The Defining Moment of a Sales Manager

Every profession has a defining moment where the world can see whether you are truly a professional or just an amateur. It only takes listening to a few bars of a song when a singer begins to tell whether the person is any good at singing. Just watch the first swings of the day and you can probably guess within a few strokes what a golfer’s handicap is likely to be.

In the past twenty-five years I have seen hundreds of sales meetings—no, actually thousands of sales meetings, conducted by managers throughout the world. I can tell within a few short minutes whether a sales manager is a professional or an amateur just by how they begin a sales meeting. I would bet you can too.

Of all the things you do as a sales manager, nothing else is immediately seen by everyone in your company and anyone else who’s watching. As an effective leading sales manager, this is an area you want to excel in.

Effective Sales Meeting Checklist:

After each meeting you conduct, take a few minutes and ask yourself these questions to review what happened and how you can grow as a meeting leader.

· Was I really prepared, or was I “winging it”?
· Did I start the meeting on time?
· Did the participants respond freely and easily to my questions?
· Did I keep the meeting on track? Did we stay focused?
· Did I refrain from lecturing or playing the expert?
· Did I maintain healthy control of the meeting?
· Were distractions handled properly?
· Did I keep the interest of the participants?
· Did I make full use of the audiovisual tools?
· Were the points covered thoroughly?
· Did I handle questions properly?
· Did the majority of the participants enjoy the meeting?
· Did I give them something to think about?
· Did I end the meeting on time?
· Did I learn something? If so, what?

There is perhaps no quicker way to influence or motivate a sales team to greater performance than through properly held sales meetings. And, there is probably no quicker way to decimate or de-motivate a sales team than through an improperly held sales meeting. By following this checklist you should be well on your way to running great sales meetings that inspire and lift up your team.

Probably the most important advice I can give you is to prepare thoroughly. This is no time to “wing it” Make sure you are ready and have followed the checklists we have provided and your team will know that you value them and their contribution to your team.

Ron

Negotiation that gets Results

In the course of researching and developing updated training curriculum for our “Becoming a Top Producer” sales training seminar series I have found that one of the topics that many sales people are deficient in is the area of sales negotiation.

Many companies are leaving thousands of dollars of profit margin on the table because they fail to negotiate properly. In looking at this area and developing strategies and tactics for sales people it occurred to me that many sales managers lack the proper negotiation skills for working with their sales teams. Of course it only makes sense doesn’t it? After all where do companies get their sales managers? From the sales force!

In working with our own team we find ourselves constantly negotiating with sales people. It might be territory, compensation or even goal setting.

As we teach in our sales course good negotiation is a three step process. First you must PLAN the negotiation. This includes doing the advance work to determine the limits you are comfortable with as well as communicating with other members in the company to make sure you are not putting unnecessary stress on others or the company. If you will be negotiating dollars, sales quotas or sales goals make certain to do the math necessary in advance. I can not tell you how many companies I have seen that negotiate arrangements they later regret and then find it impossible to retract from the sales person without losing them in the process.

Secondly you will NEGOTIATE. The most valuable piece of advice I can give you here is to Slow Down! When you negotiate too quickly you will end up giving away a lot more than necessary. You will also find that your sales people will start to work you early and often. Also make sure you never give a concession without some form of value in return.

Finally FOLLOW UP the negotiation. That is pretty self explanatory but I have seen many managers make a “deal” with their sales person and fail to clue in the folks in accounting or sales support as to what was agreed upon. Make sure all that need to know; know!

There is much to be written on this topic here and most certainly we will add this topic to our management training curriculum. I would however recommend you dust off those books from Gerard Nierenberg and Roger Dawson because how a manager negotiates with his or her sales team will clearly affect the bottom line!

Ron

Welcome to Sales Management for Results!

Welcome! Managing sales professionals can be one of the toughest tasks in american business. I know because I do it everyday in my own company and have for over 20 years.

Speaking to and training sales managers all over the country has taught me this lesson too - it can be extremley rewarding helping other people reach their goals. Sales goals, financial goals and reaching their full potential.

The tools you'll need as a sales manager will be found here at www.managingforsalesresults.com and our website www.closemoresales.com - both will contain great resources for managing sales professionals.

I hope you will come back soon!

Ron