In a conversation with a top-performing salesperson in factory automation software for several years, I mentioned the premise of my book on the transition to sales manager, and was surprised at his response.
Maybe he's onto something...
I shared the statistic that 85% of top salespeople who are made sales managers don't last a year and leave the company, and he said that he hadn't seen that happen much. He agreed that top salespeople don't often make good sales managers, but said that top salespeople he's know don't accept the promotion, if offered.
When I asked what he saw instead, he said "The really good salespeople don't WANT to be sales managers - the ones who DO want to be sales managers are the ones who struggle with sales, who are burnt out, who want to escape the pressure of continually making the numbers."
So, in your experience, is this a stereotype?
Or do companies that promote a struggling salesperson to be the sales manager have the right idea - IF certain other traits and characteristics are there?
I've been interviewing successful sales managers who were top performers to identify what traits & characteristics they have in common, so that whether a company promotes the top performer or someone else, they'll stand a better chance of success...
More on those traits and characteristics next week...
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Sales Star to Sales Manager - a Dangerous Transition
I've started writing a book about a transition many companies make: They take their best salesperson, their best producer of new business - and make them the sales manager.
It does not often end well. Most find that it's a job that's pretty much opposite of:
They often find everything that motivated them to be the top salesperson - getting to be the hero for the client, making the seemingly impossible happen, having a lot of autonomy and control, seeing the direct connection between their activities and their income - gone, and replaced by its opposite!
They often hate the new job, and fail.
I want to do something about that, so companies can make getting the right person into the sales manager job and getting them successful in it.
So I'm writing a book about how successful sales managers made that transition from superstar to sales manager, and learned to like the very different job of managing other salespeople and succeeding through others.
More to come in weekly (or more often) blogs on sales management transition. Next week, The consequences - Just how bad can it be?
It does not often end well. Most find that it's a job that's pretty much opposite of:
- what they like to do
- what they are able to do
- how they have succeeded before.
They often find everything that motivated them to be the top salesperson - getting to be the hero for the client, making the seemingly impossible happen, having a lot of autonomy and control, seeing the direct connection between their activities and their income - gone, and replaced by its opposite!
They often hate the new job, and fail.
I want to do something about that, so companies can make getting the right person into the sales manager job and getting them successful in it.
So I'm writing a book about how successful sales managers made that transition from superstar to sales manager, and learned to like the very different job of managing other salespeople and succeeding through others.
More to come in weekly (or more often) blogs on sales management transition. Next week, The consequences - Just how bad can it be?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Networking for Professionals - Top 5 List for Improving Results
CPA's, lawyers, engineers use networking to meet potential clients (as do business owners, entrepreneurs, and so many others!).
When professionals network to find clients, here are 5 best practices that lead to better results.
These are 5 of the best of best practices for improving results at networking events. There are so many more available at the micro-seminar on networking next Wednesday. To learn more, click Networking Micro-Seminar
When professionals network to find clients, here are 5 best practices that lead to better results.
- Go where clients gather. Not all network events are equal. The managing director of an accounting firm told me yesterday that many Chamber of Commerce events are "mostly salespeople talking to other salespeople." If you're looking for salespeople, great! If you're looking for business owners and decision-makers, you're in the wrong place.
- Know why you're there. You can set goals and objectives for the outcome you want from the event, such as "meet at least 5 interesting people" and "arrange follow-ups with at least 3 people." You're not there for the chicken wings, or to talk to the people you already know, or to add volume to your business card collection.
- Arrive early. This lets you get used to being in a crowd while it's still small. If you go to the name tag table, you can also see who's coming that you might especially want to meet. You may even take the role of greeter and connector.
- Focus on first impressions. Pay attention to your own and others' body language, handshake, appearance, expressions, and first words. You get (and give!) more information from the first few seconds of a relationship than you realize.
- Listen. The best first impression you can make is being a great listener. And the more you listen, the more you learn, the better you'll know the people you're meeting. Conversely, the more you talk...
These are 5 of the best of best practices for improving results at networking events. There are so many more available at the micro-seminar on networking next Wednesday. To learn more, click Networking Micro-Seminar
Re-thinking Sales - for Professional Services like CPAs, Attorneys, Engineers
Last blog started to reframe selling for those who tell themselves "I'm a CPA - I never wanted to be IN sales!" I've heard the same from attorneys and engineers. Problems start with how we define what "being in sales" means.
One way we define a role is with examples - for instance, is a salesperson someone like the hilariously slick Herb Tarlek on TV's "WKRP in Cincinnati" or Al Pacino's con-man Ricky Roma in the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross?" Do we define what a salesperson is by stereotypes selling used cars or timeshare properties?
No wonder those who studied accounting / law / science to be professionals in their field may recoil when expected to also sell! It's not who they are, not what they trained to become, not what they want to be!
That deep resistance, based on their definition and expectations, leads to an attitude/performance "doom loop." They don't want to do it, they do it badly, they experience failure, and they hate and resist doing it more.
To break out of the "doom loop" starts with redefining what selling IS.
Sales is meeting people to find out what they want and need. If they want and need what your firm offers, you can help them make a good decision to meet their needs. That begins a relationship that lets you use your professional expertise to help them succeed.
If that's what professional sales is about, Herb Tarlek or Ricky Roma don't fit there. There's no need for "slick" or deception, no "con," no manipulation.
The people you meet aren't suckers, or victims, or prey - they're potential clients, IF they need what you offer. When you meet people who don't need what you offer, that's OK, and there is absolutely no need to persuade them that they do.
The challenges of professional selling are finding people who may need your services, meeting them, gaining rapport, discovering their wants and needs, offering to meet their needs, and coming to agreement.
Without any compromise to integrity, professionalism, role, or self-image, professionals can improve their comfort and results at every step.
And the first few steps happen through networking - which is the next blog.
One way we define a role is with examples - for instance, is a salesperson someone like the hilariously slick Herb Tarlek on TV's "WKRP in Cincinnati" or Al Pacino's con-man Ricky Roma in the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross?" Do we define what a salesperson is by stereotypes selling used cars or timeshare properties?
No wonder those who studied accounting / law / science to be professionals in their field may recoil when expected to also sell! It's not who they are, not what they trained to become, not what they want to be!
That deep resistance, based on their definition and expectations, leads to an attitude/performance "doom loop." They don't want to do it, they do it badly, they experience failure, and they hate and resist doing it more.
To break out of the "doom loop" starts with redefining what selling IS.
Sales is meeting people to find out what they want and need. If they want and need what your firm offers, you can help them make a good decision to meet their needs. That begins a relationship that lets you use your professional expertise to help them succeed.
If that's what professional sales is about, Herb Tarlek or Ricky Roma don't fit there. There's no need for "slick" or deception, no "con," no manipulation.
The people you meet aren't suckers, or victims, or prey - they're potential clients, IF they need what you offer. When you meet people who don't need what you offer, that's OK, and there is absolutely no need to persuade them that they do.
The challenges of professional selling are finding people who may need your services, meeting them, gaining rapport, discovering their wants and needs, offering to meet their needs, and coming to agreement.
Without any compromise to integrity, professionalism, role, or self-image, professionals can improve their comfort and results at every step.
And the first few steps happen through networking - which is the next blog.
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