Here are four common mistakes Sales Managers make that can lead to their downfall or the downfall of their team.

1. Focusing on the Wrong Guy

It is easy to focus your attentions on the guy that is making the most sales. However, you have to focus on the guys who are not hitting their targets and find out why. What you need to know from your top performers is what technique they are using. You can then try using that technique to train those who are under performing.

2. Grooming the Wrong Leader

It is important to be looking to those below you to help you find the next leaders. It is not necessarily crazy to think you will automatically be drawn to your top sellers, but selling is not managing. Watch your entire team for signs of leadership, not for those who sell well. This will help in two ways. First, it may help keep your top sellers in the ranks of selling where they belong and in many cases earning better money for themselves depending on your pay and commission structure. Second, it will help you find the right person to lead. Leaders have different qualities than sellers although sometimes the two do meet. Use tools to assess your sales team to discover their hidden talents so you are grooming the right people for the right job.

3. Selling

Sounds odd, but it is true. Sales Managers don’t sell, they lead. Make sure you don’t get caught up in selling as a) It takes sales away from your team and b) It takes you away from your job.

 

4. Forget Your Core Job Description & Responsibilities

In general, a Sales Manager should only do the following:
• Train and develop the team
• Hold the team accountable for goals
• Coach and motivate
• Hire and fire

Being a Sales Manager is not always easy. Finding ways to help your team succeed is a job that requires dedication and constant attention to detail. If you are going to be a successful sales manager, you must avoid making mistakes sales managers make like the ones listed above.

Related Article: 6 Steps To Becoming an Effective Sales Leader

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1. The Cost of Business: Public companies are expensive to run; they must carefully comply with the myriad of board responsibilities and the rules established to protect investors. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) audits conformity and adherence to other strict regulations. Such complex structure requires more goods and support staff to function best. Such a setting makes for greater sales potential for your company’s products and services.
   1. While accounting costs may be high, public companies have the advantage over private companies in potential larger amounts of capital through access to selling stock or corporate bonds. Additionally, investors tend to be more trusting in a public company because of perceived reduced risk. Potential cash reserves deserve investigation.

2. Shareholders: Public companies can be slow in decision making due to their need for shareholder approval in operational and growth decisions. Most private companies are not limited in this way, meaning you will likely work out a final decision with a smaller group of decision makers and possibly in a more rapid, straightforward way. Depending on the size of the public company and the impact your product or service will have on a company, there can be more hurdles to jump through if shareholders are involved. Using the information available online, including financials, get comfortable with the company’s essence and momentum and to whom you should be selling.

3. Buy One Share of Stock in Your Target Public Company: As a “Shareholder,” and not just another annoying sales representative, you can increase your odds of getting through to the decision makers–and separate yourself from the “pack.”
   1. Coco Channel noted, “You have to be different to be remembered.” After I purchase my share, my first call is to the Office of Investor Relations. I ask for the manager of the department and introduce myself as a “Shareholder” who has a financial interest in the overall profitability and success of the business. I ask this same manager to provide to me the names of the individuals that would be involved in the decision-making process for my product/service. I have over a 93% success rate obtaining the decision-makers information and getting a successful “Warm” phone introduction. Food for thought!

4. Short Term vs. Long Term Goals: Public companies issue quarterly statements to their shareholders and must often disclose more financial information than private companies do. A private company often has the advantage of looking more at long-term goals when making decisions. Public companies live the day to day life of a business in order to please shareholders and continue to attract investors. Selling to a public company? You need to solve sale problems in a different way than you would for a private company. Promote the immediate positive impact your product or service will have when chosen.

5. Savvy Management: Public companies attract a stronger, more experienced breed of senior management, which means in-depth research of the company’s business issues is critical. Quality leads. The sales rep prepared with solid knowledge of how their sales product/service solution is the best value, will be at an advantage. The sales individual is going to have to do their homework to make a sale with a public company.

6. Access to Information: Always research potential prospects in the public company domain, so you are not wasting your time on a poorly run, beleaguered, and financially strapped organization with less growth potential and little access to capital. Peruse the company’s website for financial data, rule out missed earnings targets, or SEC concerns. A sudden drop in company stock price may warn of short-term credit problems; review rating agency reports, stock analysis, and press reports. If there are volumes of bad news, you are wise to find another PROSPECT. Remember, a prospect is defined as a company that has NEED, MONEY, AUTHORITY, & DESIRE. All others are just SUSPECTS and are a WASTE OF TIME!

I am thrilled to announce that my colleague Christine Corelli and myself have landed a cover story on SMM Sales & Marketing Management Magazine!

This has been a great experience and you can learn more about our How To Sell To Women sales programs at www.howtoselltowomen.us.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!

A sales leader manages a group of sales representatives and increases the sales teams performance. It doesn’t matter if the product and/or services offered are the best in the world if there is not an effective sales leader to make sure that the sales process excels in performance. There are a few criteria that an effective sales leader must employ in order to create and maintain a productive and excellent sales team.

Hiring the Right Team

Before you can help your team succeed in sales you must hire and train the right candidates and know what to look for in a job applicant. When a person comes into an interview they must meet certain criteria in order for them to be considered a good candidate for the sales team you are creating. Previous sales experience is a plus, but is not always necessary if they meet all other mandatory requirements. They must present themselves professionally in everything from the way they dress to the manner they speak in. They must show an excellent speaking quality and be able to perform an example sales call on the spot. Additionally, try to make sure that they fit into your organization’s culture, this will ensure that they are comfortable and happy, thus they will stay with you for longer!

For More Information on Sales Recruiting Click Here.

Motivate and Reward

Part of your job as a sales leader and sales coach expert is to inspire, motivate and reward your team. Every day you will need to get your team motivated for the day and inspire them to perform at their optimum ability. There are many ways to do this and you may need to try a few different tactics such as morning meetings, business lunches or end of the day reviews. It has been proven that when employees are offered incentives they perform better at their job. Try engaging your team in one on one sales coaching or professional sales training. Additional incentives include allowing them to leave an hour early or providing them with a gift card for excellent performance. If they aren’t impressed with your first incentive you could experiment with a few other rewards until there is a reasonable balance of rewards, capability, and improvement.

Assign and Delegate

Every sales team has a quota or expectation they need to meet either made by you as the sales leader or by one of your supervisors. You will need to delegate certain tasks and assign work properly so that your team can meet these quotas efficiently and easily. As a sales leader, you should be reading articles and books on how to delegate tasks to ensure you have various effective methods of delegation to employ. This will help keep your great sales team on track during slow times or fast times. It will also keep you on track and help you come up with new ideas that will push the boundaries of your sales team and ultimately bring improvement and expansion.

Make Good Decisions

You as a sales coach and leader will need to be able to make decisions that are best for the entire team. You may be faced with tough choices and decision that you would rather not make, but you need to be able to perform the task at hand no matter how difficult it is, you are the leader! For instance, you may be told that your team needs to be reduced by two people based on budget cuts in the company and your supervisor needs your decision by the end of the week. You may be attached to your team and the choice will be one that is not easy to make. You will have to look inside yourself and at each individual team member’s performance and make the best decision you can for the company and remaining team members.

Confidence and Trust

You will need confidence in order to be a sales leader. You must show confidence in yourself and your team in order to succeed. You will also need to let go of your need to micromanage your subordinates and show them that you trust them to perform on their own. Once everyone on the team feels confident in themselves and that you trust them with responsibilities, the entire team will perform better. Have confidence in your decisions, your actions, and your team’s ability.

Filter Information Properly

As the sales leader you will be bombarded with information on a daily basis. You will need to sort through all of this information and categorize it from top priority to semi-important and least important information that can be put lower on the list. You will have information and request coming at you from all sides all the time. An effective sales leader has the ability to manage, sort and make decisions regarding all information and requests that come his/her way. Your supervisors are going to have requests anywhere from changing the arrangement of the team seating to laying people off. Your team will have requests for days off, schedule changes, or employee tensions. You need to be able to effectively and efficiently sort through everything and tackle the most important issues first.

 

4 Mistakes Sales Leaders Should Avoid Making

Businesses can’t function without employees, and if part of your company is about sales, you have to ensure you get “A Players” to help drive revenue for the team. Learning sales recruiting best practices allows you to hire “A Players”. It also teaches you how to retain your best sales people, which can be even more important. Once you get the best, you need to learn how to keep the best.

Ongoing

The recruitment strategy should be ongoing. You may not currently need any sales people, but you should have some options available for when you do need them. If you wait until you need them, you’ll rush through the interview process and may not get the best people on your new team.

Instead, focus on creating a system that attracts talent to you. Your marketing team can create pages for your website that will promote your values, rewards and culture. People looking for work will see that and want to be part of it.

You may also get the current employees involved in recruitment. Providing incentives in regards to recruiting rewards can boost your pool of potentials. A Players likely know others who are good at sales, which can help drive revenue.

Profiling

It is important to understand that not everyone can sell. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a group of non-selling salespeople on your team, you won’t make it. Creating a sales-assessment profiler can help you. It is a particular test that is used to measure sales behaviors and potential. You’ll get the best options for the team and can keep the ones who didn’t qualify for other areas, such as reception or management positions.

Training

Even if you have the best of the best, there is always room for improvement. You should continuously identify where progress could be made through sales training and testing. The salespeople may grumble, but they’ll be happy to find out their weaknesses and learn how to overcome them. While motivating your team to do better, you can also drive revenue.

Posting and Monitoring

Job boards could be your new best friend. Posting new jobs on these boards can spread the word and get you potentials. Job boards are a ready source of people who are eager to work. Many of them are already sales professionals, so you may get lucky and find one or two difference makers.

Learn more about sales recruiting here: https://salescoach.us/executive-sales-recruiting/