As a Sales Leader, do you find that your time is often monopolized by exceptions, one-offs and special adjustments to quotas, goals, reports etc? Yeah.. me too.

Michael Hanna, our guest blogger and the President of Sales Ops Solutions has some helpful advice to better manage exceptions and get back to what we’re all paid to do- which is to drive sales. Michael- take it away…

Are Exceptions the Norm?

It continues to amaze me, as I observe many sales organizations, how much time is monopolized handling special requests, arbitrating disputes or responding to policies and processes that are not followed correctly. For Sales Reps this implies time spent away from selling.  For Sales Executives and Sales Operations Professionals this implies time spent away from planning and implementing strategic change.  This ultimately translates into lost revenue. These exceptions can come in the form of compensation disputes, territory disputes, discount requests or even requests to sell solutions that don’t exist!

Let’s face it.  Exceptions will happen. If you are finding many legitimate exceptions to a given policy, then that policy probably requires a second look. The goal is not to eliminate exceptions but to decrease their frequency to the point of being…well…exceptional. The following three principles will help you reach this goal in your organization.

PRINCIPLE #1: Guiding principles govern what policies cannot.

Policies are typically written in reaction to a recurring problem.  When several such policies are established over time, organizations may end up with a series of disjointed policies and resulting practices.  This can create gaps and apparent conflict in intent.

I believe that every organization (company or department) should have some documented guiding principles that are written within the context of their vision.  Policies will then govern specific applications of those guiding principles.  Gaps and exceptions can then be judged according to guiding principles.

Here are some examples of guiding principles:

• “We provide a first class customer experience.”
• “We encourage innovation in the workplace.”
• “We never compromise Integrity.”
• “We foster teamwork.”

If your guiding principles are effectively imbedded into your management style and organizational culture, then your policies will be easier to retain and more natural to follow.

PRINCIPLE # 2: Make compliance easy.

If people are expected to adhere to policies and procedures, then they should be clearly documented, organized and accessible.  Many organizations don’t have all of their policies kept in one place.  Instead they are stored in various emails or PowerPoint presentations, making it difficult to access, refer to and retain.

Consider creating a simple policy book and updating it no more than once or twice per year.  Highlight changes when rolling out each update.

If you have many policies, then categorize them.  A great way to categorize your policies is by the guiding principles discussed above.

Keep all of your policies in one place that is easily accessible to all affected team members.

PRINCIPLE #3: The first exception will set a precedent.

How you handle the first exception of a certain kind will set a foundation for others like it in the future.  One of the most effective ways to make a difficult decision is to determine how similar decisions were made in the past, and what their outcomes were.  When faced with a challenge I have heard many executives say “How have we handled this in the past?”

This principle of the precedent holds true in the positive and the negative.  Let’s consider a very simple example.  Suppose a sales representative requests approval to extend a 30% discount to a client.  If this request is approved then the sales rep will expect that similar requests to be approved again in the future.  Furthermore, other sales representatives will begin to expect the same.  If the request is denied, then they will think twice before making the request next time, and try to find other creative ways to satisfy the client.

It is therefore important to always specify a reason for your approval or denial of a special request.  This defines the circumstance under which the precedent is set.  For example, you may have approved the request because the client has provided a lot of business in the past and the product being discounted has a high profit margin.

Choose your first approval carefully.  There will be others like it.

PRINCIPLE #4: Most people demand change but resist it when it comes.

It’s in our nature to always want things to improve.  It’s against our nature to deliberately change our habits to create that improvement.  This is especially true when we don’t realize immediate gains from those changes.

You can expect that when a new policy is put in place, many requests for exceptions will follow. What’s really happening is that sales representatives are trying to determine the borders of the new policy.  You can minimize this by requiring that specific justifications be provided in order for such requests to even be considered.

Make it a little difficult to request an exception.  This will cause your team to try other creative approaches before making such requests.  It will also increase the likelihood of real value in their requests.  It will have to be worth their effort to even try.

If you are able to effectively employ these principles in your organization, you will find more time to think, strategize and bring forth incremental improvement to your sales.  You will also find your sales team spending more time selling to customers and less time distracted fighting internal battles.

Establish guiding principles.  Frame your policies within them.  Make them easy to understand and access.  Set precedents carefully.  Establish justification criteria to filter out requests that are unlikely to be approved before they come.  You will find that exceptions are exceptions and not the norm.

About our guest blogger:

For over 10 years Michael Hanna has been optimizing business processes in organizations ranging from global enterprises to high-growth start-ups.  He has since founded Sales Ops Solutions to help position Sales Organizations for continuous improvement in sales effectiveness and process efficiency.  As a motivational speaker, Michael is passionately opposed to dormant potential.  He has dedicated his life to helping organizations and people alike to give tangible expression to their dreams, in business and beyond.