Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
I am charged with sales in a large investment management firm. I’ve been here many years and have always made goal. I’m not much of a planner – I know where the opportunities are and I go after them until I can close them. I’m very tenacious and dedicated.
Our firm just brought a sales manager in from the brokerage world. He is starting to implement more stringent requirements around how many calls we have to make each day, how many meetings we have to have in order to plan a trip and things like this. I understand this approach. But he wants to weave results into our bonus program. So, if I were to go to meetings out of town, but I only had two scheduled instead of the five he wants, I would not get the full amount of comp, even if I close one of these two situations.
This seems like shooting ourselves in the foot. If the assets come in and it is good business, what difference does it make whether I visited with 15 people or one person? What behaviors are we rewarding? I have had conversations with him. I’m not shy about stating my opinion, but he is steadfast in his approach. He claims it was the secret sauce that helped his teams be #1 in his former firm.
What’s your opinion? I’m not happy about it, but if I am wrong about my viewpoint, I am open to another perspective. I believe in rewarding people on results, not process.
T.D.
Dear T.D.,
Don’t pursue a career as a math teacher in middle school. I remember how frustrated my kids were when the teacher gave them a bad grade, even though they got the right answers, if they did not show the process and steps it took to get to that answer! Similar thought here – this person is interested in process: Doing the “right” things repeatedly and getting a rhythm that would carry you through good times and not so good times.
Your question is whether I agree with it. I’m going to sound a bit wishy washy in my answer, but having run sales teams, coached sales leaders and having “carried the bag” for many years, I have viewed this situation from many different perspectives.
I’m not a fan of assigning numbers and targeting people to those numbers. I’ve watched people who “have to make 10 calls a day” just dial their phone, log the 10 calls and then go back to their day. It’s easy to get focused on the number rather than the outcome.
However, in-person visits can be a different measurement. It’s expensive to travel, so you have to do it judiciously. That said, does it make sense to say you have to have five meetings instead of saying you have to have meetings worth X amount of potential? I once had a boss who was of the latter mindset. We had to schedule 8-10 meetings. He sent the president of the company to travel with me on a trip. I made my requisite meetings and the president came back and said how poorly I had qualified the people with whom we met. Of course, because I was focused on just getting the meeting, I couldn’t worry as much about whether they were going to buy from us or not! Coincidentally, I ultimately closed one of the biggest deals the company had ever done from that visit. There is something to be said for simply showing up!
In a lot of cases, the boss will insist on numeric measurable activities because he (or she) does not believe their sales people are working hard enough. Depending on how long you have been at it, with the same firm, you could visit with just a handful of people and probably make your goals. I’m not suggesting you don’t work hard, but it’s natural to get comfortable and pull back just a bit. Setting metrics forces salespeople to keep going even when they’d prefer to stop.
I lean toward setting overall goals (new assets, revenue, profitability, etc.) and then letting a salesperson do what they need to do to make those numbers. A good sales manager will be in touch with the salesperson, know what they are focusing on, help them brainstorm new prospects and new opportunities, etc. A good sales manager will keep the sales team accountable and stay engaged to make sure they aren’t “mailing it in.” If the sales manager sets the numbers, then sits back and just reads the reports, and then (in your case) punishes the salesperson via their compensation for missing the mark, it’s not an environment of motivation and success. People will figure out how to get around the system so they don’t get dinged.
If you need additional support in your position, you have it. There are reasons why sales managers do what your boss is doing, I just haven’t seen it work well in practice. Better to be a sales coach and mentor in that role, rather than someone reading a report and checking the boxes.
Readers, feel free to post to APViewpoint (see the link at the top or bottom of this page) and tell me that I’m wrong – if you have a different experience. I’m always open to learn!
Dear Bev,
I run an insurance company and am always looking for ways to stay leading edge. My team gets excited about my ideas but then nothing happens. I can motivate, cajole and excite but I can’t do everything that needs to be done without their support. What’s the best way to light a fire under people so they follow through and get stuff done?
S.T.
Dear S.T.,
Have you laid out specifics around these “leading edge” ideas? Does your team know who, when, what and how you want things done? Have you assigned someone ownership of the idea and asked that person to implement it? Do you change your mind frequently so your team isn’t quite sure what you are prioritizing at any given time?
Your situation is very common. Often it means the leader with the great ideas comes across as just that – having great ideas with no substance behind them. I am not suggesting you aren’t clear, and your vision isn’t articulated well but your team is busy with their day-to-day so they might need more help about where and how these ideas fit into what they are already doing.
This is often a behavioral disconnect. Leaders of firms can have entrepreneurial styles such as “low S,” which is an active, idea-generating, fast moving, change-oriented approach. If the team is made up of higher S people, they need priorities, process and a clear plan. “Just do it” isn’t enough. Consider whether you could communicate differently and set up for success more effectively in order to see your dreams realized.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. In 2008, she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
