detectivegibbles

Sales Director

Acclaimed Answer

AAR - The After-Action Review

Can't sleep so doing some light reading. Came across a framework that my boss likes to use and was referenced by Sahil Bloom (good follow) in his weekly newsletter.

Pretty applicable for sales, big cross department projects.

Simply, it's used by military and big corps to continuously improve the business through reflection on each completed action while distilling the relevant insights to inform future actions.

4 questions:

What did we intend to accomplish?
What did we accomplish relative to our intention?
Why did it happen this way?
What will we do to adapt and refine for an improved outcome?

Typically conducted after major project or action to assess performance of a team or individual, making adjustments prior to next project/action.

Why didn't that sales call go as intended? What changes can I make? What language could I use next time to help move deal forward?

Simple framework, immediate feedback. Happy hunting savages.

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Pachacuti

Politicker

4

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

If this can be accomplished in a non-judgmental way, then these types of exercises can be very good. Unfortunately most people look for someone to blame which is why these exercises don’t happen.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

4

Sales Director

For it to be non-judgemental, it starts and ends with leadership.

"Hey Gibbles, let's talk through this last deal. No judgement, let's see what we did well and where we could have been better. Cool?"

It's that simple. As a sales person/leader, this is music to my ears.

We all just want to be seen and heard.

HVACexpert

Politicker

1

sales engineer

Feedback is always based on personal experience, which means feedback is usually subjective. Should always take that into account

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

True to all that. It’s a tight rope walk for a manger in the current environment to pull that off without hurting feelz. Can be productive though if taken as intended.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

Which is why it's imperative for leaders to do things like this. You only know what you know.

Who all touched the last project? Let's get everyone in a room, walk through start to finish and identify shortcomings.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

I promise you, it's not as hard as it sounds.

Any high performing team would embrace this.

We see threads on here EVERY DAY where people have zero clarity on what they are supposed to be doing, what their goals are, what the expectations and standards are.

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

I believe and support- totally. But to your point, has to be a group of pros or could get petty. When you live daily in the happy bubble of people who do know what to do and want feedback so they can get better, that's ideal.

Just... not everyone is that way. One example comes to mind in last role. I think it's a post. Not a reply :).

HVACexpert

Politicker

2

sales engineer

I think @oldcloser is trying to say that ideally this is a GREAT idea and should be done always. But you need to execute with some finesse, people are always looking out for themselves first and their first reaction will typically be defensive if they become part of the ‘thing to improve upon.’

If you have a good leader that can navigate these emotions that is always helpful.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

I'd be interested in hearing.

I'll push back...how does one become a pro at this without going through it as a novice?

This totally isn't some micro-manging tactic.

Rather, when you encourage an environment of curiosity and calculated risk taking, you're going to make mistakes. How do you improve if you're not being given feedback?

As a sales person/leader, my biggest fear is when someone on the team ISN'T asking for feedback. And this goes for ANY position within the company.

oldcloser

Arsonist

1

💀

It's just that sometimes people are not "well-constructed" enough to take criticism in a group setting however professional and/or supportive it may be. In complex sales, its few and far between. But in a heavy inbound - or lets call it what it is - a call center, sometimes good salesperson does not equal well adjusted human.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

How do you find out if they aren't "well-constructed" enough to take criticism prior to giving criticism?

HVACexpert

Politicker

2

sales engineer

Again I think it steers with the leader. If the lesser qualifies the discussion as a learning experience, and maybe starts off the discussion with his own self reflection. Hopefully that disarms some people to do the same thing.

I think certain settings help as well. Bring stuffed in a conference room could make people uncomfortable. I have found doing something more informal like lunch and/or drinks helps people be more receptive to discussions like this.

Just my opinion but I am open to other suggestions
@detectivegibbles it’s a good question regarding how do you know ahead of time if someone can take criticism. Sometimes the person through previous experience, discussions, or interactions will give hints into how they could react. Otherwise, you might just need to put them in the scenario and see what comes out

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

Sure. We've all had bad bosses. I wouldn't call it an AAR if your boss is just grilling you about every little thing you do on the daily. That's likely bad leadership.

Simply, if the leader is upfront with communication about why they're doing this then there shouldn't be any issues.

I'll stand behind the question...why wouldn't an AE/BDR/SDR, hell...ANYONE want constructive feedback on how they can improve?

I think informal is great for informal things. AAR is specifically used to help a person/team grow, learn, implement feedback, etc. Not sure an off-site lunch/drink would be ideal for my team/industry but I see your point.

If someone gets uncomfortable by this, they're probably best suited for a job with minimal customer interaction and a very task oriented position.

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

Ok, real life example: I hired someone once who had a "no failure possible" resume. Their experience was with a direct competitor who was a reputable giant in the space for longer than we'd been in business. They also interviewed well. The co was 100% inbound and 100% remote. The role was an all you could sell. Ticket was $3k - $7k.

As expected, she was a monster. Killed it out of the gate... sold products on top of products. Set records. Blew minds. But this, as you might expect, annoyed the senior cherry pickers. Humility was not her strong suit either. So, she brought it on herself. Quickly, the back channel got loud.

Essentially, this person figured out very quickly how to cherry pick the leads better than anyone and never follow up with anyone. If she couldn't sell it quickly, it got dumped. Then came the conversations. She had keep up with tasks. She couldn't be late to scheduled calls or the pip was next.

She showed up late for one immediately. I made her call, then email an apology. The apology went deep into the reason for her no show. She sent 2 paragraphs about her migraines caused by a "swollen brain." I'd never heard her complain of migraines. The swollen brain was clearly self diagnosed.

So, then the PIP. Then out the door. Entire duration was 60 days. In the meeting with HR, she threatened to sue the company and me personally for discriminating and hostile work environment because she was handicapped.

Long way to go to make a case for someone who couldn't withstand any criticism in public.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

2

Sales Director

Definitely sounds like she had some bigger issues going on. Who knows, maybe she did have health issues but wasn’t able to communicate it.

And it sounds like you gave her the space to remedy the issue as well. I don’t think her actions are reflective of how you approached brother!

I’d chalk this one up in the outlier category. Not every employee is like this and I’d be surprised if this person is finding success in life with the same habits exhibited in your experience.

No one has ever hired 100% home runs. Shit happens.

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

Outlier for sure. Never would have lasted that long in an office environment. Moral to the story? Not sure. Sometimes they're just not normal.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Haha we’re all a little messed up right?

Sunbunny31

Politicker

3

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

We try to capture some of this at the end of a deal cycle - but in writing, in the CRM record.

For recorded calls, such as ones in Chorus, scoresheets can be applied. I'm on the fence about this, as the scores (at least for my company) are rigid, and while there are areas for freeform text comments, the subjects are predetermined. It seems very much micromanaging even though that wasn't the intent.

Overall, I agree that there's always something to learn and often having a debrief can help a lot to refine the pitch or phrasing. Thanks for sharing.

Maximas

Tycoon

0

Senior Sales Executive

Believe that fine piece of analytical thinking is so essential for growth and success on the personal level and corporate level as well.

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