Sales Manager

What every sales manager should know about how to achieve consistent sales growth.

Small to medium size companies are often frustrated with slow to no growth and I attribute this to the leadership committing one or more of these three sins:

  1. The CEO/owner also wears the hat of the Sales Manager.
  2. The Company promotes the best sales performer into the Sales Manager position.
  3. The Company does (2) above plus continues to have the individual sell with their existing clients plus attempt to lead the sales team.
Jack Daly, Sales & Business Growth Expert

Each of these sales management sins are “non-starters” and sacrifice sales growth by not leveraging the Sales Manager role. It’s all about “teaching others to fish vs. fishing oneself.” If you are serious about growing your revenues, focus on growing your sales force in quantity and quality.

When we speak with Sales Managers, glaring needs or gaps come screaming out loud and clear. Here are just a few:

RECRUITING TOP PERFORMERS

“Where do I find them? What do I look for? How do I improve my chances of hiring a winner?”

HOLDING SALES PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE

“Should there be minimum standards? If so, how do I set them? What do I do when people are not hitting their numbers? Should sales people be held to different production standards when on the same team? How to deal with a producer who is also a “trouble maker” on the team? Is the ranking of sales people appropriate?”

TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

“Is this best done by a separate training department or by the Sales Manager? What’s best, inside training or outside training? Should training and practice be required of all sales associates? What should take place in a sales meeting and how often should they be held? How often should the Sales Manager be in the field with the sales team? While there, what should they do?”

Well, the questions go on and they are key and important questions. The reasons there are so many questions is because in most cases no one has actually taught the Sales Manager the “what’s” and “how’s” of this critical position.

Here’s where to look for the answers:

“I had the privilege of seeing you speak in Hartford, CT. I left and re-evaluated 90% of what I do that, at the time, I thought made me a successful person and realized that I wasn’t even scraping the surface of my abilities or the abilities of my staff. The time I have wasted doing things that “just worked” is alarming. I am now comfortable in the fact that applying your techniques will make up for lost time and put my team so far ahead of the game, we will be back on track in no time flat. Your insight into business and injection of energy into everything is truly life changing.”

Jimy Soprano, BNL Industires