On the brink of winning his 19th
Premiership title, with a Champions League final against the mighty
Barcelona in the bag, Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the world's
greatest managers, and not just in football terms. While the fiery
Scot's penchant for criticising referee decisions, fighting the FA
and boycotting the BBC might not make him everyone's cup of tea,
his unique blend of man-management skills, experience and passion
has brought unheralded success. John Pooley, MD of The Data
Partnership, explains why entrepreneurs should learn a few tricks
from Fergie.
Nurturing talent
Giggs, Scholes, the Nevilles, Beckham and Ronaldo are just some
of the world class players to have developed under the tutelage of
Sir Alex Ferguson. The ability to develop and bring talent through
the ranks has been one of his most valuable facets as a manager and
is vital for the long-term health of all organisations. When
developing your own team you need to look at individual strengths
and weaknesses and fine tune the little things they're not so good
at.
The "hair dryer" treatment
Okay, so you don't want to give your sales team the full Fergie
"hair dryer" treatment or go round kicking football boots into
people's faces à la David Beckham circa 2003, but a motivational
half time 'pep-talk' is sometime needed when sale targets aren't
being met.
This is where knowing your team really comes into play. You need
to know what's going to boost their confidence and what's going to
drive them to get those sales. Sometimes a quiet word in the ear is
all that's needed, while other times a reward of some kind might be
more appropriate. A public dressing down is never to be
recommended, but in the right environment (and I stress -
right environment) a plasma screen in the sales room
that shows how everyone is performing on an individual level can
provide a similar function.
Fostering a 'never say die' attitude
Ole Gunnar Solskjær's injury time
winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final has come to
epitomise the Man Utd team spirit.
In a sales team you want (to use a football analogy) the team to
fight for each other. On the last day of the month, when sales
target haven't been met, you want all of your team to be 'chomping
at the bit' to hit targets so they make commission. How do you
create this hunger?
It starts with your recruitment strategy. It might be un-PC to
say in these altruistic times, but from a sales perspective, you
ideally want your team to be motivated by materialistic rewards.
You want them to be in the sales profession for the thrill of the
chase, the 'kill'; you want them to strive to earn commission. In a
sales environment it's hard to push your team if they're not
interested in the monetary rewards.
Targets should be set and changed on a regular basis to
incentivise and keep people on their toes. A joint, team target
with some form of reward, such as leaving early on a Friday or a
trip to the pub, is a good idea to foster spirit. Tip: always
target and monitor.
Team spirit & man-management
Throughout his career Ferguson has always been great at
attracting and retaining the best players. A large part of this
success is due to his personal approach. Before he signs any player
he makes sure he gets to know their characteristics and personality
to ensure they fit with the Man Utd 'way'.
You should do exactly the same when recruiting. "Sell me this
pencil" is the cliché interview question. But when recruiting for
sales staff you'll often get more out of the process by throwing
that list of pre-defined interview questions in the bin and
actually talking to the interviewee, not just about their
experience but also their lives. Once they're comfortable and
relaxed they will open up more and you get a much better idea of
whether they are the right fit for the company or not.
Oh and by the way…no I'm not a Man Utd fan!
John Pooley is owner and MD of The
Data Partnership