Sales forces: conquering spirit, motivation and leadership
High level sportsman, high mountain guide and commercial manager.
High level competitor in swimming, rifle shooting, ice hockey and rowing, Jean-Yves was then a student guide at the Ecole Militaire de Haute Montagne.
"In competition, if you run, it's to come first. If you come second, you've lost.
Through high-level sport, he developed a competitive spirit, which he then put to good use in his role as Sales Manager, then Market Manager, and finally Sales Director in several companies in the industrial sector.
His military experience allows him to observe a similarity between management skills in companies and in the army:
"It's a lot like the military: it's the ability to bring people into a project."
Today, Jean-Yves is an interim manager. As such, he brings his values and energy to the organizations he is entrusted with.
What is your view of the sales function?
Jean-Yves has a vision of conquest for the sales function. A salesman is someone who must conquer territories and create added value.
"Sales is a lonely business."
The salesperson is a loner within a team. Basically, he is independent, he wants to perform, and in meetings, he is alone in front of the customer, even if there is a team around him, a pre-sales team, an after-sales team, an ADV, etc.
"The sales profession is like a relay race: when you run, you're on your own, even if in the end the victory is collective."
It's a difficult job that requires resilience, so it's important to keep the salesperson motivated to go back to prospecting. Often, the teams that win are teams where the salesperson can talk to his or her N+1 very easily, almost every time they leave a meeting, to debrief the meeting and prepare for the next one.
"The manager must play his role of coach, of advisor"
He must also accept the human weaknesses of his employees, especially when some salespeople have complex personalities. A sales manager does not lead in an authoritarian way - as young managers sometimes do unfortunately - he represents his team and must take care of them. In short, the manager must be aware that management is a two-way street: top-down and bottom-up.
Middle management is a particular subject of reflection: how to develop a solitary ultra-performing salesperson? Because not everyone is cut out to be a manager.
"These are not the same human qualities, they may even be opposite!"
It is therefore necessary to detect and develop the human side of a successful salesperson in order to make him/her a good manager. This requires a great deal of foresight from top management.
What diagnosis do you make in the companies where you work as an interim manager?
Often, we have very little data for a diagnosis, and we have to rely on our instinct. But one of the criteria that Jean-Yves observes in priority is theinvolvement of the teams, beyond the method and the way of doing things.
"No one succeeds with little work."
A Sales Manager must show empathy, tolerance, kindness, even "tenderness" towards his sales representatives, while being demanding and direct.
But what struck Jean-Yves as Sales Director was the lack of a conquering spirit in the salespeople he was entrusted with. Today, he continues to make the same observation: in 80% of cases, the result of a diagnosis is a lack of prospecting.
The first driver is the desire of people to work with their manager. The manager's leadership is therefore essential, but he or she often lacks the tools and means to create motivation.
"People don't want to struggle over an Excel spreadsheet, but to show their colleagues how good they are and to please their boss."
This is especially the case in companies with a large sales force. The job of the Sales Director is then very human. It is the ability to bring people into a project. The same expectations and behaviors can be found in the sales force as in the army:
"a need for recognition and belonging."
In concrete terms, the sales challenge is an excellent way to generate recognition and ownership, but it comes at the end of the process. First, you have to create the desire, create a sales action plan in line with the company strategy, and define precise and personalized objectives.
A key to success in achieving results in a company in transition?
Digitalization ! In 2015, Jean-Yves worked in North America, more precisely in Montreal, Canada. He noticed two things: a drastic decrease in the number of salespeople in the country and a digitalization of the sales force. Since then, the health crisis has accelerated this digitalization process. In Europe, we have made the same progress in digitization in 1 or 2 years that we have made in Canada in 5 years! But beware:
"The digital tool should not be a substitute for management."
In sales forces, there is often a lack of prospecting and a need to mobilize salespeople with incentives, and digital tools have their role to play:
"We need an application that allows us to get the most done with the least amount of effort."
Tell us about sales animation in industry and construction...
According to Jean-Yves, BtoC sales rely heavily on sales systems, organizations and framework contracts. In BtoB, sales are based on people. This human aspect is even stronger in industry and construction. BtoB sales in these sectors are certainly less visible, but they are very technical and of high quality. We must therefore get rid of preconceived ideas:
"The industrial and construction sectors are keen on digital."
Why did you implement Objow during your last assignment at Orapi?
What is interesting in a challenge is to know if it generates enthusiasm and support. What is valuable, the first ROI, is the motivation of the sales person. However, sales people do not want to go and get the results of their efforts on a dark medium.
"As well as being fun, Objow provides real-time feedback, makes it easier to get bonuses and aligns with constant smartphone use."
There is a real difference in added value between a traditional challenge (communicated by email, with Excel and Powerpoint files) and a digital challenge. It is therefore important to get the entire support team involved in the digital project, by involving the various stakeholders (CFO, IT, etc.) and defending the interest of the tool for the teams concerned.
Objow in 3 words?
"Fun, Dynamic, Performing."
and then?
As an interim manager, Jean-Yves has an added value: he deploys the tools of his ecosystem in companies. Wherever he encounters a problem with prospecting or motivation, he'll think of Objow to help boost sales performance.
