Great Sales People as Sales Managers
photo credit: gcoldironjr2003
In your company when it comes time to promote sales people to the next level, it is not always necessarily true that a great sales person will automatically make for a great sales manager. Some people have managerial skill’s while other’s do not and prefer to remain on the sales floor where they are comfortable. Below are some traits that a great sales manager prospect should possess.
●Discipline and performance oriented. This is making sure their people know what they are accountable for and making sure they give their people the opportunity to perform their job.
●Appropriately compassionate. This goes for the employees under them as well as management above them and the whole client list. Knowing what drives the customer’s, what drives management and the employees.
●Problem solver. As the sales manager one of their tasks will be to handle problems from clients as well as employees, some people do not posses this skill.
Able to sublimate their egos. Sales management is about leadership, growing and developing people, growing and developing the organization, growing and developing the business. It is not about how great you are and your past victories. It requires admitting you are wrong when you are. It requires being able to change your point of view.
Can you think of some traits a great sales manager needs?
Steve McCreedy on April 6th, 2009 6:23 am
Your statement of “it is not always necessarily true that a great sales person will automatically make for a great sales manager” is an understatement. A more accurate statement would be “rarely” will a great sales person make a great sales manager. The reason? Top sales performers are very intuitive and can’t teach their intuitive skills. Top coaches in sports were average to below average performers because they could break down the skills and coach them … Vince Lombardi, Bear Bryant, Bobby Knight and even Dean Smith were never top performers. What about those top athletes that tried to coach? Ted Willams and Pete Rose come to mind and were failures. Sales Management is about teaching, coaching and making YOU better. Sales is ME focused … my account list, my appointments, my money. Two entirely different mind sets and skills sets …
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