1.
Should SE’s be able to qualify for club?
2.
What are the qualification criteria?
Two of the conversations were with presales leaders seeking
a quantitative answer for #2. The really interesting conversation was with a
Senior VP of Sales (brokered by his presales leader) about why SE’s should
qualify. Before I get into the details let me state up front that
(a)
I do a strong opinion about this – and that my
answer is “Hell, Yes!”
(b)
I have qualified for amazing trips to Hawaii
(2), Puerto Rico (2), Paris, Bali, London and a few other places as a SE leader
(c)
A large proportion of companies (>70%) do
allow their SE’s to qualify, or hold a separate SE achievement trip.
The conversation with the Sales VP started from the standard
position of “if presales wants the
rewards of being a salesrep then they should move into sales”. We then had
a long , 90-minute conversation about the following:
1.
Teamwork. His company heavily promoted the
concept of the sales team. I asked him what the answer would be if he asked his
top ten sales performers who had most helped them kill their quota. For example
would it be their “presales guy/gal” or their sales manager?
2.
Recognition versus reward. To me – Presidents club
is about recognition. It signifies to an SE that they are one of the best. You
look at most SE’s online resumes on LinkedIn – if they made sales club it’s
listed. It is something to be proud of. I know most SE’s couldn’t care about any
monetary award that may come with – it’s the invitation that is important.
Coming home to spouse or loved one and saying “pack your bags..” makes up for
those 60 hour weeks we sometimes put in.
3.
Meritocracy. I always believe in rewarding the
absolute top performers. If you have ever worked for me you know I say "You eat what you kill". This company had a problem hanging onto their top SE’s.
It wasn’t compensation – it was the way they were treated and the culture that
went with it – an SE couldn’t really stand out. If they did – they got promoted
into management!
4.
Parity. I have never begrudged the cash a
salesrep makes for blowing out quota. They deserve it, and all the recognition
that goes with it. After all – the rep takes the burden of the risk. If a
district or country fails miserably, the reps get canned, the sales manager usually
follows, but the majority of the SE’s stay on. (This point is primarily to
defuse the “if you want the rewards..” viewpoint.)
Bottom line – next year, SE’s at this company will be
eligible for club. One small step..
Amen, John. I couldn't agree with you more. I'm very thankful that my EVP has always included my SE Team in President's Club. I'm thrilled that I can send 3 of my top performers this year, as well as go myself. One tip that I'd recommend to my peers is to keep a list of major achievements as well as track the value the SE adds to the organization throughout the year. Then present all of this information when it's time to nominate attendees. I've found it much easier to get slots for them when my leadership can see the value they've added and some of their major successes vs just a list of names...
ReplyDeleteA great tip. One of the very first sales managers I ever worked with advised me to always keep a "Value File" (he called it something else that is now no longer politically correct) for both myself and my team in case I ever needed to justify something. Fabulous advice!! Thanks.
DeleteJohn - top post. It is too easy for SE value to be lost in the jumble of other people's targets. Criteria for club needs to be strict for the Sales reps - and equally needs to be defined and thought about how to ensure the top SEs qualify too.
ReplyDeleteOften enough good SEs should be rewarded and driven to keep doing what they do well and not necessarily to become another sales rep just to get ahead.
Hi John - I created a parody song about this very topic some time back. I thought you might enjoy it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDHLBZqBYOs&context=C40968d1ADvjVQa1PpcFPzQYjAK7mvvJdGYY3sXK1vZeDr5H1zYVc=
Nice. Although I have to admit that I have never had a rep throw going to club in my face or one of my SE's. The really top reps always bring something back for "their guy/gal" because they want to return to club the following year. Strange how that works.
ReplyDeleteSales Engineers are in great demand because have developed both technical acumen and communication skills. The more current a Sales Engineer's technology skill sets, the greater the demand for his candidacy. Earnings potential is driven by the candidate's sales and business acumen and business acumen, but you first must ante up with the technology and communication skills.
ReplyDeletepre sales careers MA