Can we as sales managers take credit for our salespeople’s success? How about their failures? Gather a group of sales managers and the conversation inevitably turns to their people; their A performers, B performers, and C performers. Which group do you think demands most of their conversation? Typically the answer is the lowest performers. ‘C’ performers use more resources, occupy more worry time in the mind of a sales manager, and may even be considered a personal failure by the manager.
When hiring, even the most sophisticated hiring process in the world, gauging the possible success of a salesperson is an inexact science. Lowering the risk factors by using good assessment tools and interview skills is critical. Success in the past is indicative of success in the future, but there are always a few unknowns that can affect that.
Things like problems in their personal life can affect their effectiveness, and that’s something we can’t foresee. We do the best job we can, involving all the technology and expertise available and we try to get an 80% match at best. The rest has to be cultivated and grown.
The job of the sales manager is to help their people be successful. Coaching, mentoring, training and supervising are all part of the management role, and on-boarding is a time demanding process. The job is made easier, and the outcomes made better, by the willingness, openness and eagerness of the salesperson to ‘get it’, how hard they are willing to work, and how able they are to adapt and change. The responsibility lies on both shoulders – the manager to provide the resources, and build the skills of the salesperson and the salesperson to implement.
When hiring, even the most sophisticated hiring process in the world, gauging the possible success of a salesperson is an inexact science.
Continued support can be provided by the sales manager through setting expectations, long-term learning and through accountability. This is achieved through pre-call planning and debriefing calls, teachable moments, goal setting and creating a culture that develops business people in sales. However sometimes, ‘you can lead a horse to water …’. If the sales manager is providing the support, the work, and responsibility, then it must be the salesperson. If they side-step responsibility, don’t show initiative, refuse to comply to the accountability and key performance indicators, there is little the manager can do but institute corrective measures for the company.
So, is a salesperson’s failure, a failure of sales management? It comes back to the IF. Success in sales is a team effort. There are responsibilities for both the salesperson and the sales manager. IF there are too many failures the breadcrumbs may lead back to the sales manager.
Copyright 2014 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.
John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com, toll free at 1-866-645-2047 or visit www.glennon.sandler.com
