Sales Tips >> Browse Articles >> Sales Management
The Unprecedented Sales Management Challenge for 2009
Sales managers are facing a set of challenges that they've never experienced before. They think their team is focused on generating sales, but they are completely distracted.
Featured Author:
Lee Salz
Lee B. Salz s a sales management guru who helps companies hire the right sales people, on-board them effectively, and focus their sales activity using his sales architecture® methodology. He is the President of Sales Architects , the C.E.O. of Business Expert Webinars and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager .
Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitecture.com or 763.416.4321.
Business Expert Webinars is the leading provider of business eLearning programs. With content for everyone in the business setting, these live events are designed to help you take your game to the next level without breaking your wallet. Visit
BusinessExpertWebinars.com today
More articles from this author:
Lee B. Salz
1. Communicate, even…over communicate.
Open and honest discussion about the present state of affairs helps to relieve the angst that the team is experiencing. As a manager, you may be in a leadership chain, but the team looks to their direct leader for guidance and support.
2. Hold the team accountable.
While empathetic and understanding, the sales leader needs to remind the team of the task at hand. Direction provided to the team should be clear and team members should be held accountable for performance.
3. Coach them.
Little things can help your team regain their sales edge. Suggest that they not start their day by watching the morning news. Have them read the news online so they have total control over which news to become informed. They control the information saturation point, not the television media. (This is a prudent thing for you to do as well.)
4. Lead by example.
While challenging, put on your game face and show confidence. Keep the conversation on the task at hand, not external influences. Smile! If you walk around showing stress, your sales team will mirror your behavior. They will think something is wrong and sales paralysis enters.
5. Be visible!
When the number of closed door meetings increases, sales people speculate that something is wrong. While a productive meeting may be taking place inside, on the other side of the door, your entire sales team is talking about what you may be discussing in your meeting. In the absence of direct knowledge, your sales team will guess the meeting is about gloom and doom. Limit your closed door meetings. Be visible with your sales team. Join them on sales calls. Meet with clients.
What Other Experts Say
Other industry experts have also weighed in on this issue. If they were talking to a sales manager about how to focus their sales team and drive productivity, they suggest…
“Sales managers must remember the behavior of sales people is driven by the desire to avoid pain or gain pleasure. The more powerful of these two drivers is the desire to gain pleasure. Smart sales managers recognize that achievement and recognition of that achievement are the two most powerful motivators in sales. So instead of cracking the whip, they are whipping up contests, games, spiffs, and awards that keep their sales professionals focused, happy, and engaged.”
- Jeb Blount, CEO of SalesGravy.com and author of “Power Principles”
“Stop being complacent to selling professionals. Selling professionals control their destiny more than any other organizational function. Nothing happens unless something is sold. Selling professionals must speak with customers, requesting referrals and closing business. Watching the news is simply a form of procrastination. They must discover the unspent allocated money from the current budget year and request the business. Products and services are still needed. Tell selling professionals to do what the competition is not – sell something!”
-Drew Stevens, PhD, Business Growth Consultant and Author of “Split Second Selling” and “Ultimate Business Bible”
