Sales Leadership

Managing Reactivity When The Market is Changing 

How often do you find your sales team reacting “strongly” when they’re faced with the following challenges?

• Are they losing market share because of a new buyer?
• Are customers asking or demanding large discounts with no additional commitment to drive market share your way?
• Are product cycles causing you to lose your edge in the market or are delays in new products allowing your competition to surpass you?

If not handled properly, problems like these can cost you and your company:
• Time and energy
• A lost business opportunity
• Losing a new or existing client
• Losing or firing your sales representative

One of the first things we do in working with sales managers and sales leaders is to teach them how their sales people will react under conflict and difficulty.  If managed correctly many of the bullet points above can be avoided.

There are three general ways people react under conflict or difficulty.

1.  One-third of the population will typically take a positive outlook when conflict or difficulty arises.  While this may seem like a benefit it may also create challenges you may be familiar with:

• Has the person with the problem been fully seen or heard by your sales person?  
• Has your sales person taken the necessary steps in a timely fashion to correct the problem?  Did they follow through as promised?

2.  One-third of the population will handle conflict or difficulty by remaining calm and logical.  So what challenges does this present?

• Have you ever had a sales person take too much time gathering the facts, data and potentially over-analyzing the situation prior to moving into action?  
• How about the sales representative that is so focused on their achievements and goals that they handle problems too quickly and potentially take short cuts that end up leading into bigger problems?

3.  One-third of the population will react to conflict or difficulty with some type of emotional reaction first.  This typically means they will react strongly and will need a response from you or someone else.

• Do some of your sales representatives always call when they’re mad, frustrated or angry?  How much time do you feel they waste on these calls?
• Have they ever offended a client or do something that may eventually get you called in, as their manager, because they reacted “strongly”?

While I believe it’s extremely important sales people play to their strengths, I have witnessed what role REACTIVITY, if gone unmanaged, can play in a sales person’s territory, and have seen the damage it does to a potential or existing client.  Yet, I often find little focus or effective tools that help support managers becoming better leaders when reactivity hits.

My next series of blogs will break down how sales managers can effectively begin to work with each of the three types of reactions they will see from their sales people.

John Brambert is the President of Trinity Performance Group, a team of seasoned Executive Coaches trained in the leading worldwide coaching programs. Trinity Performance Group’s goal is to provide a wide range of executive coaching, leadership and team development, and related services to our clients.  See More in John>