Be the Best Sales Manager

Sales Manager’s job is to be a leader, mentor and example for the team he or she leads. It’s more than just Rah, Rah, Rah on a Monday morning to get the team fired up for the week.

How to Help the Team Grow

The effective Sales Manager of today incorporates many, if not all, of the following:

• Makes sure everyone understands—and buys into—the overall company mission.
• Involves every sales person in the goal-setting process.
• Gets firm commitments to achieve the goals.
• Evaluates performance regularly, positively and constructively.
• Continually asks, “What do you need?” and “How can I help?”
• Holds each person accountable for reaching the goals they have set for themselves.
• Recognizes superior performance regularly, publicly and loudly.
• Provides ongoing, never-ending coaching.
• Creates an atmosphere to improve performance every day.
• Acts as the team cheerleader and facilitator.
• Establishes an atmosphere of open communication.

Keep on Sellin’

The best sales managers also have a sales territory. It can be a single customer or several. This keeps them in touch with the real world of selling, sets the behavior example for the team and gives the sales manager a sense of the market. When the sales manager chooses difficult customers or new ones and grows them onto the A list, that lets the team know what’s possible. He or she can then turn that customer over to one of the sales team to manage and move on a new challenge. This is leadership at its finest.

To learn more, see Chapter 3 in Secrets of the Softer Side of Selling. For even more sales help, join our FREE Sales Club! “See” you next week.

Good selling!
Don Crawford & Lois Carter Crawford

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