by John Carroll

As the new sales manager, your credibility is on the line every day. You realize this role requires strong leadership and people skills to make it work. How do you combine those with your existing talents to make you more effective in your new position?

Why not use the existing skill set in combination with the new skills required? Consider the perspective that most milestones are reached because someone sold a new concept, a new way of doing things, a new product or service. The same is true with the sales force. Applied to sales management, once you’ve sold the sales force, your new product or service is as good as sold.

So why does it seem to be so difficult to "get the sale" with the sales force? Here are some likely reasons:

1. Sale by memo – The edict from the "boss" arrives on the desk of every sales team member one day, announcing the new product/service/commission structure. There has been no previous discussion, no time for raising concerns before the decision was final.

You would no sooner try to sell your customer by memo than you would your dog. You would get face to face, build the case for the benefits of the change and talk through the steps to make it happen. I’ve seen this "management by memo" method reach the point where people tossed them upon arrival, full of resentment at the half-hearted effort. Take the time to talk with your people, collectively and individually. Help them understand what you’re trying to do and why it’s in their best interest. In other words, sell it.

2. Lack of trust – This can come from many sources, usually from one or more instances in which the sales force has learned that it cannot or should not trust its leader. Causes can range from required call reports (or any reports, for that matter) which are submitted and never read to lack of follow through on specific commitments on the manager’s part.

Trust is the first and most important element of any sale. Without it, you just don’t get very far. You work hard to earn the trust of your team, particularly if you’ve been promoted from that team of your peers. Make sure you keep that trust level high by under-promising and over-delivering on your commitments.

3. Lack of clear reasons for the change – People have always wanted to know why a particular change is about to occur, especially when it involves them. In days gone by, some would ask and most would simply wonder and speculate as to why things needed to change. Now, people demand to know why, and the reasons had better be logical, clear and relevant. Don’t worry about losing sleep over whether you meet these criteria. If you don’t, someone will let you know.

Articulate your reasons clearly with a focus on the betterment of the individual. Tie back to earlier changes that have had a positive, measurable impact on individual and team results. If you’re changing territories, show how the current structure creates hardship and how the proposed changes can alleviate or eliminate the problems.

When the change has no clear, positive implications for the team or individual, present that with clear reasons, citing the change in internal, customer or market requirements. Then go on to sell the benefits of making the change sooner rather than later. When changing with or slightly ahead of the market can keep your team members at or above their current level of sales and income, tell them so. In other words, show the results they’re likely to get by making this change and by not making this change.

You’ve been where they are, thought what they’re thinking and worried about their same concerns. Your ability to maintain this perspective will have a great impact in helping you win the sales you need to help them make the sales they need. Recall what it was like to wonder what the boss really wanted when she/he asked for something. Keeping that in mind, focus your efforts on over-communicating what you want and why you want it.

Delegate as you would like to be given a delegation. Take these steps from Brian Tracy on effective delegation:

1. Think – What exactly is the task you’re about to hand off? Be clear about it in your mind first, so you know exactly what you want and the results you desire.

2. Match – Considering your team, who is the best match of talents to task? If you’re asking everyone to do something, try delegating it first to the person most likely to succeed with it. By doing so, you can have a success story to sell the idea to the rest of the team.

3. Describe the ideal result or outcome – Focus on the objective rather than the steps to achieve it. Refrain from outlining each and every task involved in reaching the objective. If someone asks you how to reach the outcome, then you can proceed to walk through some alternatives with them. Make it a coaching discussion and keep them involved. Whatever you do, don’t do their thinking for them. You’ve done yours. Now allow them the same opportunity. By presenting it in terms of results, you show your trust in their ability to deliver.

4. Have them feed it back to you – What you said and what they heard is often two different things. Take a moment in each delegation to clarify with something such as, "Let’s make sure we’re on the same page here. Please tell me what I’ve asked you to do." This double check before the activity itself helps to insure clear expectations and raises the odds that they’ll get it done right the first time.

5. Specify what resources and authority they’ll have to do the job – By communicating these issues in advance, you prevent the need for people to check with you constantly. "You have full authority to move any accounts from your list into inactive status" and "You may spend up to $1000 for the incentives in this plan."

6. Set dates for completion and interim progress checks – Schedule the deadline to insure the activity gets done. Set progress checks to communicate that you’re serious about achieving the results.

7. Inspect what you expect – Your job now is to follow through with encouragement, coaching and obstacle removal so this person can and will succeed. What you pay attention to is what your people will work on first.

Take this approach into your new sales management position and make the most of the transition. After all, nothing happens until the sale is made.

John Carroll is President/CEO of Unlimited Performance, a Mt. Pleasant, SC, firm focused on organizational and individual performance improvement. Brian Tracy International, a worldwide network of consultants, has recognized him for sales excellence. Contact him at 1-800-672-4277 toll-free, email at jcarroll@uperform.com, fax at (843) 881-6746 and find him on the Web at www.uperform.com.

© 2000 John Carroll All rights reserved.