In short – 2012 will be tougher, but better. Why? Because the many market factors are improving, but also becoming more unpredictable.

While it is normal practice for companies to review their sales performance and budgets for the prior year in order to make a sales plan for the year ahead, market conditions for the past few years have been extremely volatile making it very difficult to forecast the output of a sales team. There is virtual complete lack of certainty for every buyer and in turn for every sales manager.

This pits sales managers between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they need to make dependable sales forecasts in order for the company to determine if it will be able to meet its obligations. On the other hand, there are outside forces that could jeopardize achieving sales targets. There are various scenarios that need to be considered if you are going to make realistic sales goals and motivate a team in to meeting their sales projections.

The good news is that 2012 is anticipated to be better than in 2011.  Historically, election years have been good for business.  What’s more is that according to Training Industry, Inc., companies spent $1.9 billion on sales training last year, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. This shows that companies are planning for increased sales activity.

This doesn’t mean that we are out of the woods.  The U.S. economy is impacted by global events.  We can expect to see continued shrinking of the European economy through at least the first half of the year.  Greece recently implemented tough austerity measures and Spain is expected to implement one soon as well. If Britain’s economy continues to shrink, it could end up in another recession. This could have an impact on our economy.

Oil is also expected to continue rising through 2012 sparking inflation concerns.  You can expect the Federal Government to take steps to keep inflation in check.  There have been conflicting reports as to when interest rates may rise.  Some are speculating that interest rates could start going up by the end of this year.

With all things considered, business is getting done.  Slowly, companies of all sizes are starting to hire again and we have started to see a reduction in unemployment rates in many parts of the country.  Companies begin to hire when they feel confident that their business will grow in the near future.  In addition, companies are now buying goods and services.

Now that the economic engine is churning again, sales managers need to make sure their team is working to supply these growing companies with their expertise. Sales managers can’t afford to allow anyone on their team to continue to blame the economy for poor sales results.  Instead, they need to be conservative in their forecasting and make sure their team is doing everything possible to win over customers and prospects. At the end of the day, the teams that work hard and smart will be in the 2012 winner’s circle.

Tougher, but better.

However, most managers don’t relish the prospect of hiring. This is particularly true when it comes to hiring sales people.  Why? Well, because every candidate is a sales person!  Most will possess ample sales ability to impress an interviewer.  A sharp suit and polished resume, coupled with some caffeine and adrenaline can make any applicant look like a winner, even to an experienced sales manager (and their hiring records usually bear witness to this).

Furthermore, education and credentials seldom help in identifying great sales people. Hiring sales people is far different than hiring an engineer or accountant, whose skills are far more quantifiable. Talented sales people are more often born, than made and sales ability is an inextricable part of a salesperson’s DNA.

Some of the traits that will dictate a person’s success in sales include the following:

• Ambitious and achievement oriented
• Enjoy being challenged
• Love to compete and need to win
• Highly motivated by money (it is not just a stereotype)
• Curiosity and eagerness to learn
• Self-confidence
• Persistence
• Resilient and immune to rejection
• Strong communication and especially listening skills

Mediocre sales people are a dime a dozen, especially in a lagging economy, when many are looking for work. Truly great sales people are few and far between, and finding them can be as difficult as finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Should you be fortunate enough to find a top-shelf salesperson that would make a great employee, keep in mind that they will be in high demand, and must be sold on why working for one specific company is better than another.  This requires the interviewer to shift into the role of sales person, and know what will be most attractive to the right person.

Due to the complexities and challenges of hiring great sales people, it is easy to see why companies consistently turn to professional sales recruiters like Peak.

In a recent blog post, When It’s Time To Rebuild Your Sales Team, they discuss one of the tough decisions facing CEO’s today: whether to tear apart and reconstruct a non-performing sales team. The article argues that when the picture is bleak and all other actions, such strategy, training and new tools have failed to deliver results, it is time to rebuild and offer the following advice to CEO’S:

• Ensure you recruit the very best new sales staff you can afford.
• Simultaneously rebuild and document your sales processes.
• Take a clinical approach to Customer Relationship Management.
• Cultivate adaptability to change as a core competency within the Sales organization
• Lead with inspiration and motivation not through fear.
• Empower your VP of Sales and your highly experienced Sales staff.

Read the full version of this post here on Stratford’s blog : When It’s Time To Rebuild Your Sales Team

Having been a new VP Sales myself more than once, my model for achieving fast and lasting success involves focusing on 6 top priorities during the critical first 90 days of assuming the role:

1. Connect – Meet with key customers to let them know you are committed to their success.
2. Validation – How do customers view the company’s offering? How is the company positioned in the marketplace?
3. Audit – Tear apart the sales pipeline to determine what is real and what is the realistic forecast.
4. Analyze – Are the sales strategy and selling methodology aligned with the sales goals? Does the sales team have the right team members to execute on the plan? Are the right support tools and infrastructure in place?
5. Plans – Make sure all sales managers and reps have a tactical plan to deliver and support the sales plan.
6. Culture – Instill a winning culture and make it clear to the team that failure and mediocrity will not exist moving forward.

 To your success!

People tend to do what is asked of them. If you ask people to do their best, there is really no specific measure of success or failure. Humans are all conditioned to expend the minimum amount of effort on any task. In other words, we do what is required to simply get the job done and that’s it. Unfortunately, what a sales rep thinks is their best may fall short of what a sales manager expects from them.

There is plenty of research that proves that people will deliver more when asked for more, so if you want to get the most from your reps, set specific and aggressive quotas.

With software solutions emerging to facilitate the process on a fixed schdeule, there’s no reason not to integrate your new hires efficiently, effectively and excellently. At Peak, we’ve been onboarding employees from day one, and it’s led to tremendous performance successes for our team.

Protect your investment. You’ve hired the best; now give them the tools to deliver their best.

To your success!

Here is a quick test to determine whether your company is ready to attract top performing sales people (score one point for each “yes” answer):

1. Does the company have a recognized brand? (people are naturally attracted to household names)

2. Does the company have a track record of success? (subtract one if your company is a start-up and there is minimal proof of demand for what you sell – this equates to risk)

3. Does the company have a market leadership position? (sales talent is naturally attracted to the market leaders as it often makes selling easier)

4. Are a high percentage of the reps making quota? (subtract one if there are no other reps on the team – this equates to risk)

5. Is there a strong value proposition for the offering? (top sales people like to know why customers will want plenty of the product or service)

6. Does the website/office/staff project a professional image and does the public image look strong? (top talent will dismiss an employer that doesn’t create a great impression for customers)

7. Is the sales and company leadership credible and charismatic? (top talent will choose to work for people they respect)

8. Is the compensation plan at or above market? (top talent can choose to work for the highest bidder)

9. Does the company fund a benefits program? (a signal that the company invests in staff)

10. Is the company well known as a great place to work? (positive buzz helps attract talent)

Scoring – If your company scores 10, your company will have no problem attracting top sales talent. If you score 7-9, then there are ways you can enhance your ability to hire top performers. If you are at 6 or below, you may have trouble hiring the best talent in your sector and your work is cut out for you. The upside is that improving in any of these areas will have a positive impact on your hiring success.

People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be.
— Harvey Mackay

Next time one of your sales reps tells you that they can’t meet their targets because of this condition or that condition, this or that obstacle or this and that limitation, suggest to them that they look at people who succeed. It is really all in their head.