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Why hire a Sales Coach when I already have a Sales Manager?
Written by: Trent LeyshanArticle Overview: Most companies already have a sales manager or person in charge of sales in some capacity, so why hire a sales coach? Many sales mangers are not trained in the subtleties of effective sales coaching nor have they developed the necessary skills and tools to be effective sales leaders. The most common way to hire a sales manager is to simply promote your best sales person. This logic suggests this person is the most qualified to lead the sales team based on their past sales achievements. This type of ‘promotion by necessity’ is common, but not commonly successful. In the process you may even lose your top sales performer when their leadership abilities fail to match their sales ability.
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Free Download - Find fear before it finds you By Trent Leyshan |
Why hire a Sales Coach when I already have a Sales Manager?
Most companies already have a sales manager or person in charge of sales in some capacity, so why hire a sales coach? Many sales mangers are not trained in the subtleties of effective sales coaching nor have they developed the necessary skills and tools to be effective sales leaders. The most common way to hire a sales manager is to simply promote your best sales person. This logic suggests this person is the most qualified to lead the sales team based on their past sales achievements. This type of ‘promotion by necessity’ is common, but not commonly successful. In the process you may even lose your top sales performer when their leadership abilities fail to match their sales ability.
The key reason being: Great sales people don’t often make great sales managers!
Why? This is largely due to the behaviors inherent to traditional individual salesmanship. At the risk of grossly generalizing these individuals can be highly competitive by nature and many can often be found running by their own set of rules. These rules usually forged through the metaphorical hard yards early in their sales role by a lack of sales structure and appropriate support. Many sales stars can be described as egocentric, disorganized, manipulating, persuasive and let’s not forget charming. Often embodying the true entrepreneurial spirit, the sales star by nature will just get out there and make things happen! And yes of course, they may even cut a corner or two in the process. This poses an interesting but challenging dilemma for their sales managers or senior leaders.
To promote such individuals to sales manager is to promote the same individual behaviors. More often than not, these behaviours are challenging to replicate successfully without ramification. The decision to do so will play a huge role in developing your organisations sales culture. This is why so many sales teams operate by the 80/20 principle, with 80% of the sales being generated by 20% of the sales team and the rest merely making up the numbers. Usually the successful few are doing things very differently based on what they know or have learned in the role through their own positive and negative experiences. The normally enthusiastic but struggling majority is left to make up the numbers. Sales models that demonstrate this type of unbalanced success are clearly lacking the right leadership, sales management, sales support and sales coaching structure.
A sales coach’s role in the above scenario would be to coach the sales manager and sales team members to demonstrate common habitual behaviours and skills across the entire team for optimum sales team performance.
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Article Tags: behaviours, coach, dilemma, effective sales, great sales managers, leadership abilities, logic, necessary skills, principle, ramification, risk, sales ability, sales coaching, sales person, salesmanship, subtleties, true entrepreneurial spirit
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About the Author: Trent Leyshan RSS for Trent's articles - Visit Trent's website  Trent Leyshan is founder, CEO of BOOM! A leading international sales training company that specialises in the development of inspirational sales cultures, leaders and salespeople. Early in his career Trent was head tradeshow spruiker and sales manager for Australia's most flamboyant TV salesman, Big Kev. He has since driven two of his own companies from lounge room operations into market leaders. And led sales teams in leading new media and advertising agencies. Trent is a sought after expert and facilitator on sales performance and strategy. He is the Author of sales book, The Naked Salesman: How to walk the talk and sell your way to success! BOOM! develops sales training strategies and delivers inspiring learning experiences for some of the world's most successful and demanding sales driven organisations. Empowering them with modern skills and tools to effectively engage with customers and build stronger and more valuable relationships.
Click here to visit Trent's website   Three types of sales teams cultures How important is a work ethic How to deal with problematic salespeople Selling in Tough times Nothing Happens until someone Sells something |
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Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional
- [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan,
I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz]
I second the request...
Hello From Marietta GA!
- Hello All!
My name is Tim Naylor and I am in Direct Sales! I am glad I have found EC's sites and I hope to learn and share a lot!
taxes in canada
- Well in Canada we only have a few provinces and the Sales tax is slightly different. Here in Ontario the Goods & Services tax has reduced to 5% from 7% in the last year due to the promises made by the government in place.
Different Hats
- CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company
Strategic Vision 10
Alliances & Growth Strategies 10
Hiring & Managing People 8
Mentoring 8-9
Strategic Planning for Clients 10
Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty)
Financial Management 9
Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0
Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff)
Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!)
Speaking 10 (so I have been told)
Self Promotion 9-10
Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+)
Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have)
Great topic Kevin!!
Jude
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