Confusion, fear and angst in today’s sales team

By Jerry Akers, business management and sales consultant, Cedar Rapids

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our overconfidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress. - Bruce Barton

During the past three years I have read and reread this passage many times and introduced it to many clients across the state in an effort to help them deal with the realities of the economic times we have been experiencing.

While quotes and great thoughts are wonderful, they don't help much when you are struggling to pay the bills and keep the clients you have as happy as possible.

While dealing with this type of situation, many companies lose focus on the people who are directly responsible for getting customers, keeping customers, building and installing products, etc.

Owners and managers tend to become hypnotized by the horizon and fly into a mountain of problems when their key employees' feel fearful of their job/income/future.

This problem, once in play, will continue to spiral until it becomes out of control and starts affecting performance, focus and the ability to keep customers satisfied.

Needless to say, that leads to lost revenue and a continuation of the company's downward trend and a further weakening of the company's financial position.

In researching these problems during the past three years, it has become obvious that there are some basic tactics that work wonders in keeping employees' morale up and helping them to feel that the company has a plan and is truly moving forward in a positive direction.

This leads to a higher level of confidence that jobs are somewhat safe, incomes are reasonably secure and the future holds some promise even while the rest of the country is struggling.

While not all will work for all situations, some may work for yours.

1 Revisit your company visions and strategies to ensure they fit the current reality.

2 Take that new found vision to the employees at every opportunity. Newsletters, company meetings, etc., are all opportunities to reinforce the reality that the company is aware of the current situation and has a plan to deal with it in a way that protects jobs and futures.

3 Send out regular updates on progress, including wins and losses. These could be email, snail mail, website info or any other process pertinent to your company, but it needs to be regular and honest.

4 Elicit feedback from the people who need confidence the most - your employees. In group settings or in the break room, gather all the info you can and use it to structure responses to employee issues that will help temper their concerns and grow their confidence that the company is moving in the right direction.

5 Consider adjusting goals for the team during the tougher times. Even if it is a slight modification, it will go miles in showing that you understand the new realities they are dealing with every day and re-energize them to go the extra mile.

Little efforts are genuinely noticed when brought about by the new market.

6 Be up front regarding changes to bonus/commission packages that may be driven by the changing times. Employees are aware of what is going on and may be anticipating a much more drastic change than you are considering.

Knowing the realities of the situation will help keep them focused. Knowing it is a short-term adjustment will keep them striving forward to correct the current problem so they can get back to the way it used to be.

7 Help staff understand the value of cross training for them and for the company. When they add value to their personal skills package, they become more valuable and less liable to be downsized should that ever happen.

Offer to help them in their efforts, and it will be evident you are looking out for their best interests.

8 Share information. Knowing the basics of how the company is progressing and how its performance directly affects those numbers will give the employees some ownership in their own future.

All in all, much of the above is common sense stuff that we ignore when times are good and miss in the struggle to survive when times are bad.

Using these tactics will protect your biggest investment - your people - and give you peace of mind knowing your are doing all you can to ensure the continued growth of your company.