Sales management advice is much needed as we welcome in the New Year. Sales managers are a crucial part of a well-functioning sales organization, and without staying abreast of essential techniques, your organization will likely falter. The sales manager’s ability to coach, drive, and reinforce skills to the sales team creates for a much more successful outcome overall. Kevin Davis, interviewed by John Golden, provides concrete sales management advice.
This expert sales interview provides expert sales management advice, including:
- Why sales management is so important
- How the lack of support makes things so difficult
- How to use self-leadership to propel yourself
An Important Job:
The average tenure of a sales manager is 18 months. That length of time is significantly shorter than most other jobs in the sales world. Part of why the turnover is so high is that the situation is very stressful and challenging. Sales managers have the responsibility of translating the strategies determined by the senior level management and bringing them to the customers through the salespeople. This job is so crucial and vital to the life of an organization, and yet they are not regarded as important enough. One of the most significant challenges is that sales managers are not provided proper support or training.
Lack of Support:
One of the critical mistakes that many companies make is that they hire sales managers from the star people on the sales team, even though the two jobs are very different. “Often, sales managers are much better salespeople than they are sales managers,” said Davis. When you look at how many sales managers have attended skills workshops, or received formal or informal sales training, it’s usually very minimal. “It’s scary, the number of sales managers who are being asked to do their job without being taught how to do their job,” said Davis.
Self-Leadership:
First and foremost, it’s essential to help sales managers recognize that what got them here, meaning the job as a successful salesperson who earned a promotion, won’t get them there, meaning earning the same success in their sales manager position. The skills that made them great salespeople can actually in some respects inhibit their effectiveness as sales managers. “Ultimately your greatest strength as a salesperson, if you overuse that strength as a sales manager, it will diminish your effectiveness,” said Davis. “It’s helping sales managers recognize that they have to make the transition and change how they think about what they’re doing.” If your overall organization doesn’t provide the necessary support, use self-leadership to propel yourself and learn the skills that you need to do the job well.
To learn more about key sales management techniques and get advice for being a great sales manager, watch the rest of the expert sales interview!
About our Host:
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
Pipeliner CRM empowers sales managers to manage successfully and with precision. Get your free trial of Pipeliner CRM now.
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