Sales management more than just another quota

SalesManagement

(or just adding their own quota to the collective bottom line?)

Is your Front Line Sales Manager helping the whole team grow?

Did you promote one of your best sales reps to sales manager?

That happens pretty often

(Data from the Sales Management Association’s Hiring Top Sales Managers Research Report indicated that, 96% of firms rely on internal promotions to staff sales management positions)

96%

It’s not necessarily a bad choice, but...

Did they get any formal, comprehensive

training on how to do their new job?

Most don’t

Did you expect them to keep selling and hitting a high quota?

Sales managers spend only about a third of their time managing people

How are they supposed to know how to help

their direct reports improve?

With that big quota...

...and the new administrative tasks...

Where are they supposed to find the time to support reps?

The logic of promoting a strong rep to manager makes sense

Expecting them to keep doing: - The same sales job + administrative tasks + supporting reps...

...doesn't make sense

What’s the takeaway here?

If you have a great rep

and you want them to keep hitting the same quota

don’t saddle them with - administrative tasks

- and expectations to coach & mentor

- and holding their reps accountable - a key part of the job

If you expect a manager to succeed, recognize that the job is about

achieving success through others

...not just through their own direct sales efforts

As Stephen Covey wrote

“begin with the end in mind”

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

So ask yourself...

Why do you want a sales manager?

If it is to generate revenue by their own sales efforts...

...sales manager is not the right job for them

If it is to empower their direct reports to sell more (and more effectively)...

don’t saddle them with things that will hold them back from doing that

So - EITHER

Empower the manager to succeed through others

&

Measure this kind of indirect success

&

Reward them for it

OR

Just have reps

But you can do better than that

An engaged and empowered sales manager can

help your whole team do better

It’s OK if they sell

Maybe even best if they do with some of their time

But...

Recognizing that the job is more than selling...

...and that it takes time and patience and work to achieve results through others...

...is a great start...

Because achieving results through others

Is powerful

(and practically the textbook definition of management)

Sales Management Too

The Sales TeamSuccess Formula™

www.sales-team-success-formula.com

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