Sales Management Issues
I answered a sales management question today and thought everyone would gain from shaing -
QUESTION:
We have hired young reps with 2 to 4 years sales experience with big ambitions. We hire from outside the industry typically, with no IT background. They want the 100k+ comp structures as a goal. My take is they do not experience as much success as soon as they want/desire (i.e. want $100k now, not in 3 years) and think the grass is greener somewhere else. Honestly I should have probably stayed closer to them also. I travel and am not in the office every day.
I have noticed though they do not end up staying anywhere for more than 2 years after they leave us. My guess is that the W-O-R-K required is the challenging thing. They all complained about working afterhours and weekends for their big deals. Which in my 10+ years in sales is a must to get to the big numbers. Sometimes I think if I am not working afterhours or weekends I do not have enough on my plate.
Maybe it is just the typical sales thing. I am new to sales management. Have always been an individual contributor and one of the top sales people everywhere I have been. The management thing drives me nuts a lot of times. My goal is to grow the team in the next year so I can afford a sales manager in my place. But gotta put up the numbers first before I can do that. Catch 22 perhaps?MY ANSWER:
I think you’re on point with much of what you’ve stated below. Sales Management is a learned skill (just like sales).
- young people and WORK sometimes clash, this is true
- they want $100K now – OK why not… “Here’s what it takes to get there…..”
- inexperienced salespeople will think they are worth more than they are
- don’t want to work evenings/weekends – fine. Only want to work 2 days/week – fine. As long as you’re achieving this minimum level of activity/results, that’s fine (we can’t expect anyone else to work as hard as we do)
- the key to motivating sales people is to find out what they really want and help them/show them how they can get it (hint- its never money, but sometimes is what the money can buy)
- the key to sales management is creating a structure/environment where when the salesperson gets what he/she wants, the company does well also
- just like in sales – sales management has to be a win win
- if what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked, let’s try something else – how about people with more sales or industry experience, or at least middle aged (the more financial responsibilities a salesperson has the less likely they are to be attracted by the green grass)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
If you’d like help with your sales team, salespeople, or sales management, that’s what I do - send me an email on Matt at AmbitionMission dot com.