This week’s sales management trait sports a word that I don’t particularly enjoy – “monitoring.” That isn’t a great description of this trait since it is far broader than that term. Nonetheless, in today’s world of remote salespeople, this trait will be in even greater demand in the near future.
Monitoring Others
This ability focuses on the actions and decisions of others in a practical, pragmatic way to identify both successes and mistakes. It is the ability to identify the causes of success and failure and to do so in an objective, accurate manner while not allowing personal feelings or biases to influence such decisions.
A sales manager with strength in this capacity will be able to accurately and effectively evaluate the performance of another. This objective evaluation is crucial in accurately leading, developing, and managing the salesperson being monitored.
A weakness in this area can indicate that the person does not place enough importance on systems and order. Therefore, they tend to discount the need to make systematic measurements in order to improve performance. They may allow too much subjectivity into their assessment and will instead tend to see what they €œthink€ the person is capable of as opposed to seeing how they are actually doing.