| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
How To Become A Better Sales Manager
YIPPEE! Kendra won, or should I say, "She was hired," by the "Donald." It was no surprise to me. It was all about people and management skills. You either have them or you don't! Kendra had them and Tana, sad to say, didn't. The shenanigans you watched during the "Apprentice" show are perfect examples of what not to do if you want to become an effective and respected sales manager. Enough about that . . . Today, being a sales manager, is a tough job - and it can also be extremely rewarding. Here's what I find bizarre. There are too many undertrained sales managers trying to coach and develop their undertrained salespeople. It's not a pretty picture. What do you think happens when that happens? Right - nothing much happens. Last week I went to Chicago to conduct a one half-day sales training program. After completing the program in Chicago I was off to Las Vegas to do a two-day sales training program. I'm sitting in an aisle seat (9D) on American Airlines flight #1417. Once I settled in I exchanged hellos with the guy sitting next to me. I asked, "What kind of work do you do?" He says, "I'm a sales manager" and proceeds to tell me about his company, his responsibilities, and some of his problems. After a while he asks me, "What about you - what kind of work do you do?" I gave him my prepared elevator speech, "I coach and train salespeople and sales managers on how to increase sales, earn more money, have more fun, and how to do it all in less time." He says, "You coach sales managers, man could I ever use a coach!" I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "One day I'm a very successful sales representative and the next day I'm a sales manager." He continues and says "Hey, I wanted this job - it was a dream come true for me." Along with the promotion I got the standard "Hit the road Jack kind of attitude from my company." "It wasn't mean-spirited, just a go figure-it-out for yourself kind of an attitude." I asked him one of my favorite questions - a question that uncovers specific problems. I said, "Keith, as a sales manager, what are some of the biggest challenges you're dealing with now?" He said, "You got an hour to hear them all?" I took some notes while he was talking and here's a list of what he said he needed help with: Recruiting Interviewing Planning Time management Coaching Motivation Planning a dynamite sales meeting Strategic account plans Measuring performance Sitting goals that get results Leadership Self confidence I said, "That's quite a list." He says, "My wife thinks I'm nuts for taking the sales management position." She says, "You're working longer hours, you're always stressed out, and you're always thinking about work." Well, I'm not going to bore you with any more of the details of that conversation - but Keith seems to be the perfect candidate for my just released Sales Management Coaching Program. After I explained the program and all of its benefits to Keith he perked up and said, "Sign me up!" You can use this link to see the complete Sales Management Coaching package - it will take only 118 seconds to read. http://www.meisenheimer.com/sales_coaching/individual.shtml If you're a sales representative please forward this to every sales manager you know, who wants to become the best they can be in their role as sales manager. If you're a sales manager, take a close look in the mirror and ask yourself, "How am I doing as a sales manager?" If you want to achieve superior results as a sales manager you'll have to have superior sales management skills at your fingertips. Years ago, some of the best advice I never took was "You can't succeed alone." It took me a long time to buy into this very simple concept. Today I belong to a Mastermind group that meets every three months. We've been doing this for five years now. During the same five years I have hired three different coaches to help me grow different parts of my business. Personally, I have always found an immediate payback with the coaches I've hired. For me, the results have been truly amazing and incredibly rewarding. Here's the link again to see the complete package. http://www.meisenheimer.com/sales_coaching/individual.shtml Enough about sales management . . . It's time to start thinking about the second-half of 2005. Here are a few practical selling tips: 1. Prepare a list of what worked for you during the first half of 2005. 2. Prepare a list of what didn't work for you during the first half of 2005. 3. Prepare a written list of goals (Make them specific) that you want to achieve during the second half of 2005 - professional and personal. 4. For each written goal prepare a list of strategies that describes in considerable detail how you are planning to achieve each goal. 5. Identify the one thing that's holding you back from achieving phenomenal success. Be honest with yourself! Then, immerse yourself in a self-development program to convert this weakness into a personal strength. This is not an exercise in futility. Actually, it's an exercise designed to help you achieve the personal growth and development you need to take your business to the next level. If dealing with time management is an issue for you, my Audio Book "57 Ways To Take Control Of Your Time And Your Life" includes 57 creative ideas on how you can, once again, take control of your time and more importantly your life. Use this link for more information about the audio book and to see the extra stuff I'm including: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=143021 Now go out and outsell and outsmart your competition . . . Jim Meisenheimer is the No-Brainer Sales Training Guru. His sales techniques and selling skills focus on practical ideas that get immediate results. You can discover all his secrets by contacting him at (800) 266-1268 or e-mail: jim@meisenheimer.com Use this link to sign-up for Jim's FREE No-Brainer Selling Tips Newsletter and to get your copy of my Special Report titled, "The 12 Dumbest Things Salespeople Do." http://www.meisenheimer.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Ten Awesome Ways To Incease Your Sales In Holidays Everybody thinks that the businesses will slow down a bit in holiday seasons. Ofcourse everybody thinks that people don't want to start new ventures in holidays too. Baditude! As a group of sales trainees took a break from our workshop on selling, the distress they were feeling, was clearly manifest in their intense discussions. It was obvious from their unrestrained conversations that the software being installed to track their sales performance was the reason for their anxiety. Overcoming Sales Objections for Small Business Networks Do you need help overcoming sales objections? Do you sell computer networks, or other IT-related products and services to small businesses? This article provides tips and hints so you can be overcoming the most common sales objections heard when selling networks to small business prospects, customers, and clients.The problem generally begins when you start talking about a network upgrade. Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence "(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to practical application. Instead he sought a perfection that assured failure. Management by Osmosis Sales managers are an interesting breed, effective sales managers are a rare breed. Managing a sales team is entirely different than managing other groups; their role requires them to have not only above average management skills, but also above average ability to manage the overall sales process. The Sales Carpenter I remember moving my family to Argentina as Vice President of Sales for Latin America. I was in charge of managing five regional offices, Argentina of course being one of them. 100% Commission Equals Zero Percent Control The temptation to use straight (100%) commission plans never goes away: "Let's put our salespeople on 100 percent commission. Then, if they don't perform, we're not out any money. Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities. Keeping Your Sales Team Motivated Sales managers frequently approach me for advice on how to keep salespeople motivated, especially when sales reps get into a rut - and seem to keep slipping deeper into it. Telling managers what not to do usually solves the problem. Sales & Marketing Plan Strategies Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign must be carefully thought through from the beginning. What message do you want to send about your company, products, and services? What are the anticipated results? What is the execution strategy? What is the cost ratio versus expected return?These are just a few of the questions that run through our minds in the early stages of planning. Investing in Your Sales Team While there's no easy answer to this question, there are a few basic points, known as the Training Discrepancy Model, which illustrate key areas that must be targeted for your company's training investment to be 100% effective.First, think of a triangle. How To Build A Worldwide Distributor Network When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network. Finding A Sales Force That Pays For Itself The elements involved in building a sales force, especially one that pays for itself and also adds value to any business, are many and varied. The whole purpose and direction of a sales manager needs to be directed to creating a sales force that causes the employing company to expand through increasing sales. 4 Tips for the Summer Slowdown - How To Pick Up Sales You may have heard about the "summer slowdown". You may be experiencing it right now, or you may not be affected. Increasing Sales by Using Coupons - Will it Help Your Business? Increasing Sales by using Coupons. Will it help your business? Well, the Promotional Marketing Association's (PMA) "Coupon Council" shows that 3. Why Performance-Based Recruiting Produces Top Sales Performers Many recruiting ads and job descriptions include "knockout factors" that can actually screen out qualified sales candidates. One example is a requirement that candidates have an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, or a degree in a specialized field of study such as Engineering. Promoting Your Private Label at Industry Trade Shows So everyone thought you were crazy when you announced 6 months ago that you were quitting your "real job" in hopes of chasing starting your own Private Label Clothing Line. Your house is a disaster, blank shirts and line sheets everywhere, your living room has been transformed into a makeshift production lab. SEZ WHO? Tips About Recommendations, Sales Cycles, and Trade Shows Here's the scene. You're at the trade show, having a discrete "Sales Call" conversation with a visitor. How to Keep Projects From Spinning Out Of Control Are you involved in projects that seem to go nowhere in a hurry?Change usually happens in an organization through projects, which can take many forms, and may not always be called projects. The easiest to recognize is the traditional type, with a beginning, middle and end, such as the launch of a new product or the implementation of a system. Pointless Targets I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months.
|
