Selling Power has a short, but valuable article titled The Two Things You Must Do Well to Succeed as a Sales Manager. I’ll cut right to the chase: 1. Manage the Sales Process 2. Leading the Salespeople That is it. Sounds simple but rarely do we see it in action. Instead, we normally see some variation of this: …managers are compensated primarily on their salespeople’s sales revenue, which leads many managers to jump in and act as “super closers,” taking over the relationships in the most critical accounts – and in the process, often undermining the motivation of their sales reps. Super closers – I like that. Most sales managers… Read More
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We are working through some offers for sales candidates with multiple clients this week and thought it would be helpful to discuss some general points. Salary – we’re big believers in a modest/decent salary. The best plans we see provide a salary to cover the basic needs of the salesperson. If they are worrying about basic bills, they are not as effective. I know there is an old school belief that commission-only plans are the best – purest form of selling, you eat what you kill. The largest drawback to this approach is that sales managers often leave the salesperson to their own devices. Their rationale – the salesperson will… Read More
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