Leading Indicators: Worrisome Patterns of Behavior

By Walter Rogers
President and CEO
Baker Communication

Highly successful sales managers understand that pipeline and forecast reviews are important. As we’ve previously discussed, there is a big different between a Forecast call and a Forward Pipeline call. Unfortunately, most managers still rely on a forecast call as the mainstay of their weekly cadence. This is a recipe for disaster, because pipeline reviews are primarily focused on what is happening with accounts in the near term, and they provide very little – if any – insight into what may happen farther out; say, six months or more. Forward Pipeline calls, on the other hand, provide visibility into the likely future state of your sales. We covered the difference between Forecasting and Pipeline and leading financial indicators to use, such as 3X quota in the pipeline, in our previous CNN show on April 7. We won’t cover those again in this article; rather we will focus on behavioral patterns that can prevent later problems.

Account Relationships

Pay attention to the quality of relationships the rep has within his key accounts. Can he tell you the names and titles of all the key players on the accounts? When was the last meeting he had with anyone at these account? How many calls has he had with anyone on these accounts during the last 3 months (emails, or phone calls about order status, don’t count). How often has this rep met with anyone at the C level on these accounts? Does the rep talk as if he has built any real relationships with people on the accounts? Does he reference them by first name? Does he know anything about their kids or what teams they root for? If the rep can’t discuss the people he works with on his key accounts, the chances are good that this account is at risk, even if the business looks steady at the moment.

Account Knowledge

How tuned in is this rep to what is going on with their accounts? Are any of the accounts planning future initiatives we should be positioning for? Are they currently doing business with competitors that we should be going after? Is the rep already formulating plans for pursuing new business opportunities, or is he content to rely on run rate business. (Keep this friendly warning in mind: Run rate business can quickly “run out” if the rep is not constantly working inside the account to find new business.) It is important to identify and plug any gaps in account knowledge ASAP, because these gaps in knowledge can quickly lead to gaps in performance and gaps in future revenue.

Personal Attitudes and Habits

• How many calls is this rep making every week? In recent years, sales reps seem to be devoting less and less time to interactions with customers that are focused on building relationships and uncovering new businesses. Sales reps rely too much on email and even texting, which provides the illusion of customer contact without any of the depth or potential for building relationships that are vital for growing business and driving revenue.
   
• Sales managers should also check on whom reps are meeting with inside their accounts. If you have a rep that tends to only interact with purchasing and rarely, if ever, meets with CXOs or other influencers and decision makers, he is almost certainly missing out on landing larger and more profitable projects. Also, to the degree a rep tends to focus on a single line of business (because that is what they know best) they are probably leaving opportunities -- and money – on the table.
   
• Are reps spending enough time working with High Probability Targets? In many cases, there is usually no correlation between the number of calls a rep has with an account and the actual value of that account. Too many sales reps tend to call on customers who are nice to them and easy to work with, or – in the case of face-to-face calls - customers that are close and easy to get to. Instead, sales reps should be focusing on accounts with real buying power that can not only help grow existing revenues, but which offer future potential for significant growth across various lines of business.
   
• Get right down to the nuts and bolts by paying attention to how, and how often, your sales reps are logged on and using the CRM. Many sales reps are resistant to learning how to leverage the CRM to improve sales efficiency and drive revenue. They are comfortable using their old tools and processes. If they are not deploying the new tools and functions the CRM has to offer, there is a good chance their productivity will start lagging behind the reps that are riding the CRM to higher levels of performance. From that perspective, reps who don’t use the CRM are liabilities to the overall success of the team, even if they are maintaining their standard level of productivity year over year.
   
• How often is the sales representative updating their LinkedIn profile? Constant and frequent updates on accomplishments on LinkedIn are often time indicators that a sales professional is looking for other opportunities.
   
• Once per quarter, get a one-week subscription to Monster and search for employees from your company posting their resumes for employment. Someone that is actively looking for a job is not actively working on their current job at 100% percent
   
• Is there a shifting pattern of attendance to team calls or internal meetings, declining responsiveness to emails, missing deadlines (internal and external)? All of these are indicators that something has changed in the sales professional’s ability or desire to continue to excel.
   
• Finally, pay attention to the rep’s tone of voice and body language during conversations about accounts and pipeline. How confident are they? How hopeful are they? How enthusiastic are they? Even though they may have been effective in the past, current attitude and emotional energy is everything. If they are overwhelmed or getting burned out, it will show up if you just pay attention. It is important to spot this, even though it is subtle, and address it quickly. A sales rep who doesn’t feel like selling anymore is definitely signaling a drop in performance and revenue on the horizon.
   

Continue to Coach to Change Behavior

Sales managers who monitor these leading indicators are likely to be astonished – and a little bit concerned – at what they uncover about the potential for growth (or failure) with their team members. It is important to stay focused on the sales manager’s primary goal: to help your team continue to grow and improve in their skills. These leading indicators are extremely valuable tools to help you focus your coaching conversations with sales reps so that they can overcome blind spots, fill in skill gaps, and reach their full potential as a member of your team.

Action Items:

• Review the list of leading indicators discussed in this article, and make sure you have a process in place to track them.
• Are there other indicators you would add to this list? Add them to your list to form a complete picture of the activity you want to track.
• Schedule a sales team meeting as soon as possible to discuss these leading indicators. Let the team know what you will be tracking, why you will be tracking it, and why they should be paying attention to these things, too. Be sure and emphasize the WIIFM factor for them.
• Adapt your coaching plan to make sure you discuss and evaluate these indicators with each rep on a regular basis, with a focus on changing behavior rather than simply grading compliance.
  
   

Walter Rogers is the President and CEO of Baker Communications. Baker Communications is a sales training and development company specializing in helping client companies increase their sales and management effectiveness. He can be reached at 713-627-7700.

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