.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Here’s how it looks from your business’s point of view: Senior management is pushing for more sales. At the same time, your marketing budget has been cut, so the salespeople have either dated or no materials to use in their sales process. Because they need to be out on the street selling, you’ve also reduced training time and product education for them. Your sales team has fewer tools and knows less, but is under pressure to do more.

The numbers demand that the salespeople call on more prospects, sell faster and give less time to their current customers.

OK, now from your clients’ or customers’ POV:

They’re feeling the pressure, too. Their budget has been slashed. They cannot risk making a bad decision. Their boss is demanding results. And there isn’t enough time in the day.

On top of that, salespeople are hounding them. They don’t know what to do. They are afraid to admit they don’t really understand all this stuff. But everyone is so busy trying to shove sales down their throats that no one is actually educating them or cares about their situation.

So how do you take this situation and help everyone win? Here’s a crazy idea. What if your salespeople were rewarded not for the number of sales but the number of right sales? And those rewards were compounded if the customer became a repeat buyer?

Are your sales systems, processes and policies set up to serve both your staff and your customers for the long term? Is your compensation structure built to encourage relationships rather than quick price-based sales?

We usually behave ourselves into our results. Are you sure your behavior is aimed at the right results?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2007 Drew McLellan