As leader of a sales team, a sales manager is expected to motivate in order to achieve sales goals, to manage and solve problems fast and objectively, to fairly discipline erring subordinates. Most importantly, sales managers need to inspire teamwork and cooperation while maintaining the interest of every member to perform their best.
Enumerated is the second and last series of some pointers which can help a sales manager to also become an effective leader:
- Encourage salespeople to set their own goal. Salespeople usually set their personal goals higher than what the manager does.
- Have salespeople write down their goals;
- Work with the salespeople to make sure their set goals are realistic and attainable.
- Conduct joint field activities with the salespeople at least once a week.
- This will give the opportunity to see how they are doing with their sales presentations.
- Give feedback whether it being positive or negative. Commend what they are doing right and correct what they are doing wrong.
- Show genuine interest in what they are doing.
- Do the power of role playing. Sales meeting should be for learning and practicing sales techniques. Role playing should involve everyone and promote team spirit as it educates.
- Handle conflicts between two people objectively. Bring them together in the office so that they can both tell their stories in front of each other. As a result, be able to gather a more truthful version of the situation and eliminate back stabbing and rumor mongering.
- Have salespeople listen to sales or motivational tapes in sales meetings. This can help boost their morale particularly when faced with rejection.
The new breed of sales managers see situation in a broader scope than the salespeople does. Authoritative style does not work anymore to today’s salespeople. The salespeople of today respond to a teacher, a team builder, a coach.
Read: Attention: Sales Managers – Part 1
Today, companies both big and small are feeling the brunt of a problematic economy, seeing their original business plans deteriorating as we brace ourselves for the worst economic storm seen in ages. If before we saw businesses trying to outdo one another with their own marquee business strategies, today the need for a new breed of businessmen and entrepreneurs to put their minds together seems to be a prime requirement.
For one, it is not all about coming up with the monetary support due for business. It is still a requirement but no longer the only need for anyone to go into business. Normally, having the right capital outlay would be sufficient, leaving it up to the management of the business to make a difference that includes ideal marketing approaches to spell the difference.
Today, it needs more than that. Marketing would depend heavily on the research made, data gathering and of course tuning into the proper channel relevant to the business concern to click and help flourish business enterprises. Advertising and promotional tactics have taken a nosedive and has been found to be falling short, thus making business management lean towards new approaches to make it be effective.
So for businesses and entrepreneurs, here are some tips that should be considered today:
- Go for a long term goal rather than a short term profit plan
- Put costs to a minimum without sacrificing quality.
- Tweak the business model in a way that will not compromise the stature that you have in mind for the entity.
- Make a daily check of all the business components and be more adept and aware if they are being attended to.
- Hire efficient people and do recruitment screenings by considering their actual qualification and experience.
It will be a nightmarish time for everyone and the best thing to do is try to hang on to that lifesaver for as long as we can. Keep waddling and before you know it, you can proudly say that you survived the worst recession with the business plan or business model you have grown to rely on.
