#WomenInSales Month 2023 with Laura Coristine

We’re so proud to be celebrating Women in Sales Month once again.  

For each week in October, we have an amazing slate of women sales leaders who will be sharing their unique insights.

Today, our guest is Laura Coristine, General Sales Manager at Cox Media 

Laura makes so many awesome points. Such as: 

• Why, instead of asking for feedback, you should ask for “feedforward” 
• How emotional intelligence really can boost the overall morale of your sales teams 
• And, finally, why, if you’ve got a happy, engaged team of people, success is only a matter of time. 

LINKS:

Laura Coristine

Stephanie Downs

Matt Sunshine

The Center for Sales Strategy

Transcript

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Sales Performance and Management Challenges

Matt Sunshine 0:15

Welcome to Improving Sales Performance , a podcast highlighting tips and insights aimed at helping sales organizations realize , and maybe even exceed , their goals . Here we chat with thought leaders , experts and gurus who have years of sales experience from a wide range of industries . I'm your host , matt Sunshine , ceo at the Center for Sales Strategy , a sales performance consulting company .

Stephanie Downs 0:43

We're so proud to be celebrating Women in Sales Month once again . For each week in October , we have an amazing slate of women sales leaders who will be sharing their unique insights From offering advice for sales managers , new and more experience , to surveying the anticipated landscape of sales in the years ahead . When it comes to improving sales performance , these ladies know how it's done . I'm Stephanie Downs , senior Vice President and Senior Consultant at the Center for Sales Strategy . I'll be joining Matt Sunshine on the show for the entire month of October . Today , our guest is Laura Coristine , General Sales Manager at Cox Media . Laura makes so many awesome points , such as why , instead of asking for feedback , you should ask for feedforward , how emotional intelligence really can boost the overall morale of your sales teams and , finally , why , if you've got a happy , engaged team of people , success is only a matter of time .

Matt Sunshine 1:52

All right . So , Laura , from your point of view , what are the things that you look at in the sales department that let you know that things are on track , like that they're going ? Are they there ? In other words , are there three to five what we would call key performance indicators that you always look at to know that things are on track and really pay attention to these things ?

Laura Coristine 2:23

So , yeah , there are . KPIs really can vary depending on specifics . Obviously , number one is revenue and sales targets . Are we generating enough revenue to make our goals ? Conversion rates is really big for us because is the sales team making the calls that they need to make in order to generate those sales ? So we normally have about a 20% closing ratio . So we really keep track of what that activity looks like for the MCs and then it really gets down to pitch and close .

Laura Coristine 2:59

What is that number that we as a team have to pitch every week in order to make our goals and then break it down to our MCs , our media consultants . What is it that they need to pitch ? And again , we look at a 20% rate closing ratio . So is there enough revenue in the funnel to make sure that they can meet their goals ? And then we look at our customers . You know , new business growth on existing . What is the value for us for a lifetime client ? Because you know , we all know it's easier to keep a client than to gain a client , right ? So those are really the things that I look at . And again , most important for me is that pitch closed because again it all really boils down to activity and the activity is there .

Matt Sunshine 3:49

Yeah . So on that closing percentage , curious , I ask everybody this question Is it from proposal presented to close , and is there a window that you say like within 30 days , 60 days , 90 days , one year ? I mean , what do you use to really lock in on that close ratio ?

Laura Coristine 4:13

So we look at it once . So I go out , I give a proposal to Laura Shoes and it's a $40,000 proposal and it breaks out through the lifetime of the contract , right , and then we look at it when it closes . So if I was to look at it again next week and say , oh , I'm pitching it for $20,000 , it's not real . It's that original number that I look at , because that's that real number , because you're always gonna have things that are changing and then they will average themselves out .

Matt Sunshine 4:47

So when you say 20% , that's 20% of the proposals presented , not 20% of the appointments or 20% of the leads . 20% of the proposals Correct me , yes yeah , okay .

Stephanie Downs 5:02

so thinking about sales managers and where they should be focused , think about it in terms of big rocks , or those highest potential , the highest priorities that they should be spending time on . Of course , revenue you mentioned that in the last one but what else ? Where should they really be spending most of their time ?

Laura Coristine 5:23

Again revenue yeah .

Stephanie Downs 5:25

Revenue is a operating company right .

Laura Coristine 5:28

The other thing and probably the it may even come before revenue right is your sales team and it's developing , building and maintaining . And I was lucky enough to go through a class with you all and you guys really focused in on that . And it really is true . We focus on recruiting top talent . When someone leaves , we always try to hire better because we've learned right . It's working with that team , always providing the training , the coaching . And a new word for us is feed forward . So Mike Rostock , my VT , was in Arizona last week and he's like I'm no longer asking for feedback , I'm asking for feed forward . So , instead of asking for feedback , asking your team for feed forward Because , again , if you can develop that team , that team will make you successful in the long run . And then there's always the training , the processes , your customer relationships , bowl setting , all of those fundamentals . But really it comes down to having the right team and really being open and transparent with that team .

Stephanie Downs 6:44

Yeah , there's so much in what you just said , but you're so right in I mean , the team and the people . Part of it really is the foundation of everything else , right ? If we have the right people , we're doing the right coaching and developing and we have all of those elements , we should see revenue grow as a result of that . The more engaged the team , the more likely you're to see revenue develop or revenue improvement . Yeah , you had a lot of good things . I like the word of the use of the word transparency . How important is that ? Right People like that . They want that All right . So , thinking about sales management and really how that's changed over time , because it's very different today than it should be Right , is it like For sure ? Compare that from five years ago to today .

Laura Coristine 7:40

Five years ago how long ago was the pandemic ? There's been so many changes in technology . I work for Fox Media so we have changed in technology on the table side , on the advertising side . Customer expectations , I think , have really changed over the past five years , and especially over the last three years due to the pandemic . The way we transact with sales normally it used to be you get in your car , you go visit a client or you give them a call , maybe an email , but now it's an email , it's social media , it's all different platforms and channels that these customers want to get reached on right . It's non-traditional and you know , I think you know , if we look at the training for a salesperson , I remember when I started back in 94 , I was handed a telephone book and I've had a paper and said here you go .

Laura Coristine 8:45

Me too Go sell right . So now it's formalized right , it is it's training classes . It's really , you know , helping the sales managers know what to do and how to teach their teams .

Stephanie Downs 9:00

We've done a number of these , you know , over the last handful of weeks and in some of the things you're saying , a couple of the comments from previous people that resonated with me . You're talking about all the different ways , from technology and how the customers interact with us , and all of the training components and the development . Sales leaders have a tough job , especially that middle line , the local sales manager . That's a hard it's not a hard position , but it may be responsible for a lot of things and it seems to get more complicated . Right , the sales leader today is very different than the sales leader five years ago .

Laura Coristine 9:39

Yeah , they definitely are they . You know , we call , we say it's the toughest job in the building and it really is , because you're wearing so many hats . You are , you know , you're that coach , you're that mentor , you're the manager . You're trying to drive revenue . You're closing sales . You're doing a lot more than what they used to be like okay , here , I sold it . You go into sales marriage and they'd be like okay here you knock that and that was it .

Laura Coristine 10:04

That's right , and that was it . And then you throw in you know the remote . You know most of us work remote now and that is really difficult . Managing a sales team remotely , it truly is .

Stephanie Downs 10:18

Yes it is for sure . Yeah , matt , what were you going to say ?

Matt Sunshine 10:22

Yeah , so a couple of things . This is an interesting part of the conversation , one that I always particularly perk up and find a lot of interest in , because I think that I would imagine that most of the people listening this are struggling with this part . Definitely , we're at a conference a couple of weeks ago and there was a conversation that was about , well , people that are older or started back in the 90s , early 90s , versus people that are starting out today , and I think the truth of the matter is is that people that started back in the 90s whether this was right or wrong we did what we were able to do and we didn't ask any questions . We probably had those questions , but we didn't ask them . We didn't say them out loud . Our manager told us to do something and we did . We didn't say I don't like the phone book , this isn't fair , I shouldn't have that . We just did it . We complained to our friend group , but we didn't complain .

Matt Sunshine 11:28

So nowadays we have people entering the sales force that don't want to be told what to do , but they want to be coached and developed . They absolutely want to be coached and developed . And somebody followed up with us after that meeting and she wrote us . I'm going to read you a little excerpt of what she wrote . It's so good Now .

Matt Sunshine 11:52

I want your take on this because I'm going to ask you , besides what I'm saying , what are some of the elements in your opinion that makes a great sales leader ? But this is what she said . She said this all came to focus this week when I was talking to my 12-year-old daughter after her twin practice . She was talking about how much she loved one of her coaches and I asked her what made him so good and she thought about it for a second and then she said he gets in the water . Think about that . He gets in the water , she says .

Matt Sunshine 12:29

She goes on to say there's no room anymore for managers who stand next to the school and bark out orders . After a while , all the swimmers just go through the motions and start to wonder if the leader even knows how to swim , as I told our leadership team . And she goes on to say we need to make sure we're looking for opportunities to get in the water . And that's your point . I think that the leadership role used to be process and operations and reports and coaching and development , but it was process and reports and operations and all of that stuff has been replaced .

Laura Coristine 13:09

Yeah , yeah , it's technology . You know I look at it and I'm a . We have so many different chat bots now . You have AI going on . Now those products are going to take away some of the stuff that the sales people back in the 90s used to do . I like that . It doesn't get in the water . It truly is . That manager has to be willing to do that . You got to walk the talk or talk the walk , whatever way you want to say it . There is so much talent out there and there are so many opportunities for them to go somewhere else . It's not the go make a sale .

Laura Coristine 13:58

You asked about the great leaders and stuff . I'm really blessed . Over 94 or so , that is the math Over a long period of time , I have only had a handful of managers and I think I only can say I had one bad manager . I'm truly blessed . I think , when I look at them , they are all very inspiring . They were leaders . They were dedicated Again , transparent , inclusive . They have integrity or had integrity . They were all willing to take risks , because now it's 2023 .

Laura Coristine 14:44

Last five years have changed . Last three years have changed . They're willing to take those . They're willing to look and maybe take a change that we normally wouldn't have done in the past because we would have been like , don't want to rock the boat , but they're open to those ideas and they listen , and then you have that emotional intelligence that we never had back in the 90s , being able to be transparent and maintaining your emotional intelligence . So that way you're not creating a fluster with your sales team , because if you're flustered and they see it , your sales team is going to be flustered . It's going to see it as well .

Stephanie Downs 15:24

Absolutely .

Sales Leadership Advice and Future Changes

Stephanie Downs 15:26

If you were speaking to a group of new sales leaders , what advice would you give them ? What would you tell them they need to be either paying attention to , or that they should be learning so they're setting themselves up for success ? What would you tell them ?

Laura Coristine 15:43

Run no .

Stephanie Downs 15:44

Don't do it .

Laura Coristine 15:45

Don't do it . You don't have to teach yourself . Understand the business in and out before you get into sales management . I will go and I'll interview people and the first thing I look when I see a resume is to see how many times they moved around and to how many different companies . Right , they're selling advertisers , the advertising , then they're selling cars and then they're selling something else . So if you really want to get into sales management , just pick the business and learn it inside and out and the fundamentals it's the grasp know how to prospect , know the lead generation , how the effective communication , be able to talk to your teams . And in order to develop that strong leadership , you want to join associations . You want to take classes . I really again , I'm not giving you a blog , but I really was . We had a great year with you guys and I know our team learned a lot . So it's really getting out there learning and then become a coach and a mentor .

Laura Coristine 17:00

And then continuously provide the feedback , the feed for the good , the good and the bad . Right , because not everything is roses , it's not , but it's being able to communicate with that team that , okay , the rose has died , but the rose is going to grow again . Right , and this is how we're going to do it , keeping the customer centric . I mean that focus . That's huge because , again , things have changed . Customers are looking for something completely different than they were years ago .

Matt Sunshine 17:33

Yeah , All right , so we've done . We're gonna say something .

Stephanie Downs 17:37

That's okay , go ahead . I was gonna repeat our list . I liked it . No , I liked it . So , advice to give sales managers or new managers be a constant learner , always be seeking information , be customer centric , practice and use the technology . You said that in a little bit different way , but you know Legion understand it right Exactly Practice and use , be a coach , provide feedback , communicate , communicate , communicate and demonstrate you care . Yeah , I like it .

Matt Sunshine 18:15

So we've done . We've talked a little bit about how it used to be , accidentally , we talked about how it used to be like in the 90s , right , and I wanna ask you , as one of the very best sales leaders out there and I don't just throw that around so , and I'm sincere when I say that I think that your opinion on this , your thought leadership on this , is extremely important . So , look into the future . Look three to five years forward , not the forever future , not the 30 years , just you know , 2026 , 2027 , 2028 . What are some of the changes that you think we'll see in the sales departments ?

Laura Coristine 19:13

Wow . Well , thank you for the compliment . You know , in the media world , you know technology and data . You know , again , chat , gpt be your next best friend or be your worst enemy , right , you know again , I think I mentioned earlier we were talking about like chat bots . You know , I think we're definitely gonna see more of those powered assistants which will take some of the responsibilities off of the salespeople remote and hybrid . I am sitting in a building right now that's made for 900 people and I think there's 15 on my floor right now . So I think that that's going to be really huge . It already has since the pandemic and I think it's only gonna get bigger . Moving forward .

Laura Coristine 20:06

Social responsibility with customers I think we talked a little bit about that . I think customers nowadays are looking for more businesses that are really have that social responsibility , they have a sustainability and they align their message with your message . I work for a very green company and I know that that's huge when I'm out in the community talking to people and we give back to the community . I think that's huge and I think that's only gonna get bigger . And again , people do business with people they like . So if your company's doing the right thing , then those customers will come . And then I think you know companies will probably have , you know , crisis preparedness moving forward .

Laura Coristine 20:56

Because what happened on March ? I think it was 18 , I was on a flight coming home from Florida and I remember I'd be p-sig oh , just go to the office , get your stuff for a couple of days , let me call . This is great , I just got back , I can work from home . And then we didn't go back , right . So I think companies are getting themselves more prepared so that way , with the hybrid remote model , with all of this , that they'll be better prepared if something else should happen down the line .

Laura Coristine 21:24

So I think there's going to be a lot , and I think most of it's going to be driven by technology .

Matt Sunshine 21:30

Yeah , I think you nailed it . I think there's a lot , and I think you nailed it in the sense when you said there's going to be a lot , right , and in some cases I think we'll see smaller sales departments . In other cases I think we'll see larger sales departments , right . I think we're going to see sales managers being less used to do reports and processing and , I think , more involved in coaching , developing , jumping in the water , so to speak , and helping out . So it's going to be interesting and fun and exciting , that is for sure .

Laura Coristine 22:12

I absolutely agree . I think , again , it comes down to that data and we've got things that can pull , We've got technology that can pull those reports right , so you don't need the sales manager doing that . They tend to go out . And again , it truly is If you've got a happy team and I know it sounds silly , but if you've got a happy- team .

Matt Sunshine 22:31

That sounds silly , it does not . It does not too .

Laura Coristine 22:35

You can have somebody who's like , oh , I'm not happy all the time , and I'm not saying happy all the time , but if you've got a team that's happy and they're motivated and they're engaged , you know what . You're going to be successful . The number is going to come , the activity is going to come . A million years ago , my very first sales manager actually my second sales manager I would do anything for him and I remember saying I mean well , first hand on your head in the corner . I'm like OK , and he's like , really , and I'm like , oh , yes , me too , and I believe in you . I mean , I know it's kind of like a funny story , but that's what you want . You want to be that leader that people are going to follow and that comes from within . You either have it or you don't .

Matt Sunshine 23:19

I think that is the perfect place to end . Agreed , that is exactly

Enhancing Sales Performance and Contact Information

Matt Sunshine 23:25

right , laura . Thank you so much for joining us . All of Laura's contact information will be in the show notes . Connect with her on LinkedIn , as I know she'd love to follow up with this conversation with anybody that would like to like to engage . Of course , you can reach out to Stephanie and me at any time as well , and thank you for joining us . We look forward to seeing you talking to you again on a future episode of the Improving Sales Performance on Kess .

Laura Coristine 23:54

Awesome . Thank you guys .

Matt Sunshine 23:58

This has been Improving Sales Performance . Thanks for listening . If you like what you heard , join us every week by clicking the subscribe button . For more on the topics covered in the show , visit our website , thecenterforsalesstrategycom . There you can find helpful resources and content aimed at improving your sales performance .