The New Sales Manager's Survival Guide......sort of

So congratulations you are now a sales manager/director of sales/VP of sales/insert really important sounding title here. You have inherited a sales team (or need to build one - fast). So what do you do and where do you start?

As in sales, sales management is all about performance. In fact, in many instances, the sales manager is under the mircoscope more so than any individual sales person. Take the Miami Dolphins this past NFL season. It was not any of the players that were released from their contracts for non-performance - it was the coach.

How effective you are as a coach is going to be absolutely critical to your success. I am not going to discuss having to deal with those that were peers who are now subordinates in this post (maybe some other time). I will discuss a few key principles you will need to adopt to drive personal performance and help you achieve success. This is by no means a complete list but should give you a start.

First, you must develop a written plan for your induction into your new role (or new company). Call it a 30/60/90 day plan - it doesn't matter. But you should keep a few things in mind:
1. Be time sensitive but also realistic - set specific ojectives with timelines and outcomes
2. Remember the people you will need to meet - your sales team, other managers, support staff and - oh yes - CUSTOMERS. So often neglected as many managers become myopic with the day-to-day management of the team.
3. Research the company: its products/services, processes, competitors, systems, etc.
4. If a larger company - seek out other sales teams considered to be "Best Practice", set out to meet with your peers in these groups - understand what has made them successful, key actions they would take if they were just starting - and just build a relationship - you will need them in the future and they will invariably need you at some point.
UPDATE THIS DOCUMENT - REVIEW IT REGULARLY AND ADJUST IT AS APPROPRIATE

Next, think about your objectives for the team. What are the targets (margin, revenue, new client growth, product introduction)? How will you achieve these with the team?

You will need to evaluate your team. The most effective way to do this is to see them in action. Get out into the field, role play, do whatever it takes to understand the BEHAVIORS of the team members. It is not enough to have one-on-one meetings. One-on-ones should be reserved for planning and review. All the rest should be in the field. This will provide you a lens on performance and an understanding of their areas of strength and development. See the post below for details on field work.

Manage Up - ensure you understand the expectations of those to whom you report! This is frequently either disregarded, forgotten or otherwise overlooked. Set time aside with your manager - early on - to have a discussion on specific objectives, actions and expectations. Confirm that these are the expectations and agree on next steps and follow-up. Check in frequently and set up a method for tracking YOUR performance against these criteria.

Start there - this is a lot to take in. At times you will feel overwhelmed, you will doubt yourself and have moments of frustration.

WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT!

Until next time.

Cheers,

Steve