Sales Managers... Don't forget where you came from

Where do sales managers come from? They usually come from good sales people who were promoted to the "next level". You would think that these sales people would become great managers because they have done the job before. They know how things work and what it really takes to be successful in sales. However, I have seen time and time again that great sales people that take on a management role forget where they came from. Sure, out of the gates they are fired up and want to finally do things the way they should be done. After a while, though, they conform to the same management practices that they found counter-productive as a sales person. Now, the sales people under them are complaining about them. They are complaining because their manager has completely forgotten where they came from.

Sales people deserve a lot of credit because, in many cases, they are selling in spite of bad management practices and objectives. Many management practices inadvertently put their sales people in boxes. They take away their creative licence and force them into a sales methodology that has been put in place by number crunchers who only look at 1 + 2=3. Just because your sales people average 50 calls per day and $40,000 per month in revenue does not mean that 100 calls per day is going to equal $80,000. Unfortunately, a lot of companies have a numbers only executive somewhere who is hammering our fresh faced, just out of sales, manager with this philosophy and after a while they too start to believe it.

Now I am not saying that productivity metrics are not important because they are. Productivity metrics are a solid way to measure whether someone is actually putting effort in when there are no sales on the board. These metrics are certainly going to come in to play but they should never be put into play when sales people are putting up great results. Metrics can stifle a sales person and make them lose that all important ability to manage their day in a way that is most productive for them.

Effective sales managers cultivate the specific strengths of their sales people and help them to enhance the areas that need work. Growing revenue comes from growing sales peoples confidence in their own ability to sell. Forcing them into a mold will only frustrate them and in the end they will just find a way to make it look like they are doing what you ask them to do. They will expend a lot of energy hiding the sales strategy they use from their manager because they know the only way they will be successful is if they follow what works for them. We should be allowing them the freedom to use their own selling style so they don't waste energy trying to cover it up. Set boundaries that reflect the core values of your company and selling ethics and as long as your sales people fall within those standards then let them sell away. One thing I can guarantee is that if you encourage your sales people to sell the way that works for them, you will have a happy and productive sales team.

Also, I believe all sales managers and business owners (myself included) should take a half day every week (no ifs ands or buts) to make sales calls so that we can remind ourselves of what it is to be a sales person. When your sales people see you on the phone or in an office making calls you will gain tremendous respect in their eyes.

In the end, we all need to remember what being a sales person was like and to not stray too far from that now that we are responsible for the management of others. If we stay true to that, we will have happier, more productive and more understood sales people. Sales people who will sell for you all day long because you show trust in them and in their own selling style!