(*The following article was originally published in the current edition of OnPoint Magazine which is available to read at this link: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1f23836d#/1f23836d/1.)
If you’re looking to grow sales, beware of the temptation look at a sales training program as a cure for what ails you.
Pulling the sales training lever to drive top line revenues is akin to the Fed lowering lending rates to revive the economy. At its core, the problem with the economy is broken trust (Fannie Mae, AIG, Lehman, etc.) and a lack of consumer confidence.
These aren’t technical problems that require tactical solutions, but rather heart and mind issues that require bigger thinking.
Also at its core, top line revenue growth begins with heart and mind issues that require bigger thinking too.
The Achievement Model
The goal of sales training isn’t simply learning transfer – its growth, either in revenues or profits or both. John Wooden said it best, “Never confuse activity with productivity.”
The Achievement Model, a simple, yet elegant way to describe how achievement works, provides a context to help us understand why sales training in a vacuum cannot serve as a panacea for growth. Which is why we ought to take a good look at how the Achievement Model works in the real world.
Results: The First Step
Goal setting, generally speaking, isn’t the problem (although too often theyr’e not S.M.A.R.T. – specific, measurable, attainable, recordable and time bound). We’re relatively clear about our goal to - lose 40 pounds, stop smoking, or exceed quota, etc.
Short-lived Resolutions
Just setting goals isn’t enough.
Mark Twain said, “It’s easy to quit smoking. I’ve done it a hundred times.”
It’s such a crystal clear goal, yet how many light up again after only a few months, weeks, or sadly, just a few days.
If it’s not goals, could a weak process be the culprit?
A Better Process?
An improved process equals improved results, right? There are a lot of folks out there who will tell you they have their method will help you kick the habit. In fact, according to Medical News Today, the global smoking cessation market was approximately $13.6 billion last year and is nearly is expected to grow 13% per year through 2015.
There’s no shortage of processes designed to help smokers quit: Hypnosis, Nicorette gum, electric cigarettes, reduced-nicotine cigarettes, skin patches, inhalers, medication, etc. Yet, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 76.4% of smokers who attempted to quit using smoking cessation programs failed.
Unfortunately goals and processes are NOT enough.
Why don’t they work ?
Because people put their faith in the process instead of themselves; because they fail to consider the very foundation of achievement – mindset.
Mindset: The Foundation to Sustained Results
According to Webster, mindset is defined as a mental attitude or inclination. Call it the lens through which we see the world. Our mindset is shaped by our beliefs.
What we believe matters. Specifically, do your employees believe in what leadership believes. Are they inspired? If not, how can business leaders inspire their people?
Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, says, “All organizations and careers function on 3 levels. What you do, How you do it and Why you do it. The problem is, most don’t even know that Why exists.”
Start with WHY
Sinek reflects on a turning point in the civil rights movement, “300,000 people didn’t march on Washington in the heat of an August day in 1963 for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; they marched for themselves.” They believed what he believed.
“Though others knew what had to change in America to bring about civil rights for all, it was Martin Luther King who was able to inspire a country to change not just for the good of a minority, but for the good of everyone. Martin Luther King started with Why.”
Sinek’s model fits hand and glove with the Achievement Model:
Results = What we plan to achieve.
Process = How we plan to achieve it.
Mindset = Why - do my beliefs align with my organization’s?
entreQuest, the growth consulting firm where I work, started as a sales training company. Clients hired us to improve processes (sales training and sales process) in order to impact growth. However, we came to the conclusion that sales training absent the reason for the training doesn’t work. It’s a tactical solution to a bigger problem.
We realized that improving a one of the “processes” inside an organization that did not inspired employees would just be wasting money on the training. Client would get a short-term uptick followed by a leveling out.
The Bottom Line
No smoking cessation technique or weight loss diet will work unless they have already made the decision to do it. Until their WHY outweighs any other possible outcome, to endure the discipline, they won’t succeed. The processes are simply a means to an end; an outcome they have already made up their mind to achieve.
The same is true for a business interested in revenue growth. You must be clear on the WHY and they must resonate with it. At entreQuest, one of the exercises we engage senior leadership teams in is 25 reasons why. We ask each member of the team their reasons why. More often than not, the first 10 lie on the surface:
- We’re faster
- Newer
- Safer
The next 10 start to get deeper:
- We care about our employees.
- We help our customers deliver a better service.
Yet, it’s the last five or so that get to the depth needed for a cultural change in thinking, a clarity about the organization’s mindset:
- To make my parents proud.
- To leave a legacy to the next generation.
- To create a company that sets values ahead of profits
This exercise is an example of the kind of soul searching that can lead to real breakthroughs that inspire change.
For business leaders, it means first asking the question, are we (leaders) clear on our WHY and then connecting with every team member about the WHY.
This will inspire them to have the endurance and discipline for the “processes” because they believe in something greater than a vision statement on a dusty plaque.
A big enough WHY leads to not just attainable, but sustainable achievements. Without it, even the best sales training program won’t yield lasting results.
Mark Slatin is a VP of Sales at entreQuest who is outsourced to a wide variety of companies to coach their teams, improve their client experiences, and raise their revenues.
