Stupid Sales Manager?

Sales managers are employed for one reason across all companies and industries. Their job is to help sales professionals get more sales. If you are in sales, your manager should be your best friend. But for many, the manager is your enemy.

The resounding cry from underperforming representatives is that their boss is taking time away from their selling. But is this really true?

Yes, your sales manager provides you with a quota and requires reporting to monitor it. And yes, they mandate you attend various meetings. You might even be stuck going to a weekly one-on-one. The horror!

But do some sales professionals believe their manager is creating unnecessary meetings, activities and paperwork all to prevent them from hitting their quota? In a word, yes!

In my years of experience, the blame can be placed on both parties when this situation occurs. Let's start with the stupid sales managers, who are no longer doing their job.

Stupid Sales Managers

It is too often the case that sales managers get comfortable behind their desk job, and they no longer remember how to sell. But the sales manager must be the most talented sales individual on the team. If not, they may lose respect in their position.

If the sales manager cannot sell, they are unable to instruct. And if they are unable to coach on how to produce at a high level, they are not the right leader to take your sales skills to the next level. As a result, the team will lose faith in their boss. A large sales call is no longer an opportunity to bring your manager, but a situation where you don't want this figurehead along to mess things up.

My best advice to sales managers is to continually sharpen your sales skills. This should be part of your weekly time allocation. Realize the importance of your selling abilities and concentrate on fine tuning them on a regular basis. You need to be on a schedule of attending sales appointments with your representatives in the field. It's the only way for you to have a pulse on best practices.

On your own time, learn and grow so that you may properly instruct. Whether you are looking to coach your team in a meeting or a one-on-one, you will never have the buy-in of your team if you aren't educating. This means you must bring something new to the table.

While you can utilize top representatives to share best practices, this is not their job. Therefore, properly adjust your schedule to read industry articles, learn the complexities of your product and prepare tactics of education to help your team sell more. This is, after all, the reason your role exists. Your job is to help your reps get sales and make more money!

Stupid Sales Reps

While it's easy to place the blame on a tenured sales manager who is no longer at the peak of their game, an under performing rep is still not meeting quota. Regardless of the person above you, you have a sales position and there is no excuse for not hitting your number.

While an elite sales manager can help you do more, performance is not optional in your position. Instead of placing the blame on someone else, take your game to the next level and dedicate the necessary time it takes to meet your objective.

In the meantime, everyone including yourself needs feedback. So, if you aren't getting what you want from your manger, don't expect them to know what you need. Instead of doubting their sales skills, you should put to question their ability to read minds.

Employ your own tactics to create beneficial team meetings and one-on-ones with a rather elementary method. Ask! Ask your sales manager for exactly what you need. And give them the opportunity to provide you with results.

A child knows this is the best method for their birthday, and it's the top way for you to get what you need. Whether it is coaching, ride time or technical knowledge on a product, you aren't going to get what you need unless you ask.

If your own sales manager refuses to provide you with support from your reasonable requests, go to your regional manager or employ an already successful mentor. Shifting the blame of your underperformance to anyone other than yourself is, in fact, stupid. You always have the ability to create your own change. Success starts with you!

Regardless of whether you are a sales professional or manager, don't be stupid! Prepare, educate and advance your career today. And if you want a step-by-step guide for either position, please click on the link below. Both of the books in this series provide exercises and guidance to advance your career. Start selling and managing smarter. Stupid is better left for entertaining characters in the movies!