Talk is cheap. Without action and accountability, there is no way to manage great results from your sales team.

The biggest sales inhibitor now is the same as it has been for the past decade. Many salespeople know what to do, but are not willing to do it. How many times does a salesperson say he or she knows they should prospect from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., four days a week, but yet they don’t? Just like any other profession, there are always excuses for why we don’t do something that we know we should. This does not mean the ex­cuses are not legitimate, but many times the excuses can be overcome or removed. How many times has an obstacle or excuse gotten in the way of picking up a signed contract or a customer payment?

Action Is the Power

Knowledge is powerless with­out action. Selling is a skill, and just like any skill, it takes practice. Most importantly, though, it requires discipline and commitment in order to be successful. Continued learning through reading books, attending training and practice sessions are all very important, but a salesperson must put that knowl­edge to work before seeing any re­sults. Many times, a sales manager or salesperson knows what to say, but the difference between the top sales rep and the bottom sales rep most often is the execution of the knowledge.

Accountability Ensures Action

Sales managers always expect their sales reps to hold themselves accountable, but most of the time that doesn’t happen. If it were the case, there would be very little need for sales managers. To in­crease sales, you must hold people accountable for executing the activities needed to be successful. Many managers struggle with this because they don’t like conflict. Conflict can be good or bad, it simply depends upon the reason for the conflict. For example, if the conflict is to make a person better or more successful, then it can be helpful. It’s all in the approach.

Usually when we look back to the person who affected us the most in our past, it ends up be­ing someone who would not ac­cept anything less than the best we could offer. At the time, we might have thought they were just being mean or hard on us, but in retrospect we understand they were working hard to make us better people. A goal of any sales leader should be to expect and accept nothing less than a person’s best. Just like in life, in sales you will get exactly what you are willing to ac­cept.

How to Hold Your Team Ac­countable

Every person on a team should have expectations — not just a job description, but a list of per­formance expectations that will ensure the salesperson’s success. Have each salesperson complete an activity plan of what actions they are going to take and how they are going to execute them.

As a sales manager, you need to conduct weekly or biweekly one-on-one sessions with each sales rep to make sure he or she is executing the plan. Then, you need to take ac­tion based on the salesperson’s re­sults. If he overachieved, recognize ­and praise him. If he didn’t reach his goal, hold him accountable by taking action, and help him under­stand how to execute the plan and why.

Too many managers try to manage the sales result and not the activity. If you manage the sales results, your ability to correct a bad month of sales has passed, and you can only respond to the results. But, if you manage the activities, you can correct them and therefore affect the sales results to prevent having a bad month. The difference is a manager who man­ages activity will spend more time coaching the salesperson; the man­ager who manages the sales results will spend more time training the replacements.

The Business Is Out There — Are You Willing to Take It?

The difference from today and three years ago is now salespeople have a new excuse: “the economy”, although is this really a new ex­cuse? There is no doubt that the economy is weaker than the past, but many businesses and sales­people are still flourishing. Just be­cause the economy is challenging does not mean a salesperson has to accept it. You have to be willing to go get the business. Like most things in life, something worth having is worth fighting for — so get ready to fight.

Create a plan of action and put it to work. Sales is not an easy job, and not everyone can do it. How­ever, if you are willing to practice and commit to doing what you know, then you will be successful regardless of the economy or any other obstacle. As salespeople, we need to stop staring at the phone and rearranging the desk. Just make the call. Taking action is the only way to set up the appointment and close the sale.