As I have said often enough here on this Blog, and also in recent live discussions, the single most common mistake that organizations make is promoting their number one salesperson into the role of sales manager, thereby depriving themselves in a single stroke of their best producer and hamstringing their sales force with an ineffective manager.
The skills required for managing, mentoring and developing a sales team are totally different from those required for selling. As a result, it's not uncommon to find newly promoted sales managers who regret having taken a management position and may even leave to get back into sales.
When a salesperson gains promotion to management the first thing they have to do is to quickly acquaint themselves with a new set of working relationships - and a new set of rules.
The salesperson's primary working relationships are with customers. However the sales manager's is with the sales force i.e. his subordinates.
Let's look at that a little more closely:
Essential Attributes - Successful Salesperson:
• Personal drive (ego)
• Needs to win battles (Individual sales)
• Able to work alone
• Persuades customers to see his/her point
• Needs selling skills, personal skills and knowledge
• Able to work away from the office
• Works well with people and numbers
• Good at implementing sales tactics
Essential Attributes - Successful Sales Manager:
• Submission of personal needs to the goals of the Company (Corporate drive)
• Needs to win the war (Meet corporate goals)
• Able to work with others
• Persuades the sales team to see the Company's point
• Needs management skills and marketing knowledge
• Needs to work at the office
• Works well with people, numbers, paperwork and the corporate hierarchy
• Good at developing sales and marketing strategies
Completely different set of skills!
The most common danger in having sales managers who are basically super salespeople is that "relations with subordinates" including the critical tasks of development and supervision may deteriorate.
Even when they do recognize the importance of developing their salespeople, many sales managers find that they lack the skills and resources to do it effectively. It then becomes easier not to bother.
The majority of sales managers - new and experienced alike - say they do not have sufficient time to train and develop their sales teams. They are so focused on sales results - and so accustomed to achieving success through their personal pursuit of those results - that they overlook their greatest potential source of power, the power to increase sales performance by developing their people.
To make things worse, most sales teams consist of a number of individuals with differing levels of experience and ability, so the whole issue of team development becomes too daunting for the overwhelmed manager to contemplate.
Sadly, this is a common scenario, and goes some way to explaining why levels of sales achievement are declining so alarmingly.
Today's News: Ok, for the best part of this week, I have been promoting my chums and lots of other worthwhile initiatives, but now it is time for some blatant and unabashed self-promotion - it's "Me Day"
Next Tuesday, Linda Richardson (Founder & President of Richardson Training) and I are presenting a TSE Masterclass - "How The Most Successful Companies Develop Their Sales Teams" and I know you will not want to miss out, so I have twenty FREE places for you. (Normally $59.50) You can click on the banner below to check out the details, and then go here to register, with my compliments
Over at Salesopedia, Clayton Shold is in conversation with fellow Top Sales Expert, Tim Wackell.......
"The Art of Effective Follow-up"
"Tim Wackel is big believer that you have to follow-up or you will fail. Once you hear the statistics he presents you will be compelled to listen to the full podcast. He suggests the "why" you need to follow-up is more the science; the "how" of follow-up is more the art. Tim who goes on to paint a picture of what you need to do and provides a number of suggestions to help you become more effective at following up."
Just click on the banner to listen in, as usual
Tomorrow: Well, on Sunday, I am "Birthday Boy" so maybe a couple of hours off if I am really lucky! Have a great w/e and I'll see you back here on Monday, when I will be another year wiser - JF
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