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There are a thousand different faces of success—and failure, for that matter—each with a different track leading to it.
I’ll assume success is your destination. What does it look like? Specifically, what are the values that drive and define your sales culture?
I’m not looking for some secret set of “right answers.” I said there are a thousand different ways to be successful, and I meant it. But you can’t aim for all of them at once. If you want to end up somewhere meaningful, something that fits your corporate and personal values, you have to train your sights on a very specific vision of the future, then lay the tracks that will get you there, and only there.
So how do you know which way to head? The best way is to define the values you hope your future sales culture will embody and embrace.
Down the left column of a piece of paper, list these values that a business culture might embrace, as well as any others you think are relevant:
Highly-skilled—respecting of the individual—does right by the customer—margin-driven—committed—honest—aggressive—revenue-focused—orderly—team-oriented—hardworking—playful and fun—disciplined—fair—customer-centered—ethical—democratic—self-driven—diligent—empathetic—company-driven—financial planning-driven
Assign each value an “A” (highly important to you), “B” (somewhat important), or “C” (not important). Even if you consider all of these to be important, they are not all “highly important” to you. Assign “A” to every value and it’s akin to aiming at everything and hitting nothing.
Have your managers do the same. Compare the visions. Is there overlap? Is there consensus? Are there clusters of values that might help guide future planning?
Create a reduced list of your highest values, then project yourself into the future. You have arrived at a sales culture that embodies these core values. Now take a look backwards to the current time. What will it take to bridge the gap between that past (present) moment and the future achievement of that vision? What are the specific steps that will get you across that bridge?
Sales cultures that don’t know where they are headed or what values are guiding them are all too likely to jump the tracks. This values clarification exercise can lay the track and keep you steaming ahead to the very precise, well-defined future you have seen for yourself and for your business culture.