What’s a professional sales manager?

by Dave Kahle

I was in the depths of a major depression. As a third-year salesperson with a good company, I was doing well, and was on my way to becoming the top salesperson in the nation for that company.

But business had slowed down a little, and I didn't have my usual number of proposals out for consideration. I wasn't as busy as usual. As my activity slowed, I began to worry. My doubts increased to the point where I had thought myself into a real depression, stuck on one question: "What's the use of trying?"

The more negative my thoughts became, the less energy I had. My lack of energy led to fewer and fewer sales calls, which of course, led to less activity. And that led to more depressing thoughts. I was caught in a powerful downward spiral.

It was then that I caught a glimpse of what a professional sales manager is like.

Ned was my boss -- a sales manager of the highest caliber. He could see the symptoms of my sour state spilling over into everything I was doing. So Ned intervened. He arranged to have lunch with me, and listened patiently as I rambled on and on about my problems, my doubts and my lack of activity. Finally, after I had dumped all my depression and negative thoughts on him, he looked me straight in the eye and said, with all the authority and resolve of someone who is absolutely sure of what they are saying, "Kahle, that's enough."

I was stunned. I was expecting empathy, an understanding shoulder to cry on. Instead, I got a simple, straightforward mandate. Ned knew me well enough to cut through all the fluff and come right to the heart of the matter. He said, "That's enough. That's enough feeling sorry for yourself. That's enough thinking all these negative thoughts. That's enough sitting back and not working as hard as you're used to. Stop it. You're better than all this. Stop it right now, today, and get your ..... back to work."

He saw my situation clearly. And he provided me the direction I needed. That conversation turned me around. I left my depression and negativity at that lunch table, and started back into my job with a renewed sense of the possible. A year later I was the No. 1 salesperson in the nation for that company.

What made the difference in my performance was the skillful intervention of an astute and professional sales manager. He made the difference in my job performance, and that made a difference in my standing with that company. And that made a difference in my career. And that led me to my current practice.

It's entirely possible that I would not be doing what I do now, speaking and consulting with sales forces around the world, if it weren't for his timely intervention.

All of us have become what we are, at least in part, due to the impact other people have had on us. A professional sales manager is gifted with a rare and precious opportunity -- the opportunity to play a pivotal role in the lives of his/her charges.

During my 30-plus years of sales experience and 16 years of experience as a sales consultant and sales trainer, I've encountered many sales managers. Some of have been good; many were mediocre. Ned was the best sales manager I ever met. He serves as a model for me. We can learn a number of lessons from him.

First, Ned knew the difference between the job of a salesperson and that of a sales manager. He had been a great salesperson, like many sales managers around the world, and had been promoted to sales manager.

Yet he knew the jobs of sales manager and salesperson are completely different. A salesperson is responsible for building accounts and making sales. A sales manager, while ultimately responsible for the same results, understands that his/her job is to achieve those means through other people. A sales manager builds people, who in turn build the business. Salespeople focus on selling; sales managers focus on building salespeople.

As a salesperson, I could comfortably take Ned into any account, secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't try to take over the presentation or usurp my relationship with the customer. I knew Ned was more concerned with me than he was about any one sale.

Ned knew a salesperson is essentially a loaner, an individual who does most of his/her most important work by themselves. A sales manager is a coach, whose only success derives from the success of his team.

Ultimately, a sales manager is measured by the results achieved by his people. Sales, gross profits, market share, key product selling, all these typical measurements of sales performance are also one of the rulers by which a sales manager is measured.

An excellent sales manager, like a great coach, is ultimately measured by his numbers. It doesn't matter how empathetic he is, nor how his players respect or like him, if year after year he produces a losing team. So it is with a sales manager. Ultimately, an excellent sales manager produces excellent numbers for his company.

In the five years I worked for Ned, my territory grew by $1 million a year, and the branch for which he was responsible grew from about $6 million to about $30 million.

Ned was excellent at one of the key competencies of the professional sales manager: He had an eye for talent. He knew how to hire good people. Over the years, I watched him take his time, allowing a sales territory to go vacant for months, if necessary, while he waited for the right person to bubble up through his pipeline. Only one of his hires didn't work out; this gave him an incredible winning percentage.

A professional sales manager understands the importance of making the right hire, is always recruiting in order to keep the pipeline of prospective salespeople full, and spares no expense to make sure the person he hires meets all the necessary criteria. When I was hired, I went through four interviews, and a full 10-hour day of tests with an industrial psychologist.

With all the time he took to make sure he was hiring the right person, Ned confided in me one day that, "It is more important to fire well then it is to hire well." He went on to explain that hiring salespeople is an extremely difficult task, and even the best sales managers fail at it frequently. Therefore, it was important to recognize your mistake quickly and act decisively to fix it.

A professional sales manager understands when it is clear a salesperson is not right for the job, he acts quickly, kindly and decisively to terminate the individual, allowing the individual and the company an opportunity to find a better match.

Acting quickly to terminate a salesperson who isn't working out is good business and good ethics. To allow a mediocre situation to fester to the detriment of the company, the salesperson, and the customers is to persist in a dishonesty.

Understanding that he works only through his salespeople, and that he has the opportunity to make a great impact on his people, a professional sales manager makes it his business to know his people. Ned spent days with me in the field, talking not only about business, but also working at understanding the person I was as well. He'd arrange to meet me for breakfast or lunch regularly, even if he weren't spending the day with me. He wanted to get to know my wife as well, and paid close attention to her opinions. Several times over the five years we went to dinner as a foursome.

I could never stop in the office without being expected to sit in his office and talk about things. And, of course, there was the annual pig roast at his house, where all his salespeople and their families were invited to spend a fun day while the pig roasted over the spit. I was always a person to Ned, never just a salesperson.

Because he took the time to get to know me, he was equipped with the knowledge of exactly how to best manage me. He always saw the potential in me, and was ready to correct me when necessary.

In the first year of my employment, I was earning the reputation among the inside customer support and purchasing people of being difficult and demanding. I was a hot-shot superstar who didn't take their feelings into consideration, and came into the office and dumped work on them.

Ned let me know that my ways needed to change. At first, I didn't pay much attention. My numbers were too good for anybody to be concerned. So Ned let me know a second time that I was going to have to change. The situation was so acute, that the operations manager was lobbying to get me fired. Guided by his firm hand, I swallowed my pride, adopted a more humble attitude, and bought all the customer service reps a six pack of premium beer as a gift. My stock inside the company sprang up dramatically with my ways corrected and my future assured.

A professional sales manager guides and corrects his charges in order to help them achieve their potential.

Ned never stopped learning. He would often tell me about seminars he'd attended, books he'd read or ideas he'd picked up by talking with other people.

A real professional never stops learning. He understands that the world is changing rapidly, continually demanding new skills, new ideas and new competencies from him. At the same time, his salespeople and their customers are changing also. So, he understands that he has a challenge to continuously grow and improve, to learn more and become better at his job. Sales management isn't just a job, it's a challenge of a lifetime of improvement.

One more observation. Understanding that a professional sales manager is only successful when his charges are successful, an excellent sales manager supports, encourages and gives his salespeople the credit.

Want to excel as a sales manger? Want to be a true professional? Look at your job as a unique opportunity to impact others, select, correct, support and encourage your salespeople, achieve your company's objectives by becoming a positive force in their lives.

It's not a job; it's a mission. Perhaps, one day, fifteen years from now, someone will write about you.

Dave Kahle helps his clients increase their sales and improve their sales productivity. You can join Dave’s FREE “Thinking About Sales Electronic Newsletter” online at: www.davekahle.com or e-mail .

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