Sales Leadership: It's More Than Just Showing Up

Why Do Some Sales People React to Problems with a Positive Outlook 

Today we’ll share with you how our first triad of sales people reacts to conflict or difficulty by initially taking a Positive Outlook and denying they may have a problem.  

One

They focus on a positive self-image by helping and connecting with others; potentially overemphasizing the other person’s needs while neglecting their own. Their ultimate goal is to help other people.

For the sales manager, this can present a series of problems as a sales person with this approach can:

A.  Overlook the needs of your company in favor of the client and maintaining this relationship at all cost

B.  Over emphasize his own need to be valued and his “pride” that clients depend on him, potentially leading to poor decisions that exclude logic, data and facts

C.   Be focused too heavily on relationships versus tasks and conceding to higher discounts, free products, extended terms, etc., in order to satisfy the client

Sales Manager Focus

1.  Ask the sales person to reflect and think about how his company values and needs him.  The more you can get the sales person to appreciate he’s valued by you and your company the better chance you have for him to increase or maintain margins. Remember, they’re looking for “connectedness” and being “valued” for what they do.  The more the sales person feels rejected and has conflict or difficulty in his life the more you can expect him to turn to others so he may help them and feel appreciated for what he does.

2.   Ask the sales person to monitor their time.  Make sure they’re spending, at the minimum, equal time between tasks and relationships, especially when he’s experiencing difficulty or not getting what he wants.  The general tendency is to focus on others and to try and help them versus slowing down and identifying what their own needs are. They remain positive by avoiding their own needs and emotions.  The sales person is more likely to take care of “his” tasks once he explores and recognizes his own feelings first and this can directly impact both you and them in a positive way.

3.  Make sure you understand their challenges and begin to probe on some of the patterns you see that do not serve them well.  By staying Positive does he over extend himself and has difficulty saying “no”?  Can the sales person describe what he’s thinking when he’s experiencing a difficult situation? Does he become angered easily and reacting strongly to others?  All these challenges may come up even though they will project a strong outward appearance of Positivity.

Two

They reframe the problem and look for a fun way to deal with it as they have lots of options.  Ultimately they overemphasize their own needs and quickly can feel trapped or limited by problems or the needs of another person.

For the sales manager, this can present a series of problems as a sales person with this approach can:

A.    Overlook the seriousness of the problem, challenge or difficulty by avoiding pain or suffering that may accompany the situation

B.    Over emphasize his own needs and overlook what’s best for both the client and the company

C.    React too slowly, or not at all, by becoming distracted with other thoughts or the possibility of moving to something that’s fun and exciting

Sales Manager Focus

1A.   A full understanding of the problem and what the client is requesting

B.   Focusing on what the conditions of satisfaction are and the best solution versus several options

C.  A mutually agreed upon timeframe in which she can complete the tasks and resolve the client’s request for better service

      2.  Ask her to spend more time on “listening” and probing what the client is asking for when problems occur. She often finds it difficult to slow down her mind, especially when she’s bored or something new and exciting is on her mind. One of the best things you can ask her to do is……………NOTHING. The more time she can take after a meeting to just sit and reflect on the client’s needs, the better chance she will have of not moving too quickly to something else. The sales person does not suffer from effort or the desire to take care of problems; her mind simply moves quickly to new and exciting possibilities or she finds herself overcommitted in her schedule

      3.  Make sure you understand her challenges and begin to probe on some of the patterns you see that do not serve her well. By staying Positive, what is she possibly avoiding? By focusing on just this one problem, is it possible that she feels confined or limited? Does she feel like someone (client or manager) is trying to control her? Is she avoiding the problem simply because she has already rationalized her behavior?  All of these challenges may come up even though the sales person will project a strong outward appearance of a Positive Outlook.

Three 

They may downplay the problem and decide they’ll deal with it later or even deny there’s a problem all the while trying to balance taking care of both their needs and their clients.  They may feel overwhelmed; both by their needs and that of others, leaving them to feel like they do not want to deal with either.

For the sales manager, this can present a series of problems as a sales person with this approach can:

A.    Overlook the seriousness of the problem, challenge or difficulty by avoiding pain or suffering that may accompany the situation

B.    Become overwhelmed as he or she deals with the needs of others and their own feelings or needs

C.    React to slowly or not at all by becoming distracted with other thoughts or activities that keep her from addressing the real problem

Sales Manager Focus

1.  Ask the sales person to develop a process for handling problems that includess

•             A mutually agreed upon timeframe in which they can complete the tasks and make decisions

2.  Ask them to spend more time identifying what they want, and give them plenty of room to explore. Often they may find it difficult to consider their own feelings and especially saying “no” to others, while appearing calm and peaceful. One of the best things you can ask the sales person to do is take time to consider their own feelings and whether they says yes or no, probe further, so you can gauge for yourself what you think might be best for them.


3.  Make sure you understand their challenge of being indirect. By keeping a Positive Outlook what is the sales person possibly avoiding? Remember that their strength of being calm and peaceful has a “shadow side” and this shows up as not “saying” what needs to be “said.” Instead, these challenges may come up and may not be apparent to you or others as the sales person will project a strong outward appearance of a Positive Outlook.

      As you have seen, even though the 3 types of sales people react with a Positive Outlook during conflict or difficulty, the patterns of their behavior may not be so positive for you or your company. Our next section will look at REACTIVITY, and how the last triad initially responds to conflict and difficulty with an Emotional Reaction.

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>