Complacency, Overconfidence, or Lack of Awareness?

Not sure if it’s complacency. Or over-indexing faith in the team to do their job well. Or lack of understanding and awareness of the role.

But I see so many sales managers sit back while their salespeople underperform. There seems to be a disconnect between the reporting metrics for activity and results and actual management, coaching, and leadership to an appropriate level.

The reports show that something, somewhere isn’t happening like it should. The sales and revenue volume isn’t there. The conversion effectiveness along the sales journey is less than it needs to be.

Common Responses from Sales Managers

Yet, here is what I hear from managers:

“They know what to do. I trust them to follow the process.”

“They are doing the best they can. It’s just a hard time to sell right now.”

“They would be closing more deals if we had more/better leads.”

“If they aren’t performing then we should probably get rid of them.”

What I don’t hear is:

“I have listened to every one of their presentations and here is the list of what they are missing and I am coaching them.”

“They are struggling and I am not sitting in/joining each of their sales conversations.”

“I have put them through more sales training based on what they are missing.”

“We put together a new, short term plan for them to increase their activity level and their focus on the basics.”

The Reality of Sales Management

Now…I do see sales managers doing those things. But not sure if I have ever experienced a sales manager coming up with those on their own. It’s typically the result of the sales manager’s manager putting pressure on them, based on the numbers and lack of output from the team. It’s the manager’s manager coming up with ideas that the manager should execute.

If you are a sales manager, I want you to remember that your one job is to ensure you do everything you can to coach, manage, and lead each of your salespeople to victory.

What does that entail? Whatever it takes!

Instead of assuming that the team knows what to do, first get back into the game and observe. Imagine you were a consultant paid to come in and identify what would help each person close more deals (even the top performers can do more/better).

If that was the scenario, what would you do? How would you approach it? How would you break your daily routine?

Balancing Coaching and Administrative Tasks

And I know, before you message me…let me say it “Of course it would be easy to do as a Consultant, I wouldn’t have to deal with all the meetings, reports, emails, and admin crap.”

True and yet for every sales manager I have seen, there is enough time in the day to do both admin crap and get onto the front lines with the team and observe what could help them.

The Coach Analogy

Imagine a basketball coach. Where is that coach during the game? Exactly – right up on the sideline, yelling suggestions and ideas to the players. Managing the bench. Watching the clock. Observing the opponent. They are as ‘in the game’ as they can be as a coach.

What would happen if the basketball coach, during the game, was back in their office working on emails, schedules, getting caught up in meetings and reports. Maybe watching the game on TV live to see what happens whenever they have a break from admin crap.

If that happened, how would the game go? The team would be left to their own devices. Sometimes it would work out – some games they would win. Sometimes it will not go well – they would lose.

A Call to Action for Sales Managers

That would never happen in sports, yet that is what I see so many front-line sales managers (coaches) do each day while their team is out there trying to win the game on their own without any/enough help.

Stop assuming your salespeople know what to do (especially if you were a great salesperson without any help, stop defaulting to thinking they should all just perform like you did).

Stop sitting back and watching the game each day.

Stop using the admin crap excuse.

Stop tolerating mediocrity while pointing the finger at anything but you and them.

Start doing more to help your team win each and every call, meeting, presentation and day!