- http://careers.theguardian.com/how-to-be-successful-sales-manager
How to be a successful sales manager
Being a good sales manager isn't just about being able to sell – you also need great business and leadership skills
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Good sales managers help their team to move upstream. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA
Sales managers have to assume a multitude of roles. They have to make sure their team hits the weekly figures, quarterly targets and yearly goals. They're responsible for coaching and motivating their team, to make sure they have the right skills to develop, and they need to know how to develop and execute a successful sales strategy.
But being a good sales manager isn't just about being able to sell well: it requires great business sense, tactical planning and excellent leadership skills. When a sales manager achieves this balancing act then the rewards can be rich – better commission, personal development for the team, happier customers and excellent long-term benefits for the company. A great sales manager also needs to have a long-term plan and chooses tasks wisely. They consider ways to maximise sales now and in the future to get the best results for the business through their team.
There are three key areas to concentrate on to become a successful sales manager:
Help the team to focus upstream
You need to teach your team to think "upstream". This is about understanding the customer's strategy and decision-making process when purchasing products. It's about getting closer to the customer's business so the team can demonstrate value beyond pricing and separate themselves from the competition.
Check that your team has a sound understanding of the client's market, including the risks and challenges they face, so they can offer solutions that even the customer may not realise they need. This insight will change the way clients perceive you and your team – more as trusted advisers and business managers who they can turn to for advice, which will reduce any threat from the competition.
Each team member should be responsible for building relationships with their own accounts. But it's your job to know the individual characters within your team – their strengths and weaknesses. Use this knowledge to mobilise them effectively to manage specific customers with your guidance and support.
Coach and motivator
The best sales managers make time to develop their team: it's through the team that results are delivered. Take time to learn more about people through informal one-to-one conversations. Recognise the limits of individual's abilities and how much coaching each one needs. Provide feedback, offer help and respond positively to all ideas. Congratulate success in front of others and respect the pressure and constraints they're under. Don't take control all the time: encourage others to lead meetings and come up with solutions.
Plan and deliver
The biggest failure of most sales managers is not being able to develop a sales strategy. It's the most important skill of all. A first-rate manager can produce a plan that sets out clear actions and goals which connect to the business's targets and the customer's needs. Then they make it happen by mobilising the right individual to the right task.
Holding regular meetings can help to check that the strategy is on track but make sure these aren't perceived as a waste of time. Use them as valuable opportunities to raise issues and concerns – and provide quick coaching and learning sessions.
A lot of managers shy away from training clinics because they're afraid of their team's response. But conducted well, they can create a great climate for continuous learning and development, reinforce key skills that help clinch deals and ensure that all goals are being met.
But don't just look at how things are working within your team – consider any of the other processes within the business that may have an impact on your customers, such as the accounts department. The best managers work proactively and cross-functionally to improve systems and internal relationships that are essential in meeting the needs of the customer. Plan, develop and take a wider business perspective and you'll have a first-class sales team that hits those tough targets every time.
Graham Scrivener is managing director of Forum EMEA.
