If you work in sales, you’ve probably heard someone use the word in conversation a couple of times. Maybe you’ve even worked for one in the past. In any case, the term “seagull” in sales doesn’t imply anything good.

A “Seagull Sales Manager” is a sales manager who rarely interacts with his sales reps and the people that work under him.

He’s around. He’s in the office. He’s in his chair. But he simply isn’t there.

In times of crisis, when the situation calls for it, he’d swoop down, dump on every one of his sales reps, who’d just realized they had a sales manager in the office, and then fly away again. Seagulls do that; sales managers should not. Now you know what Michael Madison was trying to get across when he coined the term back in ‘88.

One look at the definition should tell you it isn’t the kind of leadership we advocate at TopSalesManagerBlog. Seagull sales managers aren’t welcome here.

We understand. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep your feet on the ground especially when there’s too much stress coming in from all directions. The wave of problems flowing in is overwhelming, and no one – not even you – could come up with a half-decent solution.

But here is the thing: a true sales manager doesn’t fold. Instead he or she sees it as an opportunity to take center stage.

Step up when everyone else is stepping down. Open your shop when everyone else is closing down theirs.

You need to get this in your psyche, and then you need to carve it into the minds of your sales reps. Times are bad. What they need now is a leader they can count on. You could either play seagull sales manager and dump on them, or you could ELEVATE them by teaching them to act their best when everything else is at its worst.

This is “the crucible” of sales management.

Don’t be a “seagull”. Teach them the true value of work by doing a good job with yours—that is, by establishing a connection with your sales people.

Get off your comfortable office chair and show your face from behind the computer. Know your sales people on a personal level. Ken Blanchard called it “Management By Walking Around”. We here at TopSalesManagerBlog call it “the only way to be an effective sales manager.”

So whatever you do, stay away from the seagulls.

To learn more about sales management, click here to get your choice of free sales management training courses.

Post a comment to this blog and tell me how you make a connection with your sales people.