How to keep your salesperson honest!
I was talking with a CEO who said that ‘all salespeople by nature are dishonest – <a choicest Hindi abuse>’. I winced. I told him,
Not necessarily. It depends on the traits you hired for & the sales process you have that encourage or discourage honesty.
A salesperson’s ‘honesty’ is not just innate – it comes from your org:
- How is your org. culture? Does it encourage absolute integrity at all levels? How does it encourage/discourage abusive behaviour from bosses? Are you OK with sales /anyone else getting horrific ‘gaalis’ from their bosses?
- How have you designed your sales process? Is your culture ‘we don’t care how you get your numbers’ or is it ‘you follow this process – you will get results’? Do you have sales systems & tools track efforts & behaviour? Or is it all self-reporting?
- How do you recognise efforts vs. results? If they are following your process well & are really working hard – will you tolerate their not meeting numbers?
You have a goose that lays golden egg. Create the process to keep her engaged n honest!