I’ve read in many articles, blog posts and white papers that people take a job because of the company and quit because of a manager. I have talked to many salespeople about why they are looking for a new opportunity and the vast majority do come down to their manager. But there is an specific reason that we have been encountering of late when it comes to salespeople.
Companies desire to seek out and hire strong salespeople and expect that these new salespeople will be strong for them without extensive direction or guidance from them. This lack of involvement is a pet peeve of mine. Do the salespeople want to be hand held? No, but they do expect the needed level of training, direction and guidance.
A recent study in ManageSmarter highlights this plight. A telecommunications company used a survey to discover their sales team had poor morale. The survey found that the salespeople felt their supervisors “cared about their success,” but felt they were not getting adequate coaching from their managers. The company also found because of insufficient coaching the team was low in motivation, productivity, and ultimately paid the price through high turnover.
The VP of Sales recognized his managers had never been trained in the importance of—and how to create—a coaching culture. In response, he brought in an outside consultant to help establish a training program for his sales managers. Maybe you aren’t to the level of this company, but a question to ask yourself is where are we in regards to coaching our salespeople?
This exact concern is why we have developed our On-Ramping program. Too many times we see strong salespeople left to figure things out for themselves. It doesn’t matter how strong these new salespeople are – you know your market, value and company far better than they do. Share with them your expertise, direct them after the prospects you want them to pursue and make sure you help them to understand your unique value in the market place.