Results v. Activities (Outputs v. Inputs)

What a six sigma black belt taught me about managing sales people.

I once had a mentor that was an MIT grad and help create the belt system for six sigma. (If you don’t know what six sigma is, here’s a brief explainer.) He taught my non-engineer mind about input and outputs (using a silly analogy about having a perfect lawn).

This struck a chord with me because seeing sales through the input/output lens gave me a great sense of relief (and a slight perception of control).

Here’s how I looked at it.

Outputs:

• Revenue

• New Clients

• Closed Deals

Inputs:

• Prospecting Activities (Calls, appointments, texts, connections, etc…)

• Outreach

• Priority Management

• Rep Desire

• Market Conditions

• Interest Rates

• Competitors Cost structure

I learned I could manage the outputs by focusing on the inputs.

Epiphany!

Once I identified all the inputs and grouped them into…

In my control: Prospecting Activities, Priority Management, Desire, etc…

and

Out of my control: Market Conditions, Interest Rates, Competitor Cost Structure, etc...

I could then design my day, week, and month around the controllable things I could do to impact my own personal production or help my reps do the same. If we focused on the controllable inputs (activities), the output (results) tended to turn out… amazing!

One of my sole jobs is to help our sales team focus on the controllable inputs (activities) so they can hit the goals they set for themselves!!!!

Thanks for the lesson, Xavier.