Top Sales Manager Blog

Irrespective of whether you might be a completely new sales manager, a tenured sales manager, a small business entrepreneur, a VP of Product sales or perhaps a sales coach, you actually may discover that leading salespeople is one of the more challenging sales management training tasks a person encounter.

The reason for this issue is that salespeople don’t really like to be “led” in the traditional sense. Salespeople generally speaking, really are a fickle bunch. These people like to think of themselves as fiercely self-sufficient people who need to do things on their own. They’re usually highly opinionated, and sometimes confrontational.

And consequently, they only “follow” a sales leader that they feel is skilled, has their motivations primary in their minds and most importantly of all a sales manager that they can trust.

The true secret to great sales leadership is in establishing trust with all your front line salespeople.

The unfortunate aspect is that many “leadership” textbooks don’t even bother to teach this concept. Nearly all feel it’s a given.

Just how wrong they usually are.

Instead there’s an art as well as a science to leadership and it also all starts with initially developing a firm foundation of trust. This is a really critical concept to learn. And it’s also important to the long term health of your company.
The truth is, think about trust building with your sales force exactly like building a house. Trust is the foundation of that house. A person can’t start laying down floors adding walls til you have that foundation set first, correct?

It’s exactly the same thing with leadership and trust. A sales manager can’t direct a sales team to spectacular sales heights; much less merely make sales quotas without first establishing that “trust” foundation.
There are actually three established strategies that will enable you to not merely establish trust with your sales force to help you drive your company’s sales revenues:

1. Use the Law of Reciprocity.

The law of reciprocity states if one does something nice for somebody, and then human instinct requires the receiver will really feel motivated to try and do something nice for you in turn. This is especially effective because human nature demands that at the precise moment that you do something decent for an individual, that person feels obligated to return the favor.

Consequently if you regularly do nice things for your sales person, then they feel motivated to do something nice for you in return. That nice thing in return, is usually increased sales. Don’t manipulate this rule; just use it to your benefit. And further, don’t count on the favor being returned the moment you do it. Be very discreet. But take advantage of the principles of human nature to acquire what you want which is success for your organization and your sales team.

2. Simply let The Salesperson Take All The Credit

Individuals always operate far better if they never need to worry about who gets the credit. If perhaps a sales manager is on a sales call with a salesperson who makes a sale and right after the call the sales manager returns to the office and informs everyone how HE made the sale, how do you think that salesperson would feel?

Don’t be worried about who gets the actual credit. Sales managers get paid for precisely how effectively their sales people do. A sales manager should never take the credit for the good work of his sales people

Ensuring that each salesperson receives the proper credit will just help build even more trust and will inspire them even more at the same time.

3. Don’t Dictate, Advise Instead

There will be lots of times that you’ll need to tell your sales people, in absolute terms, what they will need to do in any given situation.

However, the majority of the time, stay away from spewing direct orders at all costs.

For example, instead of stating: “I want you to see the O’Neil account and provide them with the new rates.”

Change that a bit and say: “You may want to give some thought to taking the new rates to the O’Neil account.”

The particular salesman listens to that and says, alright, he’s not dictating to me what to do, instead he’s giving me a recommendation and I’m going to decide whether it is right to execute. This approach encourages and motivates, and does not manipulate.

Make use of these kinds of trust building methods to lead and inspire your sales team and you will start experiencing rapid increases in your sales leadership.

To learn more about sales management training, click here to get more great information on sales management.

Filed under: Coaching, Leading by ralphburns
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When training sales managers, the most significant things to not forget to teach your sales managers the importance of building and supporting the absolute best sales team. A sturdy team – reinforced by superior sales training and competent leadership – can elevate an organization to new heights of success. By the same token, a poorly prepared and underperforming sales force can prove to be a company’s downfall. In either case, the glory or the blame rests squarely on your own shoulders. 

Encouraging and keeping a high-performance salesforce is a vital undertaking. You should start out with the right people, set obtainable goals, obtain effective means to motivate your group and ensure that everybody – including you – completes suitable sales training. These key steps will get you and your team moving in the right direction:

 * Employ internal sales staff instead than outsourced workers.

Even though it might be appealing to contemplate outsourcing as a way to help save money, it’s best to get a salesforce which is concentrated exclusively on your products instead of one that’s juggling numerous customers. An in-house sales team will allow you greater command over the sales functionality and enable you to set strategy for the entire sales group.

 * Make use of both economic and non-monetary rewards to motivate your sales staff.

While a commission-based compensation plan offers strong motivation, together with base pay can help you attract and hold on to great sales people. This tactic guarantees a bare minimum income during lean times, which helps keep morale high and reduces the risk of sacrificing experienced sales personnel. A thorough benefits program can help you contend for the best salespeople, and public recognition is another way to encourage and reward exceptional performance.

 * Get proper sales training for your team – and sales management training for yourself.

Invest in some kind of professional sales management training for your whole staff, to ensure that all staff members have a consistently high level of expertise and skills. Take into consideration online sales training your reps can enroll in together but complete at their own pace and on their own schedule. An online certificate program supplies the added benefit of official sales qualifications, which is often a powerful motivator. But don’t overlook your own sales management training needs, because including the finest sales managers have room for improvement. If you’re new to your role, seek out sales management training made to aid in making the transition to a supervisory role. If you’re an experienced sales manager, try to find expert-level sales management training.

By pursuing these steps, it is possible to put your sales team – plus your occupation – firmly on the path to success.

To learn more about sales management training, click here to get more great information on sales management.

Filed under: Coaching, Leading by ralphburns
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Some years ago, back in the 80s, American business writer Tom Peters coined the term “management by walking around“. The concept was a huge hit, and Tom Peters became an instant household name in the corporate world.

He was called a “leadership genius” and acclaimed as “one of the top management gurus to come along in over a century”. He earned it. Management By Walking Around (MBWA) was groundbreaking during its time.

But it wasn’t that big a deal – if you ask me.

MBWA was simply common sense. So okay. Maybe that’s why it became popular in the first place. MBWA was a simple yet effective solution to sales management. I guess that kind of stuff doesn’t come around more than once in a century.

A sales manager could be a management genius too by following what Tom Peters advocated more than thirty years ago—that is, by incorporating “roving sales leadership” into your style of management. I know, we all have our way of doing things. But MBWA is so simplistic in its approach that you might as well be doing it already without you knowing it. (more…)

Filed under: Coaching, Leading, Motivation by ralphburns
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As a sales manager, it is your responsibility to build and support the best possible sales team. A strong team – backed by superior sales training and effective leadership – can elevate an organization to new heights of success. By the same token, a poorly prepared and underperforming sales force can prove to be a company’s downfall. In either case, the glory or the blame rests squarely on your shoulders.

Motivating and retaining a high-performance sales force is an important undertaking. You need to start with the right people, set attainable goals, find effective ways to motivate your team and ensure that everyone – including you – completes appropriate sales training. These key steps will get you and your team moving in the right direction: (more…)

Filed under: Hiring, Motivation by ralphburns
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As mentioned in our blog post on How To Deliver a Masterful Praising, there is an important corollary to this rule which is especially important to make sure you get the most band for your buck from your masterful praisings.

Its especially useful when you are trying to get new or struggling salespeople to do the right things, even when despite their best efforts, they continue to screw stuff up.

The corollary is: (more…)

Filed under: Leading, Motivation by ralphburns
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