A couple of weeks back we looked at three characteristics that separate the average sales manager from the great sales manager. This week we wanted to wrap up with the final, and probably least talked about, sales leadership trait – their unusual approach to assessing performance.

It’s not how you hit the ball, but where it lands.

Successful managers have a very common sense approach to assessing a rep’s ability to sell. They don’t get overwhelmed or distracted by the 50+ sales behaviors other managers might focus on. Rather, they zero in on the 5 to 8 simple outcomes that ultimately determine how well a rep can execute in the field. In other words, great sales managers have a different definition of competency than most. They measure competencies by CUSTOMER outcomes and NOT by looking at what the rep attempted to do (e.g., questions asked, communicated prescribed benefits, etc.).

Let’s use golf as an example. A golfer’s success is based on a score (similar to a rep’s quota), but how do you measure the competencies they must possess in order to obtain excellent scores? Some would say “look at their short game – that’s a key competency”. True. That’s like saying “prospecting” is a core sales competency. That’s also true, but how do you measure that competency?

The key is to break sales down into competencies that can be measured by a defined outcome. Let’s go back to the golf analogy. What if we broke down the “short game” into three competencies: chipping, sand shots, and putting? Now, it becomes a bit easier to define and measure the competency. I can easily measure putting by number of putts per round, or sand shots by how close the ball consistently lands near the hole. It really DOESN’T matter how they held the putter or their stance. This is key. If they consistently have a low number of putts, as a coach, I don’t have to get bogged down with all the elements that go into putting. All that matters is whether the desired outcome is achieved. Basically, if the golfer is a good putter, move on. Even if their total score is off, it’s not due to a putting problem. If the putting number is high, now it makes sense to analyze what caused the putting problem. Great managers define this as a “behavior” (i.e., stance, grip, alignment). This is where the development occurs. They zero in on the behaviors that affect the competency (or outcome).

Let’s look at a sales example. Say a manager wants to measure a rep’s ability to build value in a solution. Should you first focus on their ability to communicate benefits, identify barriers, or handle an objection? No. You will look at those behaviors if needed, but the key is to first look at Building Value – the competency – as a customer outcome. For example, the rep successfully built value if the customer embraces recommendation and/or positively changes their opinion of the product/service/company and is willing to advance. If the rep achieves this outcome, he or she was successful. If reps achieve this outcome consistently, they are competent at building value. The “why” or “how” really doesn’t matter. But, if they failed to achieve the desired outcome, then we focus on the 5 or 6 key behaviors that contribute to success in Building Value (e.g., communicating benefits vs. features, handling objections, delivery) and diagnose which behavior is causing the rep to miss the mark.

There are two major benefits to this approach. First, the manager is able to quickly narrow the focus to the root cause of the problem, rather than wasting time measuring 50+ sales behaviors on every call. Second, managers will eliminate arguments with reps who are achieving results but don’t do it the “company” way.

If your reps can consistently hit the ball 400 yards down the middle of the fairway with their putter, leave them alone.