Carl Henry’s Success Tips Newsletter Readers
November 2010 Issue #11 Volume 10
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Making the Jump: How to Move From Being a Top Producer to a Great Sales Manager
The transition from great sales person to great sales manager isn’t always as easy as people think it’s going to be. In this article, I’m going to share 7 tips on how to make the move from top producer to superstar sales manager a lot smoother…
Eventually, nearly every good salesperson thinks about making the jump into management. And why not? After years, and often decades, of finding new business, it’s only natural to think about moving into the corner office and letting other people worry about meeting their quotas for a change.
For some, the switch to becoming a supervisor comes easily. They manage, recruit, and train salespeople with the same kind of success they had as front line producers. For most, however, there is a bit of a learning curve. They find that, in some ways, it’s even harder dealing with a sales staff than it was having a database full of customers.
Sales management can be a rewarding career path – both personally and financially – but only if you approach it the right way. Here are seven tips for making the move from top producer to superstar sales manager:
1 Don’t hide in the office: As tempting as it can be to sit back and let your sales staff do what they need to while you take it easy, the best sales managers all go into the field regularly. Going along on sales calls is the only way you’re going to find out where your salespeople are strong, where they need improvement, and what kind of feedback customers are really giving about your products and prices.
2 Resist the urge to micromanage: One of the often-overlooked problems sales managers face is giving their team room to grow and improve. You were probably promoted because of your strong selling skills. But if you constantly step in and take over selling situations, your department is going to suffer. Instead, teach what you know to your sales staff, and then give them the space to improve on their own. They might not be able to sell like you did right away, but over time their gains will outweigh their short term losses.
3 Learn about management: Don’t forget about the second half of your job title. It’s not enough to be a strong salesperson – to make an impact on your staff, you have to be an effective leader, too. Your producers are your customers now, so learn how to manage them into a healthy bottom line. Just as it probably took you a long time to learn how to sell efficiently, expect that you’re going to need some practice managing, too.
4 Learn the numbers in your business and industry: If you expect to succeed in your job, much less move up even further on the organizational chart, you’re going to have to learn to look at selling, and your department, like an executive. That means studying the numbers – the margins on what you sell, where the profits and losses are coming from, what your staff’s closing ratios are like, and so on.
5 Invest in your salespeople: Your ultimate goal should be to have a team stocked full of top producers, who can continue to sell at a high level with a minimum amount of guidance and input from you. The only way you’re going to end up in that situation is by continually developing the salespeople you have. Don’t be afraid to spend money on getting them the right training and equipment; consider it an investment on your future profits.
6 Stand up for your sales team: You can probably think of a few times in your own career went upper management expected you to do or sell something that was unrealistic. Go to bat for your sales team and avoid putting them in the same situation. Your producers will respect you for not asking them to do something you couldn’t do yourself, and you’ll avoid having to explain to senior executives why you couldn’t meet its stated goal later.
7 Develop a life away from the office: In the same way that some managers end up taking it easy, others get too wrapped up in the job. As with sales producers, a good manager is one who regularly takes time away from the office to relax and reflect. Now that you’re in charge, don’t forget to enjoy it once a while
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