Failure of a FCMG Sales Manager?

Is it a failure of Sales Manager - If Sales Executive/ Representative not achieving targets?

The notion that a salesman's failure to achieve their target is indicative of a sales manager's failure is a nuanced issue and reflects on the sales manager as a complex matter. While it's not always a direct link, a sales manager's actions (or lack thereof) can greatly influence a salesperson's performance, empowering to achieve consistently

When assigning targets to the sales team, the sales manager must fully believe in these goals, even if they are imposed from above. The manager's lack of conviction can be more damaging than any other factor. It's crucial for the sales manager to have a clear understanding and factual support when presenting ambitious targets to the team.

Responsibilities of a Sales Manager

Training and Development:

Skill Development: Sales managers must ensure their team possesses the essential skills and knowledge to succeed. Insufficient training can leave salespeople unprepared to meet their targets.

Ongoing Coaching: Regular feedback and coaching sessions are crucial for helping salespeople refine their techniques and strategies. Sales managers should provide access to the latest tools and technologies to streamline the sales process.

On-the-Job Training: In today's busy schedules, most managers spend their time responding to emails and following up, leaving little or no time to provide on-the-job training for salespeople. Even when managers do accompany their sales team, the quality of time spent is often diluted by mobile distractions. Living without a phone today poses significant challenges and is often referred to as "Nomophobia” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomophobia. Despite their intentions, managers' schedules often don't allow for on-the-job training. Spending time in the market with salespeople is crucial for identifying individual strengths and areas for improvement, but it has become practically impossible for most sales managers to do this even once a month.

Product Training: Providing comprehensive and scientific product training is essential for empowering salespeople and building their confidence. The difference in body language and confidence between a well-trained salesperson and one who lacks product knowledge is evident. Access to marketing materials, customer insights, and other resources can significantly enhance a salesperson's effectiveness.

Competitor Knowledge: Beyond understanding their own products, it is crucial for salespeople to know the details about competitors. This knowledge allows them to make informed comparisons and effectively communicate their findings. A salesperson doesn’t need to criticize competitors but should be clear about the strengths and weaknesses of both their own brand and the competitors'.

Category Knowledge: This is a crucial aspect, as the shelf space allocated in supermarkets and hypermarkets reflects the category of the product your brand represents. Each category manager or buyer has revenue targets for their category, and the limited shelf space creates high demand, giving retailers the upper hand in negotiations. Therefore, strategies should be designed, planned, and implemented in alignment with the category manager’s and brand manager’s objectives.

Display & Merchandise: In the UAE FMCG market, effective display and merchandising are crucial for driving sales. Attractive, well-organized displays in supermarkets and hypermarkets catch consumer attention and influence purchasing decisions. High competition for shelf space makes strategic placement essential. Retailers prioritize products with strong merchandising support, as this enhances visibility and accessibility, ultimately boosting revenue.

Weekly and Monthly Reviews: Regular reviews are essential for mapping progress against objectives and determining the future direction. Ongoing performance reviews help identify issues early and allow for corrective action. Sales managers should analyze sales data to spot trends and address potential problems proactively. Sometimes, a salesperson may lack the necessary drive or ability despite receiving adequate support and training. Such individuals should be identified and given opportunities for improvement. If attitude issues are detected, necessary actions should be taken to replace them.

Daily Market Report: A manager's role should focus on the macro level rather than the micro level, and for this, the Daily Market Report (DMR) or Daily Activity Report (DAR) is essential. These reports highlight activities that indicate the direction of progress. Focusing solely on figures or missed targets can make salespeople defensive, whereas discussing activities and their results, which translate into figures, encourages a proactive mindset. Empowering and motivating salespeople to engage in activities that drive sales generation is key.

Setting Realistic Targets: What is the basis for your target setting? Is it driven from the top down, or based on market category, our customer base, year-on-year performance, market conditions, new accounts opened, new routes started, new vans operational, focus products, priority products, and other relevant factors?

Feasibility: Targets should strike a balance between being challenging and attainable. Unrealistic goals can demoralize salespeople and lead to failure. While it's acceptable to stretch individuals to their limits if it aligns with the company's Annual Operation Plan (AOP), it's essential to provide directional guidance on how to achieve these goals rather than solely focusing on numerical outcomes.

Alignment: It's crucial that targets are in sync with market conditions and the capabilities of individual salespeople. Ensuring alignment across all factors, especially between the sales manager and the salesperson, is vital. This single factor can lead to remarkable changes in how a salesperson delivers results

Motivation and Morale:

Incentives: Well-designed incentive schemes and recognition initiatives are effective in maintaining salespeople's motivation.

Work Environment: A positive and supportive workplace enhances overall performance. Beyond incentives and commissions, the reward of recognizing and respecting each salesperson as an individual is paramount.

Performance Monitoring:

When is it the Manager's Failure?

In the UAE FMCG market, it's typically considered a manager's failure if a salesperson consistently fails to meet their targets despite receiving adequate support, training, and resources. Managers are expected to provide guidance, set realistic goals, monitor progress, and address any obstacles hindering sales performance. If a salesperson continuously underperforms despite these efforts, it reflects poorly on the manager's ability to lead, coach, and support their team effectively.

Lack of Support: If the manager fails to provide adequate support, resources, or training, then the responsibility for failure falls on them.

Poor Leadership: Ineffective leadership, poor communication, and lack of motivation can lead to underperformance.

Ignoring Feedback: Failure to listen to and act on feedback from the sales team can result in unmet targets.

When is it Not the Manager's Failure?

External Factors: It's not considered a manager's failure if salespeople are not achieving targets in the UAE FMCG market when they face external factors beyond the manager's control, such as sudden shifts in market conditions, regulatory changes, economic downturns or unexpected events can impact sales beyond a manager’s control like rains in April 2024 devastating several business, bringing loss to hundreds. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/dubai-international-airport-says-it-is-experiencing-significant-disruption-due-2024-04-17/.

Additionally, if salespeople are provided with adequate support, training, and resources, but still fail to meet targets due to their own lack of effort or competence, it may not be deemed the manager's failure. Managers are expected to provide guidance and support, but individual responsibility and performance also play a significant role in meeting targets.

Conclusion

While a sales manager has a significant influence on the performance of their team, the ultimate responsibility for achieving sales targets is shared. Both managerial support and individual salesperson effort are crucial to success. In situations where salespeople fail to meet their targets, it is essential to analyze the contributing factors carefully to determine the underlying causes and address them appropriately.? While the sales manager plays a critical role, it's also important to recognize that sales performance is a shared responsibility. Factors beyond a manager's control, such as market conditions, competition, and individual salesperson attributes (like work ethic and personal skills), also play a significant role.

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UAE FMCG HEAD & SPECIALIST – SALES, MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, FMCG SPECIALIST, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

By Nair Santosh- Every dip of Knowledge makes us better (BREND BRAND| SALE DIPS #brendbrand #salesdips)