3 Ways to Move ‘B’ players to ‘A’ players in Less than 3 Months

“I am down headcount and the only way I am going to hit the number is if my ‘B’ players step up.” That is a common dilemma sales leaders share with me. “Tell me what I need to do to get them to ‘A’ players?” is a question we can answer. The Revenue Growth Diagnostic interactive tool will help you determine if you are likely or unlikely to make your number and will help you evaluate what changes you need to make to attract ‘A’ players. 

But what can you do today? It’s important to get the behaviors and actions going in the right direction. Extra effort is required of your sales management team and the ‘B’ players. Extra coaching, increased accountability, and more field rides are all actions that need to be implemented immediately (along with a candid conversation on their willingness to put in the extra effort). Make sure your team is booking time in calendars and blocking out the days. The effort should give you a 5x revenue lift over what they are already producing. Remember, the revenue will show up according to your sales cycle length.  But behaviors can change today.

And during your conversations with them, implement the 3 steps below to reinforce the new habits they will need to learn to change these behaviors:

3 Ways to Move ‘B’ players to ‘A’ players in 3 Months or Less

1. Raise their goal.  A simple but effective action. Raising a ‘B’ player’s goal by 10% will give you a 7-8% lift in their performance.  Why?  They will intuitively rise to the challenge if you set a SMART goal. But you might say (as my 10 year old daughter does):  “Duh, Dad”.  But have you done this simple step with your ‘B’ Players? Don’t overlook the fundamentals.

    

2. Coach them to slow down the sales process. ‘B’ players rush the process.  They can’t wait to ‘throw up’ all over the prospect/customer about their product or service.  Think a 9 year old on Christmas morning.  The kid can’t wait to tear open every present.  Slow down the ‘B’ player to actually use the buyer-centric sales process you put into place. Uncover what the true needs/problems of the customer are.  

    

3. Have them think like a buyer.  ‘B’s think like sales people, not buyers.  Thinking like a buyer will help them make the leap in performance.  We find too many times they want to slam dunk the prospect.  They think: “I’m pretty good.  Maybe I can close this sucker in half the time it normally takes me.”  Bring them back to reality by walking through the buyer process map and identifying where they are in the deal.

    

Remember, don’t have them ‘Boil the Ocean’ by trying to do too much.  ‘B’ players want to try and accomplish everything.  They want to sell every industry, manage the huge book of accounts and volunteer for every project.  Ever heard the phrase:  ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’.  This is written for the ‘B’ players.

Let me wrap this up short and sweet:  Break the bad habits ‘B’ players don’t even know they have.  Pick one of them on your team, block your calendar for the next quarter with them and focus on the 4 ways mentioned above.

Have expectations gone up and left you wondering if you can make your number? Here is an interactive tool that will help you understand if you have a chance at success. Take the Revenue Growth Diagnostic test and rate yourself against SBI’s sales and marketing strategy to find out if:

• Your revenue goal is realistic
• You will earn your bonus
• You will keep your job