10 Ways to Be a Better Sales Manager

I just finished up a 10 part series on how to be a better sales manager. Whew! It’ll be a while before I try anything that ambitious again. Here are links to all the posts in the series.

1. Listen

2. Keep your distance

3. Be a director, not a star

4. Take the micro out of your manage

5. Focus on results

6. Deal with problems quickly

7. Check your facts

8. Embrace a system

9. Connect with customers on every level

10. Bring out the best in everyone

We had lots of good conversation around these topics, but what did I miss? What ideas have helped you become a…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 10 - Bring out the Best in Everyone

This is the tenth in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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The best way for a sales manager to rise to the top is by helping sales reps improve. Sometimes you accomplish it by being a teacher or a story teller — communicating skills and…

How to be a Better Sales Manager, Part 9 - Connect with Customers on Every Level

This is the ninth in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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One of the finest sales managers I ever knew — now retired — made a habit of getting to know customers all up and down the organizational chart. What a difference it made.

He…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 8 - Embrace a System

This is the eighth in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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Imagine what it would be like driving in a big city like Chicago or Los Angeles if there were no traffic rules. Imagine people driving on the left side of the road or…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 7 - Check Your Facts

This is the seventh in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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Ready. Fire. Aim.

Sound familiar?  For some companies, R-F-A is standard operating procedure when it comes to ironing out problems. Whether it be a late delivery, a defective product, or a pricing dispute, the…

Why Do Sales Managers Procrastinate?

Robyn McMaster of Brain Based Biz does not like procrastination, as she made clear on a comment on a recent post of mine. The post was about why sales managers should take swift action, and Robyn’s post got me thinking about why people put off unpleasant work.

Why indeed? Well, here are a few theories — do they make sense? Can you think of other reasons why we procrastinate?

No stomach for confrontation. Some of us go to extreme lengths to avoid confrontation, even when we know we’re heading for a worse confrontation later. Why is that? (Robyn probably has a theory on that…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 6 - Deal with Problems Quickly

This is the sixth in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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A colleague of mine used to say, “Problems don’t get better with age.” For sales managers, truer words were never spoken.

It certainly is tempting to put off unpleasant work -

• Dealing with a chronically…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 5 - Focus on Results

Suppose you have two sales people, Jack and Jill. Jack is incredibly polished and professional. He makes fabulous presentations, works like dog, follows up diligently, and is virtually self-managing. Jill, on the other hand, is rough around the edges. She’s unprepared, disorganized, and high maintenance.

Jack is consistently 85-90% of quota.
Jill is consistently 110-125% of quota.

Which is the better rep?

You might prefer Jack, because he’s easy. But Jill is the real winner.

Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by peripheral issues - keep your eye on the ball. What is the ball?

Sales and profits.

Seems simple and obvious, yet time and time again,…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 4 - Take the Micro Out of Your Manage

Few people work effectively when they are being suffocated. If you ever had a boss who looked over your shoulder 24/7/365, you probably felt as though you were being buried alive.

Nonetheless, there’s a tendency in sales management to bury sales reps alive with call reports, forecasting reports, lost business reports, new business reports, business assessment reports. (Have I forgotten any?)

Sometimes reportfests are driven by insecurity. Management doesn’t really know what sales reps are up to, since they’re out of sight most of the time. There’s a lurking suspicion sales reps are at the movies instead of making cold calls, or…

How to Be a Better Sales Manager, Part 2 - Keep Your Distance

This is the second in a 10-part series, How to Be a Better Sales Manager. It’s my belief that the sales manager is underserved. There’s plenty of training and coaching available for sales people, but managers, the unheralded heroes of sales success, are all too often left to their own devices. These posts are designed for sales managers who want to do better and are looking for ideas.
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One of the toughest things a sales manager has to do is define his or her relationship with the sales rep. Which best describes yours?

• I’m an advocate for my sales people. I represent their…

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