has in an account, it’s still his/hers until you change it. If they are not adequately covering their waterfront, find out why and take appropriate action. You assigned the rep that account set and you should expect that they are doing what they can to cover it thoroughly and aggressively.

But there are other reasons why honoring the territory given to a rep is important. Assuming that rep is adequately covering that account, when someone else calls into that account they will not know the dynamics that are already in play. Many accounts have many internal customers that have different needs. So the rep that is calling on that account will likely know what is going on and what the dynamics are. When someone else calls into that account, for whatever motive/reason, it is very doubtful that they will understand what the moving parts are and may, in fact, derail a strategy that is already in play. Having two or more reps trying to sell the same thing into the same account just makes your company look disjointed, at best.

And this is where the leadership comes in. As a Sales Leader (or any type of leader) you are paid the big bucks to LEAD. But many, in my experience both directly and through observation, don’t. A Sales Leader is there, in large part (in my view), to make his/her reps successful. Part of that is done by assigning boundaries and setting expectations.  And if a Sales Leader doesn’t step in quickly and decisively to resolve issues like this, the problem(s) will soon take on a life of their own, and time that could be spent furthering revenue growth will be spent on non-productive activities like territorial disputes.

As I have said in other posts, too, leadership is not a popularity contest. Do what is right for your people. They will respect you for it. And if your rep(s) aren't covering their accounts adequately, deal with that too. Perhaps the account is too big or perhaps you have the wrong rep in the job. Do what leaders are paid to do. LEAD. Make a decision and resolve the issue. And when another rep encroaches upon your rep’s territory, take action. I don’t mean to be vengeful, I mean deal with the issue so that all involved can move on and be productive. After all, that is what you hired them to do, isn't it?

Work Life Balance

It’s 8:00 p.m., or later, and you’re still at your desk working. 

Is this you on a daily basis? More often than not, do you find yourself putting in way more time at work? 

The time I used at  the start this post doesn’t really matter, it could be 11:00 p.m. What matters is whether or not you are spending more time thinking about work or actually working, and not giving yourself some balance in your life. 

Do you have a Work Life Balance? 

It doesn't matter who you are, you need balance. 

Perhaps I am writing this because it’s summer. School is out and I am watching working parents still going strong at their work. I see the candles burning at both ends and I know what that can do.

In one of the commands I served at in the navy, there were these guys that actually prided themselves on being in first (to beat the boss to work), and not leaving until well after everyone else. 

It was almost like a competition among themselves to see who could work the longest. 

I am not just talking about being there way early or late when they had a mission to fly. I’m talking about doing this every single day, and weekend’s too. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are days where the midnight oil needs to get burned at work. That’s part of the job. 

But what isn’t (or shouldn’t be) part of the job is to allow work to consume your life to the extent that your private life suffers (and I am really talking about family but this applies to those without families too).

I have seen this in the corporate world just as much as I did in the military. 

In truth, for part of both my military and corporate careers I fell into this trap as well. 

When the first company that I worked for after I left the navy moved us all to home offices, I was at that desk until bedtime most nights…and weekends too. 

My family suffered for it. I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to be the best at new job. There was always plenty to do.

Eventually, I saw the negative side of this approach to work in my colleagues and myself. 

Even though many of these guys were successful at their jobs, a lot more of them than I care to mention ended up with health problems and/or family problems. 

These were good people and they were some of the best in their fields. 

But I watched too many friends put themselves in this situation and it cost them personally. It wasn’t so much the health side of it, but the family side. 

More friends than I care to count have broken homes and marriages. 

They didn’t get married and start a family with the intent to neglect them. I’m sure that none of them ever thought they were doing that. 

But by not putting some balance in their lives, they were exacting a toll. And the toll was felt by their families and themselves.

Once I realized the negative impact that my work approach was having, I started to make changes. I also talked with many of my friends about what I was doing.

Those that have been candid with me have often told me that they wish they had listened when they were told about balancing their lives.

So, I am not going to try to tell you how to do it, but I will tell you that you NEED to do it.

You need to balance your work life and your personal life. Your family needs it and you need it. 

There are numerous benefits to doing this that I am sure you can figure out or research. 

And if you’re in a leadership role, this applies to you even more. 

For one thing, if you’re doing your job as a leader correctly, you should be able to take a week off and the ship should not run aground. 

Secondly, as a leader, you should want the best for and from your people so get them to understand the importance of balancing their lives too. They’ll be better for it, as people and as employees.

Remember, you won’t always have that job and nice office. And if you’re not careful, you may not have your family either. 

Find a way to balance them both so that both benefit.

So, tell me. How do you balance your work and personal life? 

For more information about how The Cobalt Group can help you with Work Life Balance, or any business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.

Copyright © 2013 The Cobalt Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Positive Leadership

Leadership is a dynamic environment. There are a lot of moving parts. 

It is a great responsibility for leaders to keep track of all of these parts. 

Not only are they responsible for some aspect (or all) of the business and its growth and success, they are also responsible for the people under them too. 

It’s those people that actually contribute to the success or failure of those business goals.

Too often, leaders (or people in leadership positions) ignore the care and feeding of their employees and partners. The truth is, it’s part of a leader’s job to help their people succeed as much as it is to have the business succeed. 

I believe that it is, perhaps, the most important part of a leader’s job.

So when your people are neglected or, worse, berated, why are some leaders surprised when they fall short of their goals? Why do they seem confused to see a high turnover rate among their people? 

If you’re one of those people in a leadership role and have honestly asked yourself either or both of those questions, you may be using negative leadership. 

Negative leadership, in my view, is when a leader doesn’t take care of his/her people and doesn't instill them with the same desire to succeed as he/she has. 

Instead of finding the good in people they point out the faults and often blame others for their own misgivings. It is not a good environment in which to work or grow.

Positive leadership is the opposite. 

A positive leader gets to know what motivates his/her people. He/she takes interest in their success as well as that of the business. 

They understand that their people are what makes their business succeed. They make their people part of the solution and not just implement it. 

They instill confidence in their people’s view of them as a leader and of the organization, and they instill self-confidence in their people. They give positive feedback more than they do negative feedback. 

They want their people to believe in what they are doing and feel as though they have a stake in it. 

Basically, they engage their people so that they want to come to work.

There is a line here where a leader can overdo it. 

Know your people and know their primary motivators. 

By doing this you will know how to adapt to each of them and their drivers. Then you will know which people require more interaction and which require/desire little to none. 

This is important because most people know when they are being played and they can see right through it. Be sincere!

Also remember, you will not please everyone all of the time. Stop trying. 

But if you are doing your job as a leader correctly, you are trying to find things to praise your people for instead of just pointing out the negative. 

People work better in a supportive environment.

I call that Positive Leadership.

For more information about how The Cobalt Group can help you with leadership development or employee engagement, or any business or leadership challenges you are facing, Contact us.

We want to hear what you think. Leave a comment and let’s start a discussion.

Copyright © 2013 The Cobalt Group, LLC. All rights reserved.