Role and Skills of Sales Managers,

3 Key Skills for a Sales Manager

With regard to these “big three” for sales managers, each of them- recruiting, training and managing- can be broken down into three skill areas as well.

Salespeople Must Be Results Oriented

In recruiting, number one is to be results oriented. You must be clear about exactly what results you want this particular salesperson to produce and you must make it clear in the interview exactly what these results are. It is amazing how many salespeople are hired with the wrong idea of what the job requires of them.
The third part of good recruiting has to do with the personality of the recruit, or the “fit” between the recruit and the company. Some salespeople are suited to one type of environment and some people are suited to another. The best way to determine the proper fit is to make sure that you genuinely like and appreciate the prospective salesperson.

Provide Excellent Sales Training

The second key to sales management success is training. This can also be broken down into three parts. First, identify the key skills that the salesperson will need to have in order to make sales in a competitive market, especially with your product or service. Second, teach the new recruit these key skills. Go out with them on calls and watch them perform. Give them audio programs to listen to and either conduct or send them to sales seminars. Remember, you cannot expect a person to perform in a skill area where they have not been trained and taught in advance. The third part of training is for you to follow-up and reinforce what you have taught, or what the salesperson has learned. Always remember that sales training is a process that goes on throughout the life and career of the salesperson. You have to work on it all the time to maintain levels of high performance.

Be an Effective Sales Manager

The third part of the Law of Three is managing. There are three key skills to managing salespeople effectively. First, set clear sales goals and quotas for each person. Each person must know exactly what he or she is required to accomplish. Second, set clear plans of action in terms of prospecting, making appointments, following-up and so on.
Manage and motivate by objectives. Once you and the salesperson are absolutely clear about what you need that salesperson to accomplish, you should continually encourage him or her to engage in the activities, every single day, that will lead to those sales results.
The good news is that all sales management skills are learnable. If you can ride a bicycle or drive a car, you can learn, step by step, how to become absolutely excellent as a sales manager. You can be the best in your job if you want to be.
Thank you for reading this article on how to an effective sales manager. By training your salespeople key skills and to become results oriented you can achieve ultimate success.  Please share this article with others and comment below!


Here are 10 attributes of a great sales manager:
1) Passion.
 This is also one of the top qualities of a master closer and the only one that can’t be taught. Without a passion for the home building industry, it’s impossible to lead and inspire a team, Tarullo says.
2) Integrity.
 Combined with passion, these are the two most important qualities for a sales manager. “They need that core,” Tarullo says. “If they don’t have those, they shouldn’t be in sales management.”
3) Positive attitude
 It’s up to a builder’s leadership to put smiles on the faces of the sales team and set the tone for the company.
4) Coaching.
 Seventy percent of a sales manager’s time should be spent coaching, either in groups or one on one, Tarullo says. Any sales manager who says the workload doesn’t allow that kind of time with the staff needs to examine how the day is being spent and ditch or delegate any activity that doesn’t affect lead generation or conversion.
5) Leadership by example
 “The sales manager should be out on the sales floor with his people,” says Jim Capaldi, director of sales for the Ventura division of Standard Pacific Homes and author of The Ultimate New Home Sales Success Manual. “That’s where you’re most productive. Lead by example, make them accountable, push them, and get them out of their comfort zone.”
6) Loyalty.
 Sales managers need to go to bat for their sales team members, says Debbie Dompke, sales manager for ­Chicago-based Lexington Homes. “Let them know you’re on their side,” she says. “When they know you’re sincere, it’s amazing the work ethic you’ll get in return.”
7) Availability.
 Dallas-based sales trainer Bob Hafer says paperwork has to be done, but it can’t be used as an excuse “to not do the tough stuff.” It’s easier than dealing with people, to be sure, he says, adding, “Administrative tasks never talk back to you.” When he was a sales manager, he got to work at 7 a.m. and spent two hours on paperwork before the phone started ringing. Then, when the sales centers opened, he was available to work with his sales teams in the field.
8) Motivation.
 This includes encouragement and recognition. Dompke says she does this in “so many ways—contests, games, dancing, singing, dressing up. You laugh together and play together.”
9) Continuous learning
 . Doctors, accountants, attorneys, and other professionals keep learning their whole lives in order to keep their skills up to date. Sales managers need to do likewise. “When you don’t grow,” Capaldi says, “you leave the door open for someone else.”

10) Listening and communication.
 This is an underpinning for most of the other qualities. You can’t be a good coach or motivator if you’re not a good communicator; and you can’t continuously learn, lead by example, or demonstrate loyalty without being a good listener.
“Years ago, the sales manager’s job was about paper management, organization, and managing the interest lists,” Capaldi says. “Now, it’s about keeping the sales team accountable, motivated, and focused on the basics of selling. I always preach to people that real estate sales is the hardest job to be good at and the easiest job to fail at.”
And Tarullo feels that the sales manager’s job is the key to that success. “I think it’s the toughest job in the business because you have to wear so many different hats,” she says. “You need to be a disciplinarian but also a coach and a motivator.”

Roles and Responsibilities of a Sales Manager

 

A sales manager plays a key role in the success and failure of an organization. He is the one who plays a pivotal role in achieving the sales targets and eventually generates revenue for the organization. A sales manager must be very clear about his role in the organization. He should know what he is supposed to do at the workplace. Let us understand the roles and responsibilities of a sales manager: A sales manager is responsible for meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and budgeting. A sales manager can’t work alone. He needs the support of his sales team where each one contributes in his best possible way and works towards the goals and objectives of the organization. He is the one who sets the targets for the sales executives and other sales representatives. A sales manager must ensure the targets are realistic and achievable.

• The duties must not be imposed on anyone, instead should be delegated as per interests and specializations of the individuals. A sales manager must understand who can perform a particular task in the most effective way. It is his role to extract the best out of each employee.
• A sales manager devises strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets. He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.
• It is the sales manager’s duty to map potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.
• A sales manager is also responsible for brand promotion. He must make the product popular amongst the consumers. A banner at a wrong place is of no use. Canopies must be placed at strategic locations; hoardings should be installed at important places for the best results.
• Motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales manager. He needs to make his team work as a single unit working towards a common objective. He must ensure team members don’t fight amongst themselves and share cordial relationship with each other. Develop lucrative incentive schemes and introduce monetary benefits to encourage them to deliver their level best. Appreciate whenever they do good work.
• It is the sales manager’s duty to ensure his team is delivering desired results. Supervision is essential. Track their performances. Make sure each one is living up to the expectations of the organization. Ask them to submit a report of what all they have done through out the week or month. The performers must be encouraged while the non performers must be dealt with utmost patience and care.
• He is the one who takes major decisions for his team. He should act as a pillar of support for them and stand by their side at the hours of crisis.
• A sales manager should set an example for his team members. He should be a source of inspiration for his team members.
• A sales manager is responsible for not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the client. Client relationship management is also his KRA.
• As a sales manager, one should maintain necessary data and records for future reference.