New Manager LifeSavers

"New Managers Lifesavers!" Those were the words a couple of new managers in one of my retail training groups used. They were referring to coaching with the 'self management' philosophy that helps develop Self Managing Sales People.

The concepts are simple however building self managers takes stretching a bit to get your head around it. It starts with having meaningful conversations with Sales Reps. This can be achieved by being interested in what your reps are interested in. Sometimes a little listening and enthusiasm by a manager can really get a salesperson going.

Think of the TV show, "Survivor".How many of the contestants fail to start a fire? Even after 30 days with flint and tinder they still struggle. The answer successful survivors use is to fan the spark. And get the fire going. Same kind of thing with a Sales Rep's ideas. These ideas are fragile too, at the beginning. It works wonders. Fan the fire in your Reps ideas! After all, what motivates us more, our idea or our boss's?

It's a solid example of a meaningful conversation becoming a starting point to hatch the new sales plan. When it comes time to execute the plan, how much should the manager ''help'' the Sales Rep? One of the things that makes the self managing approach really work is to keep things clear - ie.who is doing what.

The commitment to specific actions is what makes it work. Self Managers do what they say they'll do. Managers who coach by supporting and coaching when Sales Reps keep commitments build self managers and amazing performers. New managers may lose traction (and make a lot of work for themselves) when they jump in to help out if a Sales Rep doesn't keep their commitment. It sends the wrong message.

These were a couple of ideas managers told me helped them to build stronger, self managing Sales Reps - the kind people point out as an example of a "Real Pro".