Sales Blazers is a book that could only come from someone who understands the incentive and motivation industry inside and out. And, indeed, it has.
The director of marketing and professional services for Salt Lake City–based performance improvement company O.C. Tanner, Mark Cook, has not written about selling so much as about being a leader who inspires, works with and fights for his or her people in order to achieve sales goals. And, of course, one who rewards success in a way that is meaningful to each individual. Indeed, what sets Sales Blazers apart from other business books about sales is, "they are about how to sell," Cook says. "Human resources and marketing get nothing. [Sales Blazers] goes into engagement, coaching, giving feedback, using incentives." In fact, he notes that of the eight strategies outlined in his book, only one is solely of use to salespeople.
Roughly summarized, these strategies are:
• Start With a Clean Bill of Health—remove distractions
• Spark a Performance Pursuit—engage your performers
• Get the Express Pass—gain key information
• Play Your Depth Chart—leverage your talent
• Activate Expectations—focus their activity
• Coach Like a Professional—offer them your expertise
• RSVP Feedback—guide them to success
• Heighten Reward Potency—recognize their success
The strategy Cook is most passionate about—number two—is Spark a Performance Pursuit. In this chapter, Cook advises sales leaders to spend time and effort learning the personal and professional motivations of each team member and use that information to align corporate goals with those motivations. "Listen across your desk," Cook told Incentive. "If you only hear 'commission' you're like everyone else. Listen to what's important to your employees."
Chapter eight, Heighten Reward Potency, digs a little deeper into the ins and outs of using incentive programs creatively and effectively in order to create that deeply personal motivation in each person. In between is a plethora of examples, anecdotes and case studies drawn from years of research and time spent with the 200 "sales blazers" Cook has turned up, leaders with proven track records of outperforming competitors.
According to Terry Markwart, director of special accounts sales at Canon USA and a longtime participant in the incentive and performance improvement industry, "The techniques and methods illustrated in this book help provide sales leaders with clear and concise guidance to achieve high-performance growth in any industry."
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