Event Summary (as published at http://www.boardoftrade.com)
Harness the power of team for sales and service
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Harness the power of team for sales and service to keep 'em coming back
By Ken Gikunda, membership consultant
April 29, 2003, Pan Pacific Vancouver
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Gibson on the ingredients
for a "super team"
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Shane Gibson, executive vice-president of Knowledge Brokers International, concluded his well-received four-part series, The Art of the Deal, with a final session today at the Pan Pacific Vancouver.
Gibson began by presenting a survey indicating the main reasons why customers don’t come back: Nine per cent attributed to price, 14 per cent to unadjusted complaints, and 68 per cent to indifferent attitude of management and staff — a significant number, since boosting retention by two per cent has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10 per cent.
"Lack of attitude usually stems from lack of gratitude," said Gibson, referring to some employees who, though enthusiastic in the beginning, forget that their jobs are the source of their livelihood and should be treated with respect.
It’s important for managers to plan in advance how best to handle complaints. Gibson’s advice was to identify "pivot points," situations where employees interact with potential or existing clients and then brainstorm scenarios, discuss solutions and practice using them. One of the great benefits of this path is that it both empowers and prepares employees.
Gibson then discussed the vital ingredients for a "super team" using Herzberg’s theory of motivation and a story about Dunsmuir Gas Station.
Herzberg’s theory states that the elements of motivation for individuals are: Recognition, responsibility, advancement, achievement and the work itself. Interviewing the owner of Dunsmuir Gas Station, where Gibson had experienced exceptional customer service from both the teenaged and older attendants, Gibson discovered how that business was successfully applying Herzberg’s principles.
Motivating a team of teenagers who can barely keep their rooms clean to work well together is no small feat, but the gas station owner had found a way: For recognition, he walked around with $100 in his pocket and publicly acknowledged an employee giving exemplary service; for achievement, he would take employees for dinner once a month; and for responsibility, he made sure all employees understood how their individual performance ultimately affected profit and loss.
For advancement, the owner was even more creative, since promotional opportunities do not exactly abound in gas stations — he advised his employees to be extremely nice to everyone, as the customers were potentially the employees’ ticket out. And sure enough, some of the gas station owner’s employees moved on to great jobs with some of his customers.
We can also take a lesson from geese, said Gibson; besides the fact that they fly 71 per cent faster in a V-formation, and take turns at the head of the formation when the lead goose gets exhausted, two geese will often stay behind with a fallen comrade until it either recovers or dies. This implies that being part of a team means we should "pick others up" and find ways to support them.
Another strategy for better team dynamics is to reduce the "us versus them" mentality that often crops up between sales and other departments. This could entail taking individuals from other teams on sales calls for a day, inviting key people from other areas to share their expertise, giving a "helper of the month" award or even having salespeople invest a day in another department to immerse themselves in someone else’s reality.
The second half of the seminar focused on key account management and leadership. Key accounts comprise that top four to eight per cent of clients that are of major importance to your organization. This is linked to team selling because a key account manager’s success depends on the ability to "co-ordinate a highly skilled customer focused team of well-trained technical, operational, service, HR, logistics, marketing and executive personnel," according to Gibson.
Key account management is about accountability and responsibility, and does not have to be designated through an official title — it’s for all salespeople as they apply the same principles to their key accounts.
Once key accounts are identified, the next phase is to design a tracking system that involves tracing steps, discussing roles and expectations, outlining scenarios, anticipating possible problems and putting the appropriate people together.
The nexus between effective team sales and leadership is clear — we need to improve ourselves as leaders first before the team can follow a certain pace. And although some of us might think we are leaders, Gibson remarked, "If no one is following you, then you are actually just going for a walk."
Gibson discussed a leadership model with five stages, called Title, Relationship, Results, Impact and Transparency. Leaders evolve from the Title stage, which involves a system of reward for well-deserving subordinates and punishment for those who are only somewhat co-operative, perform only the required amount of work and need to be prompted to take initiative.
The ideal stage or the pinnacle of the evolution — the Transparency stage — is where a leader does what they say they will do, pays attention to the details of leadership, has developed many other leaders and is an example of success and positive relationships in their organization. At that point, their people have developed strong leadership qualities through osmosis, will take action with little prompting and highly trust the leader.
If the key to success lies in motivating people to work as a "super team," then the question becomes: What stage of leadership are you at, and how can you get to the next level?
