Over the years I've had an opportunity to work for, and now coach, many sales managers. Most of them were great sales people that were promoted to sales managers based on their sales success, not because they would be good leaders. As you might already suspect, many were not successful leaders in spite of their desire to be one. In this article I will address the biggest reason for lack of success and how to overcome it.
What is the most common problem you address in developing sales leaders?
The most common problem is the difficulty transitioning from a doer to a leader and coach. When you become a sales leader your job changes from getting results yourself to getting results from other people. This requires a different set of skills than those that made them successful sales people.
Why is it so difficult to make the transition?
- Successful sales people are competitors who like to win. They want to be number one and to have the recognition that goes with winning. As a leader it's about other people winning.
- Successful sales people operate mainly on instinct and habit. They have a difficult time breaking their process into steps that can be used to coach others.
- Successful sales people have limited patience for people who are learning. They want to take over the situation rather than letting others learn from the process.
- Successful sales people enter their new job with little or no training on how to be a successful leader and coach.
How do you help sales people make the transition?
- Training - Teach sales people the skills of successful leadership and coaching. They are unique and it is unreasonable and expensive to have your leaders learn by trial and error.
- Coaching - Training is not enough because it has a low retention rate unless it is put into practice immediately. It is important to coach the new sales leader until they have demonstrated success. Make sure the person you use for a coach knows how to be a good leader themselves and knows how to coach. The sales profession has been notorious for bad leaders reproducing bad leaders.
- Criteria for Measuring Success - You must have a way to measure the growth of sales people other than revenue. There are many things that impact sales numbers that are outside of the sales people's control. How do you know if you are developing a great sales person? You have to break down the skills, habits, and behaviors of great sales people into measurable components that can be observed and corrected. Otherwise, your measurement and coaching are subjectively based on the sales leaders' own experience - good or bad.
Learning how to develop people into great sales people is the most critical skill for sales leaders. If they can't make the transition, they may as well go back to being great sales people. You will have a better return on your investment.
These ideas are to assist you in evaluating your sales leadership. If you want more information or help developing your sales leadership, contact: jimsearls@commonsensesales.com
Web site: www.commonsensesales.com