The Three Most Common Mistakes Sales Managers Make

In most organizations, sales managers are the				2. Lack of regular and systematic direction and
essential bridge between the company's sales goals				feedback for the salepeople.
and the realization of those goals. The gritty				The relentless attraction of the urgent, and the
day-to-day interactions between the sales people and				demanding shouts of the transaction, like the pleading
their customers are frequently filtered through the				of a toddler, have a tendency to overwhelm the
perspective of the sales manager on their way up				time and attention of most sales managers.
the ladder. And the aspirations and strategies of the				Sales managers often have the best of intentions.
company's management must be imprinted by the				For example, they may need to do a set of
realism of the sales manager as they come down				performance reviews by the end of the year. But
from above. Sales managers are the conductors who				there is this big presentation in one account to
carefully orchestrate the tentative entanglement of				attend. And another account wants to complain
the sales people with their management.				about some issue to the sales manager. Yet another
It's an incredibly important and difficult job.				needs the manager's touch to smooth some
Unfortunately, it is often the most under-trained job				feathers, etc. And they really do need to spend
in the entire organization. Instead of providing				some time in the field with the new salesperson. And,
information on the best practices and processes of				and, and... the demands of the urgent once again
the job, most companies hope that their sales				force regular face-to-face discussions about
managers will have learned enough during their days				expectations and results to the bottom of the "to
as a field salesperson to provide some roadmap as				do" list.
to how to do this job well.				As a result, most salespeople are left directionless
Alas, only a small percentage of untrained sales				and provided with little feedback on how they are
managers ever really figure it out, arriving by trial and				doing. Of course, we publish sales numbers, but there
error and after hours of study at the best practices				are lots of reasons why a set of numbers can be up,
of an effective sales manager. The overwhelming				down or sideways above and beyond the impact of
majority find themselves caught up in the urgencies				the salesperson.
of the moment, the tempting details of all the				What do you expect of this particular salesperson?
transactions, and the continuing onslaught of crises				And how well is he/she doing? In most surveys of
and are never able to set in place a systematic				what salespeople really want from their managers,
blueprint for their success.				"direction and feedback" are often at the very top
The net result? Few salespeople are effectively				of the list. It's one thing to talk about some account
managed. All parties: executive management, sales				or some deal, it's quite another to speak to the core
manager and sales people, bounce from one				issues of "my performance."
frustration to another. Company objectives are met				Sales is an isolated job. It is not unusual for a
frequently by happenstance, salespeople are not				salesperson to spend as much as 70% of the work
developed to their fullest potential and sales				week by himself. All that isolation often leads to
managers lurch from one crisis to another.				anxiety and self-doubt which often expresses itself
Certain common mistakes often arise out of this				through complaints and finding fault with the
unhealthy situation. As a long-time consultant and				company.
educator of salespeople and sales managers, I				All this negative energy can be prevented by
frequently see these three most common maladies				providing the salesperson with regular direction,
suffered by sales managers.				specific expectations, and regular feedback.
1. Lack of a focused sales structure.				The old saying, "Out of site, out of mind," is too
This is such a foreign concept to many companies				often the operational description of the typical sales
that the term itself is unfamiliar. The structure of a				manager. The salespeople are out there somewhere,
sales force consists of all the articulated and				doing their thing, while the tyranny of the urgent
unspoken rules, policies and procedures that shape				often occupy the manager's time.
the behavior of the salesperson. It consists of such				As a result, salespeople are not nearly as focused as
things as:				they could be; they default to unhealthy thoughts;
-the way sales territories are defined				and they spend too much time expressing negative
-the way salespeople go about their jobs				energy.
-the way markets and customers are targeted				3. Lack of an organized training and development
-the way salespeople are compensated				system.
-the methods the manager uses to communicate				No profession in the world expects the serious
with the salespeople				practitioners of that profession to figure it out by
-the expectations for the sales force				themselves. Quite the contrary. Every profession has
-the training and development system of the				determined some minimal acceptable course of study,
company				and typically has some event which signals the entry
-the expectation for information collecting by the				into that profession. It is for this reason that
salespeople				teachers, Emergency Medical Technicians, and
-the frequency and agenda for sales meetings				ministers are licensed; that attorneys must pass the
-the sales tools used by the salespeopleand countless				bar exam; accountants must pass their certification
other such things				exam, etc.
A highly focused, well designed sales structure can be				Unfortunately, that is rarely true of salespeople. In
one of the company's greatest assets, as it				only the leading companies is there some required
ultimately shapes the behavior of the sales force.				course of study for entry-level salespeople, and
Most sales structures, however, haven't come under				some event which signifies the successful completion
the critical review of the company's management.				of that study and their entry into the profession.
Typically, the structure slowly takes shape over time.				To even think this way is so outside of the reality of
Decisions are often made with heavy input from the				most sales managers that I can almost hear half of
salespeople, almost always in response to a single				the readers of this article snickering over their coffee.
event. These decisions slowly become codified into				"Some standard for allowing people into the job?"
the company's written and unwritten structure.				Incredible thought. But if you don't insist on it, you'll
As a result, many sales structures are vestiges of				continue to labor with hit or miss sales force where
years gone by, the legacy of salespeople who may				every hire is ultimately a shot in the dark.
not even be with the company today.				No profession in the world expects that once
Why do you have the sales compensation plan that				someone has become qualified to enter the
you have, for example? Is it because you crafted a				profession, they then no longer need to invest in
strategic plan that directly compensates the sales				their own development. And every profession has
force for achieving the company's objective? Or, is it				expectations of the practitioners' regular need to
because... it's the plan you inherited?				systematically improve himself or herself. Can you
Why do some salespeople come into the office				imagine a teacher who never attends an in-service
every week? Is it because you have determined that				training? A nurse who never invests in continuing
this is the most valuable use of their time? Or, is it				development? A minister who never goes back to
because... that's just the way some of them like to				school? A doctor who never attends a conference?
do it?				Even if such lackadaisical professionals could keep
Why is it that some of your salespeople are highly				their jobs, you'd not want them to have anything to
organized, with well designed file systems and				do with your family. You'd never put your health in
effective ways to track their interactions with their				the hands of doctor who hadn't updated himself
customers, while others continue to get by with				since med school. You'd not want your children
scraps of paper and yellow pads? Is it because you				taught by the teacher who hadn't learned anything
have invested in a system that helps them become				since graduation. You'd never put your lawsuit in the
well-organized and information-savvy? Or, is it				hands of an attorney who had never bothered to
because... that's just how it's worked out?				keep current.
Can you see the point? Many of these structural				The examples can go on and on. But you get the
issues - spoken and unspoken rules about how the				idea. The professional who doesn't regularly invest in
salesperson does the job - have evolved by the				his own continuous development is relegated to the
salespeople in response to their own specific				dregs of the market.
situations.				So, why is it that overwhelming majority of sales
And most sales managers are oblivious to the impact				managers do not require regular and systematic
of these decisions on the productivity and				involvement in continuous development events for
effectiveness of the salesperson.				their charges? It may be that they don't see their
I recently had lunch with a friend -- an entrepreneur				salespeople (or themselves) as professionals. Or, it
who had successfully started and run a number of				may be that they have never thought about it that
businesses. As we were discussing the pros and cons				way.
of organizing a sales force for his latest venture, he				Regardless of the reason, the reality of this malady is
remarked that he has learned how easy it is to				that the quality of the sales force is not nearly what
gradually cede control of the company to the sales				it could be, if only the sales managers required some
force. One decision at a time, made in response to				minimum standard for their entry-level people, and
the passionate plea of an individual sales person,				then regular and continuous development of those
would form, over time, the structure that governed				who were on the inside. The wise sales manager will
the sales side of the business.				assemble a system for the education and
I was impressed with his insight. That very				development of his salespeople.
observation described the number one mistake that				While there are as many other management miscues
sales mangers make - they accept the historically				as there are sales managers, these three are the
evolved status quo for the structure, and don't				most common. Address them, and you'll be well on
invest time in focusing it to provide the environment				your way to outstanding success in sales
for sales success.				management.

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The Three Most Common Mistakes Sales Managers Make