February 8th, 2010
The sales manager is the sales rep’s direct line of communication between himself and his performance. If this line is cut, if the sales manager is somewhat incompetent or won’t do his job properly, then the company has a problem. One of the most important factors that could influence a sales rep’s growth in his career is the sales manager’s ability to do his job well.
A top sales manager does this job by providing specific behavioral feedback. It is by no means an easy task. Each sales rep has his or her own set of behaviors he or she brings on the job. The top sales manager should be able to analyze these behaviors based on reports and turn them into feedback in a way that would inspire growth and positive change from the sales rep. (more…)
Filed under: Coaching, Leading, Motivation, Underperformers by ralphburns
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February 4th, 2010
Sales managers are hired to solve problems. They’re also hired to lead, but they end up spending an enormous time solving problems within the sales team. Say a sales person is showing consistently poor performance? Take it to the sales manager. Quarterly sales stink? Let the sales manager handle it. Hiring a new sales person? Let the sales manager take that one.
You can’t solve everything, although you may feel that you should – your ability to coach your salespeople so that you help people solve their problems instead of you solving people’s problems.
All sales managers believe in the magic behind good sales coaching. But an amateur or an average sales manager’s coaching style is rigid. It is solid and won’t budge. The sales people under him are forced to adapt to his specific coaching style. (more…)
Filed under: Coaching, Leading, Motivation by ralphburns
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February 2nd, 2010
There’s a common misconception that sales managers must be good talkers. Its true that any leadership position requires superb communication skills in which you can clearly articulate your thoughts through the words you use and the way you communicate.
But if you are always talking and never listening, then youre going to have a real hard time leading your sales team…because you’ll never know what really matters to them.
Being a great sales manager is more than just knowing to say the right things at the right time. It’s also knowing when the close your mouth and let the other person do the talking.
Simply put, a top sales manager asks more than tells, listens more than talks.
A top sales manager is first a listener, and then a speaker. (more…)
Filed under: Coaching, Leading by ralphburns
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February 1st, 2010
The third and final myth in this series of blog posts is also one of the most important topics in sales management. It concerns performance. But it is also about change, about trying to move away from an established routine in hopes of discovering something even better. Alas…
Myth #3 – Results must be reinforced for performance to change. (more…)
Filed under: Coaching by ralphburns
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January 29th, 2010
This is the second part of the article Sales Coaching Myth #1: Stop Teaching And Start Reaching Out To Your Sales Reps.
In the first article, we discussed the difference between teaching and reaching out to your sales reps. Reaching out is essential if you want to develop a well-rounded sales team. As a top sales manager your job is to study and figure out your sales reps’ individual strengths and weaknesses, and adjust your strategies accordingly. Sales coaching as teaching is a myth because sales reps rarely learn anything from that method.
Which leads to…
Myth #2 – Most sales reps can assess their own strengths and weaknesses. (more…)
Filed under: Coaching by ralphburns
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