Having been a senior sales executive, and a sales manager, for many years, I’ve noticed a challenge for most companies … it’s basic sales management execution. Certainly no one is perfect, but from my experience, sales managers, regardless of what level of experience they have, are always in need of coaching. Just because the sales manager may have been good at selling lighting projects or automation products…this doesn’t automatically translate into the fact that they will become top sales managers.
Even the best need to sharpen their skill set every once in a while. Today’s senior level sales executives need to feel the pulse of not only their business conditions but also monitor the ongoing development of their sales management team. Unfortunately, sales leadership gets distracted from supporting sales development by getting pulled into non sales related activities, as well as becoming the person responsible for putting out today’s fire! As the top sales exec, you need to be able to say “no” to non-revenue generating activities and focus on driving revenue and gaining share because in the end, that dictates your personal and team’s performance. You can’t be all things to all people.
Once a top sales rep is promoted to sales manager, the senior executive’s real job begins. You need to take ownership of the continuous leadership and talent development and consistent improvement of your sales management team. Senior Execs need to:
- Be able to coach “up” their sales managers ..take a keen interest in their success.
- Develop a regular cadence of expectations with their teams…openly communicate.
- Set the bar and stay focused on your sales plan …execute your plan
- Feel the pulse of their customers with their sales managers and their teams….be out on the road in front of customers
Doing this helps you make decisions with first-hand information, react to market conditions and, most importantly, provide on the job coaching. Remember, your role, and that of your team, is to generate revenue!
Nevertheless, all good sales teams become more coachable by:
- Having a regular cadence of scheduled meetings, with expectations coming into the meeting and deliverables to keep their teams crisp. Meetings can be as simple as a brief weekly huddle, building team work and setting the tone for the week. If your team is spread out use a web conference or a conference call setting.
- Assigning the sales manager tasks that help facilitate their personal sales management growth. Obviously the key focus needs to be on growing business at the end customer, but sales managers also need to develop complementary skills and be in position to generate ideas to make your company stickier at the customer.
- You need to teach your sales managers to create value. You need to make them think out of the box and feel comfortable bringing you these types of ideas. As a Senior sales exec, you are only as good as your team.
Ask yourself:
- Do you know what motivates your sales managers?
- Do you know their areas of strength and weakness?
- Do you have the type of relationship where they feel comfortable coming to you with issues?
- Do they feel that you care about their success and that you are engaged and helping make them be more successful?
To take share from your competition, and ensure continued growth, coaching your sales team is a must. It builds a strong bench and foundation for growth.
Copyright © 2015 by John Salvadore
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