Fundamentals of Sales Management for the Newly Appointed Sales Manager

218 Pages·2006·3.08 MB·English

by  Matthew Schwartz

of
FUNDAMENTALS
S A L E S
M A N A G E M E N T
for the
NE WLY APPO IN TED
S A L E S M A N A G E R
MATTHEW SCHWARTZ
AmericanManagementAssociation
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Schwartz,Matthew
Fundamentalsofsalesmanagementforthenewlyappointedsales
manager/MatthewSchwartz.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN0-8144-0873-7
1. Salesmanagement. 2. Management. I. Title.
HF5438.4.S362 2006
658.8(cid:2)1—dc22
2005022936
(cid:2)2006AMACOM,adivisionofAmericanManagementAssociation,NewYork.
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C
ONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
CHAPTER 1.
Transitioning to Sales Management: New Responsibilities
and Expectations 1
Goingfrom‘‘Selling’’to‘‘Managing’’ 1
UnderstandingtheCurrentSalesCulture 4
UnderstandingWhoIsontheCurrentTeam 8
TheChallengesofBeingonTwoTeamsatOnce 12
EmbracingChange 15
TheBigPicture—Short-andLong-Term 16
What’sNext? 18
CHAPTER 2.
It’s All About Communication 20
ListeningSkills 20
TheTheoryBehindCommunicationStyles 22
TheOriginsofDISCTheory 23
TheFour-QuadrantSystem 26
HowRolesandSituationsAffectYourStyle 37
WorkingwithPeoplewithDifferentStyles 38
StrategiesforImprovingCommunications 39
RunninganEffectiveMeeting 42
PresentationSkills 45
CHAPTER 3.
Sales Planning: Setting the Direction for the Sales Team 48
AligningtheCorporateStrategywiththeSalesTeam 48
WhereSalesFitsintheCorporateStructure 50
TheCustomer-CentricOrganization 51
v
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vi CONTENTS
Marketing’sRelationshiptoSales 56
CreatingaPlan 63
CharacteristicsofaGoodPlan 64
ContinuousPlanning 70
AssessingtheBusiness 70
CHAPTER 4.
Time Management, Territory Planning, and
Sales Forecasting 75
TimeManagement 75
TheArtofDelegating 80
SalesTerritoryPlanning 85
CHAPTER 5.
Recruiting, Interviewing, and Hiring the Very Best 98
EnhancingYourCurrentTeam 98
DevelopingSpecificCriteriafortheSelectionProcess 99
OptimalSourcesforRecruiting 104
TheNumberOneRuleinRecruiting:ConstantlyRecruit 112
EnsuringaPositiveInterviewProcess 113
TheWrittenOffer 122
FiringIsInevitable 126
CHAPTER 6.
Building the Environment for Motivation: Compensation
Plans, Recognition, and Rewards 128
ClassicalMotivationTheory 129
SalesCompensationandIncentivesPlanning 140
BenefitsandtheTotalCompensationPackage 151
NonfinancialIncentives—RewardsandRecognition 152
CHAPTER 7.
Training, Coaching, and Counseling: When and How to
Apply Each 157
MethodsofTrainingBasedonLearningStyles 157
TheCoreConceptsofReinforcement 162
TheDevelopmentofWinners 167
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Contents vii
CoachingandCounseling 179
Goal-SettingSessions 179
CHAPTER 8.
Stepping Up to Be a True Leader 187
TheCharacteristicsofaTeam 188
MatchingYourTeamwithYourCustomer’sTeam 190
TheEvolutionofaTeam 194
TimetoLead 195
INDEX 207
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A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
M
any of us have heard the notion that sales is evident in so much
of what we do, no matter what our career may be. Well, being a
great manager and leader also fits into this category. My hope is that
this book not only encompasses the core skills and behaviors that
make up a great manager, but lessons and techniques that can be
applied throughout your career, wherever it may take you.
I would like to thank AMACOM, especially my editor Chris-
tina Parisi and associate editor Mike Sivilli, for guiding me through
the publishing process; it has been a rewarding one. I would also
like to thank the many sales trainers I have come to know at the
American Management Association, in particular Thomas Madden,
who helped bring to fruition the current Fundamentals of Sales Man-
agement seminar at the AMA. To Beth Potashkin, for your confi-
dence in the success of this endeavor. Also, to my family and friends
for your understanding during those long nights and weekends
when my ringer on my phone was turned off. Finally, to anyone
looking to engage in the writing profession: It is well worth the
time and effort as knowledge sharing is what helps to make all of us
better.
ix
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of
FUNDAMENTALS
S A L E S
M A N A G E M E N T
for the
NE WLY APPO IN TED
S A L E S M A N A G E R
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A P T
H
1 E
C R
T S
RANSITIONING TO ALES
M :
ANAGEMENT
N R
EW ESPONSIBILITIES AND
E
XPECTATIONS
C
ongratulations! You have joined the ranks of sales management.
This may even be your first experience as a manager. The good
news is that you are not alone. Many resources like this book exist
to learn from and help support your growth as a manager and a
leader. You have climbed the sales ladder, have cultivated your
skills, and are ready for a new challenge.
You can probably imagine that transitioning into management
is very natural for some and more like charting unknown territory
for others. You have a whole new set of responsibilities, and at the
same time, the expectations others have of you have completely
changed. In fact, these new demands come from both your sales
team and your management team. This chapter will walk you
through some of the core issues and hopefully provide you with
some comfort knowing that (1) many have been here before, and
(2) success is well within your reach.
GOINGFROM‘‘SELLING’’ TO‘‘MANAGING’’
While it is likely that you came from the world of selling, it is not
a requirement. Sales managers typically choose management them-
1
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2 FUNDAMENTALS OF SALES MANAGEMENT
selves, but other times senior management chooses them because
they are seen as well respected by their peers and they possess many
of the necessary traits of a good manager and leader. So while un-
derstanding the elements of selling are very important, what it takes
to manage is a very different skills set. The following is a brief look
at sales versus sales management and where they overlap.
First it is necessary to understand what the ideal salesperson
should look like. He typically exhibits the following behaviors and
traits:
Attentive Courteous Credible Driven
Empathetic Engaging Enthusiastic Passionate
Poised Presentable Results-Oriented Smart
Good Listener Knows the Products Aggressive Articulate
Furthermore, the truly well-rounded sales professional needs to
possess four core areas of skills:
1. The communication and interpersonal skills necessary to
carry out sales
2. A mastery of the sales process and how it relates to the busi-
ness
3. Fundamental business competency
4. A solid understanding of the industry and marketplace
Figure 1-1 depicts these four categories.
On the other hand, the ideal sales manager has her own exem-
plary characteristics and traits, including the following:
Ambitious Caring Dedicated Driven
Ethical Moral Passionate Patient
Results-Oriented Supportive Smart Understanding
Able to Help Motivate Collaborative Empathetic Strategic
Ofcourse, whenyoucomparethese tothoseofthe salesperson, you
will see many overlapping characteristics; yet look at them more
closely, and you will clearly see areas of difference.
Thefourcoreareasofskillsthattrulywell-roundedsalesmanag-
ers must possess are:
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Transitioning to SalesManagement 3
Figure1-1. Thesalesskillsmodel.
1.Communication 2.Technical
Skills Knowledge
THE
EXCEPTIONAL
SALES
PROFESSIONAL
3.Business 4.Market
Acumen Experience
1. Critical management, communication, and team-building
skills
2. The ability to lead into the future
3. An in-depth understanding of the business dynamics and
competitive forces that impact the sales strategy
4. The core tools for building and managing accounts and
channels of distribution
Figure 1-2 illustrates these four categories.
The interesting thing about sales managers is that they never
fully remove themselves from the sale. ‘‘Selling’’ or ‘‘working’’
managers are good examples of this truism. For instance, in many
companies, managers are expected to do just that—manage—while
in other organizations managers are actually in charge of a certain
number of accounts. They are expected to meet their ‘‘numbers’’
as well as ensure that their team does the same.
This scenario is common with many smaller sales organizations
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