Are Your Sales Managers Really Prepared For the Task at Hand? June 03, 2008 The role of the sales manager is probably one of the most critical roles inside a company. Still, executives rarely spend the appropriate amount of time and money on them to ensure they have the proper tools, training and focus to achieve the goals that are set upon them.
By Patrick Stakenas
The role of the sales manager is probably one of the most critical roles inside a company. Still, executives rarely spend the appropriate amount of time and money on them to ensure they have the proper tools, training and focus to achieve the goals that are set upon them.
Even "good" or "okay" sales executives can be "great" managers, so long as they are given a path from which to learn, understand and perform the functions that are necessary to provide the leadership to build a strong team. It's only when companies decide to truly help their sales management team with effectiveness by providing the necessary data (in a simple and easy-to-use format) to do their job and provide a coaching process will they see the impact as cited by many analysts and consultants.
Finding the "Great" in Your Management Team
The funny thing about getting started is that vice presidents of sales often has the notion that their managers are uninformed or the task is too overwhelming to tackle. They often think their data isn't clean or there isn't a sound process in place and there’s no place to start. The key is to just get started and to keep it simple. Remember: you're building the foundation from which to provide the information and the process necessary to have great managers.
Pick a handful of attributes that you're sure are contributors to driving revenue. Be sure to include leading indicators—not solely lagging ones. Then add the key lagging indicators to the mix. From there, isolate the attributes and break them down so your managers can coach on them and track, measure and monitor the process.
This may sound too simple and it is. The problem is that senior sales executives get caught up in perceived roadblocks that prevent them from taking action. These include:
• We are in the middle of rolling out a new CRM system
• We have built a process and we need time for it to settle in
• We are training or have just trained our sales team and we need to see what happens
• Our data is bad and we can't measure or hold them accountable
• My managers don’t know how to coach
These are among the many reasons that executives succumb to no action. If they just saw the light, they would realize that by applying some basic measures to each of these they would get more out of their investments, clean up the data and begin a process for their managers to learn how to truly and effectively coach.
Tackle the Roadblocks
Take action! Start by asking a few questions about each of your sales managers:
1. Was the sales manager one of your top representatives who was promoted or was he or she the person who demonstrated the ability to lead and coach?
2. Was the sales manager promoted solely on individual sales performance or because he or she followed and completed a leadership development plan?
3. What tools and training did you provide for your sales manager before he or she was turned lose?
4. Does the sales manager really understand the key attributes and behaviors that drive revenue?
5. Are you providing the sales manager with the necessary data on drivers and lagging indicators or are you just giving him or her the end-of-the-month sales report?
Guiding Leaders
Effective sales management requires a substantial amount of personal leadership that’s built on sound information and coaching. You can build and even rebuild the foundation of your sales organization through taking immediate steps that provide the manager with what's necessary to lead a team to greater heights. Throw out the past notions and institutionalized thinking, forget about what is easy and begin building your team. The sooner you begin, the greater chance of success you will have.
Patrick Stakenas is president and CEO ForceLogix, which is a Chicago-based company that builds on-demand sales performance management solutions.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
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