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The Three Deadliest Mistakes Sales Managers Make

Written by: Will Turner

Article Overview: The top mistakes that sales managers make and how to avoid them.

The Three Deadliest Mistakes Sales Managers Make

When a company has underperforming salespeople, it can be for many reasons. Often it’s because the sales manager is too nice. He may confuse wanting to get along and building a team with getting results. You can actually do both simultaneously if you know how to avoid some of the common pitfalls that sales managers make.

Mistake #1 – Not firing soon enough. Sales managers are often willing to give their employees too many opportunities in hopes that they will turn around a poor performer. While this can happen, the odds are stacked against it. In fact, most sales managers hire quickly and fire slowly. The results can have devastating effects on your company, employees and customers.

In a recent study, managers were asked how long it took before they knew if a new employee would work out. The answer was a week. While this was often a gut reaction, it was usually dead-on accurate. Yet it took, on average, 10 years to get rid of the employee. While this study was not specific to salespeople, the implication is the same. In a very short period of time after hiring a salesperson, you should know if you have a keeper.

The longer you keep a poor-fit employee, the bigger the issues. You will do no one any favors, especially the employee, by letting him limp along. In fact, you will damage your credibility as a manager and risk losing your good employees if you put your head in the sand and hope things get better on their own.

Mistake #2 – Poor or no training. Most companies and sales managers do an abysmal job at training salespeople. The most popular on-the-job training is some version of the “sink or swim” approach. This is when you hire a salesperson, spend a few hours with him here and there over the first couple of weeks, throw some product and company information at him and then expect him to dazzle your prospects and customers. If the salesperson is lucky, you also let him ride along with a senior salesperson and observe first hand how to make a sales call. Then, the new recruit is cast off to make it happen on his own.

This is a recipe for failure. Instead, you should determine what a successful salesperson needs to know in your company and be prepared to give your people the proper training. This includes training on your products or services, your industry and markets, internal operations, customer service and sales.

Training is an investment that pays dividends when done properly. A well-trained workforce is a productive workforce. Make sure that your training is structured to maximize retention and application. Most programs focus on providing a “big fat content dump on the trainee” which does not facilitate long-term value.

In fact, research indicates that if someone is exposed to information once, they will retain only 2% of it after 16 days. With the proper use of repetition, discussion and application, the retention rate can be increased to 65% or higher. While it takes longer to train properly, the results speak for themselves. If you need assistance from experts, get it. Providing manuals is not training.

Mistake #3 – Failure to set clear expectations with consequences. It all boils down to accountability. As a sales manager, you need to hold your salespeople accountable. Period.

If you have kids, you should easily understand this concept. Your kids seek structure and boundaries, and as their parent, you need to provide if for them. Children need to understand what is expected of them and the consequences that will be imposed if they do not live up to the expectations. Being too lenient is actually detrimental to raising well-adjusted and responsible children while being too harsh can have other negative repercussions. The right balance of fairness and toughness is required to be a good parent.

Salespeople are no different than kids, just bigger. They need to fully understand what is expected. They also need to understand the consequences if they do not meet the expectations. Consequences must be clear and implemented consistently. You can’t be like the poor parent who constantly threatens but never delivers. Instead, you have to do what you say you are going to do. Of course that includes providing rewards, as well as consequences. Then, and only then, can you expect your people to perform at an optimal level.

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