What Is A Sales Manager’s Real Job?

· by Nat Banks

Nat is HTI's VP of Corporate and Legislative Affairs. He started his career with HTI in 2005.
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Are you a Sales Manager or do you have one that works for your organization? If the answer to either question is yes, then let’s ask the next and most important question: What is a Sales Manager’s primary responsibility?

I have interviewed hundreds in business development management over the last twenty years and asked what their primary responsibility is, and about 80% of the answers are similar and wrong. Your job is NOT to monitor your sales team results, discipline the poor performers, or hold (unreasonable) metrics and goals over their head.

Your job is simple. Make sure your Sales Representatives are successful, because, if they fail, YOU have failed.

Ask yourself these three questions:

  1. Do I understand the unique STRENGTHS (not weaknesses) of each of my sales reps, and am I putting them in a position to use these strengths to be successful?

If you have your best cold caller in a mature market, and your best relationship builder or closer in a new market, then they are less likely to be successful and YOU have failed. Don’t be afraid to mix and match territories or product lines, or to allow reps to work together when it makes sense. The only thing that matters is closing good business; it doesn’t matter who does what in the process.

 

  1. Am I personally assisting each rep in their weaker areas to help them gain confidence and make sales?

Your job as the Sales Manager is to help them be successful. Rather than consistently berating someone for not setting enough appointments, instead plan a three day phone session together where you make calls with them. Help them by teaching them your methods and tricks of the trade; have a contest, high five, build teamwork, do your job. The following week for a different rep, they may need you to step in and make a big presentation for them. Ask where you can help, and help them be successful.

 

  1. Am I still engaging in the sales process and personally making sales?

Far too many Sales Managers are so disengaged from the field that they don’t really understand an ever-changing market. When this happens, you lose touch with the challenge at hand, and you lose your expertise in the selling process. I have held sales training workshops where the Sales Managers actually call in sick rather than go through the stress of a role play session in front of the group. There is this fear that the false mantra of being some sort of superstar might disappear. No one expects you to be a superstar; they expect you to show sales leadership, build a culture of teamwork, and convey that you are dedicated to their success. Make sure you are still consistently on the front line, even if the sales go to your reps. This will motivate the team and allow you to understand the marketplace for each rep.

There are certainly other functions of the Sales Manager job description that are important. Metrics, call sheets or CRM data, pipeline reports, etc., are all vital to a successful business development program. However, these tools and processes should primarily be used to help a Sales Manager understand how they can ensure success for the reps, not as a disciplinary tool.

Remember…if a rep is failing, you are failing.