Five Considerations in Selecting a GREAT Sales Manager
Five Considerations in Selecting a GREAT Sales Manager
As a coach, sales managers guide salespeople into prospecting and sales activity levels necessary to produce enough quotes and sales for goal achievement. They create an inspiring environment in which salespeople want to motivate themselves to achieve sales goals. To accomplish the goals of a sales manager's position, a person must be able to do certain activities. They must show a competency to handle certain duties. We will call these duties (2) sales manager competencies.
Know the competency requirements for top sales managers in your industry. Examples found in a cross section of industries and sales manager positions include:
1. Recruiting salespeople
2. Planning sales goal achievement
3. Coaching and teaching in three areas: sales planning, activity (funnel) management, face-to-face skills
4. Confronting mavericks and poor performers
5. Building teams
6. Inspiring others to motivate themselves
7. Monitoring individual and team performance (sales goal achievement)
(Note: In some industries, a high ability to sell or close deals is necessary, while in others a moderate ability to sell is required along with greater competency in the areas shown above. Group presentation skills are required in some industries and not in others.)
As you can see the competencies are the things that great sales managers can do and do well. To consistently do these tasks over a long period of time, a sales manager usually possesses certain (3) personality traits. Just as in athletics, certain traits produce speed and an ability to catch a ball. In sales management, certain personality traits allow sales managers to more naturally do the competencies shown above. Those personality traits are ....
* High social confidence and ability to ask, tell, present, persuade, and confront
* Lower social drive and need for recognition and thus a greater tendency to praise others
* A moderated goal drive with a respect and knowledge of sales systems: processes, tools,and skills
* A moderated detail-orientation to allow for analysis within a big picture orientation
* A moderated need to nurture - ability to hear an individual's needs and yet keep time management a priority
* Willingness to understand and adapt communication and coaching to different personality styles
* Out of the box thinker and creative problem solver - personal flexibility
While the goals, competencies, and personality traits combine to show what a sales manager must do, (4) attitudes and beliefs make up the philosophy that drives the system. They also define the sales team environment and whether it will be an inspiring one. And, certain attitudes and beliefs must be present to exist comfortably within a company's values. The follow list contains attitudes and beliefs most commonly found in great sales managers. Before recruiting a sales manager, it will be important for you to see which you agree with and what attitudes and beliefs you will add to the list.
- HONEST: with money, time, and promises
- HARD WORK ETHIC: the amount of hours doesn't matter
- PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY: it's their ship, their watch, their people, their goals
- SERVANT HEARTED: it's all about contribution and service
- POSITIVE: meets challenges with a 'can do' attitude
Finally, the (5) cognitive strength of the sales managers is important. It determines how fast they will learn and how quickly they grasp complex information - the need for which varies between industries.
When selecting great sales managers, build a matching sheet of +'s and -'s and keep score during a best practice recruiting system. Screen, profile, and then do structured interviews. Focus on deciding if the candidate can accomplish the goals by being competent in the areas shown above. And, most importantly, for retention and for sales TEAM health, decide if the candidate will do these things naturally and in a way that will keep both sales team morale and production at high levels. Now, take the information in this article and do a better job in selecting your new sales manager. You can. Lance.
Five Considerations in Selecting a GREAT Sales Manager - To learn more about this author, visit Lance Cooper's Website.
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Companies need great sales managers. To find them, Sales VPs and business owners need to (1) know, in advance, the sales goals their managers will work to achieve. Sales managers assume responsibility for sales team goal achievement. And, it's important to investigate their background for team achievement levels and to set clear expectations for them at the beginning of their employment. Typical expectations are set for team performance, individual product sales, territory expansion, and retention.
As a coach, sales managers guide salespeople into prospecting and sales activity levels necessary to produce enough quotes and sales for goal achievement. They create an inspiring environment in which salespeople want to motivate themselves to achieve sales goals. To accomplish the goals of a sales manager's position, a person must be able to do certain activities. They must show a competency to handle certain duties. We will call these duties (2) sales manager competencies.
Know the competency requirements for top sales managers in your industry. Examples found in a cross section of industries and sales manager positions include:
1. Recruiting salespeople
2. Planning sales goal achievement
3. Coaching and teaching in three areas: sales planning, activity (funnel) management, face-to-face skills
4. Confronting mavericks and poor performers
5. Building teams
6. Inspiring others to motivate themselves
7. Monitoring individual and team performance (sales goal achievement)
(Note: In some industries, a high ability to sell or close deals is necessary, while in others a moderate ability to sell is required along with greater competency in the areas shown above. Group presentation skills are required in some industries and not in others.)
As you can see the competencies are the things that great sales managers can do and do well. To consistently do these tasks over a long period of time, a sales manager usually possesses certain (3) personality traits. Just as in athletics, certain traits produce speed and an ability to catch a ball. In sales management, certain personality traits allow sales managers to more naturally do the competencies shown above. Those personality traits are ....
* High social confidence and ability to ask, tell, present, persuade, and confront
* Lower social drive and need for recognition and thus a greater tendency to praise others
* A moderated goal drive with a respect and knowledge of sales systems: processes, tools,and skills
* A moderated detail-orientation to allow for analysis within a big picture orientation
* A moderated need to nurture - ability to hear an individual's needs and yet keep time management a priority
* Willingness to understand and adapt communication and coaching to different personality styles
* Out of the box thinker and creative problem solver - personal flexibility
While the goals, competencies, and personality traits combine to show what a sales manager must do, (4) attitudes and beliefs make up the philosophy that drives the system. They also define the sales team environment and whether it will be an inspiring one. And, certain attitudes and beliefs must be present to exist comfortably within a company's values. The follow list contains attitudes and beliefs most commonly found in great sales managers. Before recruiting a sales manager, it will be important for you to see which you agree with and what attitudes and beliefs you will add to the list.
- HONEST: with money, time, and promises
- HARD WORK ETHIC: the amount of hours doesn't matter
- PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY: it's their ship, their watch, their people, their goals
- SERVANT HEARTED: it's all about contribution and service
- POSITIVE: meets challenges with a 'can do' attitude
Finally, the (5) cognitive strength of the sales managers is important. It determines how fast they will learn and how quickly they grasp complex information - the need for which varies between industries.
When selecting great sales managers, build a matching sheet of +'s and -'s and keep score during a best practice recruiting system. Screen, profile, and then do structured interviews. Focus on deciding if the candidate can accomplish the goals by being competent in the areas shown above. And, most importantly, for retention and for sales TEAM health, decide if the candidate will do these things naturally and in a way that will keep both sales team morale and production at high levels. Now, take the information in this article and do a better job in selecting your new sales manager. You can. Lance.
Five Considerations in Selecting a GREAT Sales Manager - To learn more about this author, visit Lance Cooper's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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