For Sales Managers Only

This one is for the sales managers and VPs. If you’re a salesperson, forward it with high priority. If you’re a sales manager or VP sales, print it out and laminate it.

It’s the ECONOMY, STUPID. Remember this piece of political wisdom imparted to Bill Clinton by one of his top advisors? It all but won the election for President Clinton.

So here is my advice for CEOs, sales teams and sales managers: It’s the SALES MANAGER, STUPID.

Inevitably, when we’re invited to train a group of salespeople, the focus turns to fixing or helping the “salespeople.” A deeper investigation almost always reveals a more significant problem—the sales manager.

Unfortunately, the typical path to become a sales manager involves a pit stop in the #1 slot on the sales results chart. You’ve likely heard it or said it. “Susan’s our best salesperson. If we could just get 15 Susan’s, we’d kill it. Let’s make Susan the SALES MANAGER.”  Hoo hoo hoo hoo (while pumping fists, hi-fives and chest bumps by grown men).

WAH, WAH, WAH (Price is Right loser sound) WRONG ANSWER, CHIEF!

The skills of strong sales managers RARELY align with the skills of strong salespeople. I repeat: The skills of strong sales managers RARELY align with the skills of strong salespeople.

Here are some observations as one who observes sales managers all day everyday:

1. It can’t be ABOUT the sales manager. IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THE SALESPEOPLE. Your #1 job as a sales manager: To help every salesperson reach their own personal goal. That’s it. It’s NOT TO HIT YOUR NUMBER. IT’S NOT TO HIT YOUR BONUS. You should only focus on helping them.
2. It’s your role to remove any and all useless administration that distracts from their prospecting and selling efforts. Sales managers usually do this one backward. They require reports and data and analysis and forms and call sheets and expense reports…and, and, and. STOP IT! Find someone else to collect and analyze the data. Share the results with your salespeople with an idea on how to use it to help them reach their personal goal.
3. Realize they WON’T DO IT LIKE YOU DID IT. If you’ve gotten to the management spot via the typical path, you were a stud or stud-et salesperson. You did things uncommon to the game. You were proactive. You were personally accountable. You were an anomaly. That’s why it’s a bell curve. You’re now dealing with people who couldn’t hold your jock or sports bra. It’s your job to MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE and get the most out of them possible—which might be way less than you could get out of the same territory.
4. Find each person’s PERSONAL EMOTIONAL MOTIVATION (PEM—but I hate acronyms). Here’s the question: Do you know what personally motivates each person on your sales team? You probably assume everyone wants to make a lot of money and be #1. That’s what they say, isn’t it? That’s a lie! They all want something different. Some want balance in life. Some want security. Some want your job. Some want to save money to start their own business. You will be INSANELY effective as a sales manager if you know each individual’s motivation and manage them to that. It’s the most efficient approach to getting sustained behavioral change.

I could go on, but I think that’s plenty for now. If you’re a sales manager, inject these into your sales management DNA. If you’re a salesperson, forward it (and then stop in the next day and see if he/she has read it).