Do You Have the Right Managers In Place?
Doyle Slayton | May 20, 2009 | Comments 9
Reader Q & A:
Sales is a field where you often see people move up the ladder very quickly. I think the primary reasons are as follows…
1. Top performers draw a lot of attention. When they are leading the team in performance, it is very easy for the “team leader” to make the case for having what it takes to lead the team in general.
2. Turnover creates opportunity for advancement. Most sales teams are riddled with high turnover. Exceeding goals and staying put will often open the door for a promotion.
3. Sales people are very convincing.
Creating winning teams begins with the manager. Let’s look at this from two perspectives…
Executives: What steps do you take to put the right manager in place?
Management Candidates: How do you position yourself to be ready when it is your time to lead?
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Filed Under: Blog • Leadership • Reader Questions • Sales
People leave managers more than companies is a proven phenomena.
A couple of points on this topic…
1. I am in the process of helping a client recruit for the TOP sales manager for their company. In the interviews I am surprised at how many candidates really don’t “get” or demonstrate leadership qualities. Management is the ultimate sales job – and many of the same skills/thoughts that work in sales are necessary. Focus on what’s important to the sales team, find out what will motivate them to action, LISTEN, set clear expectations, keep in touch, etc.
2. How to hire the right person? First identify what behaviors are necessary for success in the role. This isn’t about experience – it is about their thought and action patterns. It’s what they have done in problem solving, developing themself, their attitudes toward other people, ability to vision out what would make things better. Then use appropriate assessments to drive a more comprehensive interview process. Next use interview questions that get facts and specifics, not hypothesis or philosophy. Leadership qualities are evident no matter what job someone is in, if you look for behaviors versus experience.
Management roles are tough – getting results through others and meeting company objectives is a huge responsibility!
You also need someone with passion. Someone that’s passionate about the product or service the team is responsible for delivering. If you put someone in place behind your team that has that quality the team itself harnesses that vibe and it shows in the deliverable.
I’ll make this short. Hire the right manager, pre-assess them using the Objective Management Sales Manager, train them, hold them acountable and make sure that you have a recruiting suystem in place and the manger is willing to replace non-performers.
Apologies for self promoting, however their is nothing like this on the market today and if you want the right manager then hire the right way.
I agree with Ed. You need to pre-assess them. We use the Predictive Index with our clients here in Florida and have wonderful results. You can see some of the case studies at predictiveresults.com.
Sales Managers need to know the process of hiring, training, and most important…leading. Tom Landry was a great coach because his team wanted to win for HIM. That syle of leadership cannot be taught,but it can be followed. When your salespeople love you, and want you to win,
YOU WILL.
Everyone is a salesman in one capacity or another. But sales is also a profession founded in both art and science. A good Sales Manager MUST have experience. It is expected of him/her by the sales subordinates, colleagues, company heads and most importantly, by the customers. That is why they are the Manager. Behavior is important. But proper behavior is garnered through experience. Passion is necessary and it is transcended throughout the team. In order to hire the right Sales Manager, it is necessary to have the right person making the hiring decision. All to often, these decisions are made by individuals who should not be in that position for the good of everyone. They do not see what is in front of them and do not hear what they have been told. They hire on assumption or worse, they hire for their personal benefit. In the short run, this becomes apparent. The hiring manager has two options. One, keep the person and cover for them which hurts everyone in the long run (and then you have two bad managers) or two, the hiring manager becomes the firing manager and the process starts again – with the same hiring manager making the final decision.
What’s the solution? Pre-hire assessment tests – maybe, especially if it is proven to work. Definitive set of requirements – definitely. Un-checked hiring manager making the decision – definitely not.
The bottom line is if a company expects to succeed, hiring the right sales people/managers/executives is probably one of the most critical elements involved in the company’s operations decisions. Make it a good one the first time.
The problem either originates from or is compounded by promoting salespeople to sales managers.
Salespeople come from having to get the job done to having to get others to get the job done, and these two functions are mutually exclusive.
Once in a great while, someone with managerial skills comes up through the sales ranks and shines, but my guess is that this is significantly less than 10% of the time.
Motivating others is not the same as giving yourself the once over in the bathroom mirror every morning.
For my clients, I recommend searching OUTside the sales organization for a manager who is –first and foremost– management savvy and proven.
I urge seeking someone who has done some selling (ANY kind!) along the way and who understands how critical the sales role is, and who appreciates the struggles and sacrifices connected with being a sales professional.
In the end, an individual whose expertise is more closely aligned with people management and marketing development(i.e., sales SUPPORT functions)is going to perform more effectively.
The same dynamics (getting others to get things done instead of doing them)apply to business owners and operators. I addressed this in my blog post last night at http://halalpiar.com in case your sales interests are tied to owning and managing your own business.
Another good topic well-presented, Doyle. Thank you.
An all-time pertinent subject.
My two cents –
In most organisations ” external sales function” is accorded the major reason for business success. An inventory guy or an accounts guy or an HR guy who manage / sustain the “organisation quality advantage” are seen as a “necessary support-evil”. In the rush of life we forget that all these roles are also very much ‘internal selling roles” to peers, partners and to outside regulatory bodies…. and sometimes this selling is a lot more difficult than “customer revenue selling”.
Business Management is much more than sales – requiring a “perspective” and “skills-set” including the crucial selling skills and very much more. The hiring / selection needs to be comprehensive enough for being sensitive to this.
Unfortunately, in the scheme of socio-environment, a General Manager or a CXO role is seen as more definitive success than a “Global Account Manager” or “Global Supply Manager” etc. This makes people to force themselves into sales management or sales leadership roles eventhough both, they themselves and their selector/s, know where they will be more “successful”, for themselves and for the organisation. In todays “quarterly-life”, a longer term view of things is required.
Gopal
Given the value of the management role, companies should invest in a formal management development program. There is no substitute for experience. It is the best means to assess management potential. This also gives employees the chance to lead and learn through experience. It’s not just about the hiring process and assessment; it is about training and developing employees before they are take on the role.
As it relates to knowledge, part of the impediment is the lack of understanding about what the job entails. Many first time managers do not fully grasp the change in mindset, responsibility and commitment. Help them understand the role through formal and informal means. The lack of understanding affects job performance and job satisfaction.
I recently wrote a two-part series titled “So You Think You Want To Be A Manager” which addresses, with a bit of humor, what employees need to know about management. The front line manager role is important and it requires an investment on the part of the company and the candidates well in advance of moving into management.
http://tinyurl.com/r8mkhz (Part 1)
http://tinyurl.com/pyrg8r (Part 2)