Assembling & Activating a Sales Force

This week we went through one of the most heartbreaking ordeals I’ve experienced as a mother to date—even worse than being woken up five times a night by a toddler.

We switched daycares.

Nora’s previous daycare is on the other side of town, so they don’t provide transportation to what will eventually be her elementary school. With a baby on the way, my husband and I figured switching to a daycare closer to home sooner rather than later was the best decision.

We started the dreaded daycare review process again and Nora came with me to tour our final selection. The whole time we were there she clung to me and whined about not wanting to leave her current school, friends and teachers. I reassured her she’d make new friends.

“But my friends now are cool,” stated my three-year-old, as if she even knew exactly what that meant.

In the weeks leading up to the official switch, I talked up the new school at every possible opportunity, referring back to its playground with three slides, all of the new toys she’d get to play with, the new friends she’d meet, the new things she’d learn.

I made it clear the change was coming and that the change was good.

There are pros and cons to every daycare. What I loved most about our previous daycare was Nora’s teachers. She really bonded with them and learned so much in her two years there. When we finally decided to inform them of Nora leaving, the teachers were nearly as upset as my toddler.

Even though they were disappointed to see her go, I encouraged her teachers to act excited for her new experience. It was still a sad last day to say the least.

The day before Nora started at her new school, my in-laws came to our house to watch her, as they do every Monday. Grandma talked and talked about the new school and how much fun she was going to have. They even took her on a special trip to the splash pad to celebrate the occasion.

Finally, after weeks of dread on my part, the day had come. That morning I reminded Nora that it was the day she’d be going to her new school. Lip quivering, big fat tears rolled down her tiny face.

This was not a toddler tantrum—it was so much worse.

It was true fear and sadness. With a small bribe of chocolate Teddy Grahams in the car at 7:30 a.m. we finally made it out of the house.

When we arrived at the new daycare, Nora clung to me in fear as we were greeted by the school’s director. I whispered to the woman how scared Nora was and she offered to escort us to the classroom and stay with my daughter until she felt more comfortable.

After a boatload of tears and decent amount of snot wiped on my dress—which I was, of course, wearing for a client presentation—I finally left my baby alone in a foreign place with a bunch of strangers. I may have shed a tear myself as I dodged through traffic on my commute. Can I just blame pregnancy hormones?

Inevitably, we all survived Day One at the new daycare. While, Nora’s “Bravery Reward” of Skittles definitely didn’t hurt, my high-level strategy was to get Nora’s old teachers, my husband and myself, my in-laws and the staff at the new school to serve as cheerleaders building excitement instead of fear and uncertainty.

We were a united sales force all promoting the same thing in a slightly different way, consistently reinforcing our key message to our audience.

In certain businesses, especially in the B-to-B world, the salesperson is the most visible representation of the company seen by customers. Thus, this influencer has a huge responsibility. He or she has to uphold the company’s reputation, hold the customers’ hands, interface with various departments within the company, and, of course, get the sale.

One of the keys to managing the sales force is to ensure all team members are armed with the same messages and goals—whether that be encouraging a retailer to carry a fabulous new product, or convincing a toddler that her new school is going to be the most exciting experience of her lifetime.