Secrets for Successful Sales Management

Managing salespeople is tough. In fact, sales management is one of the toughest jobs in the building. Each member of a sales team is different and possesses their own success code, and it's the sales managers job to tap into each one to unlock their true potential. There is not a 'one size fits all approach' to developing salespeople and building a winning sales team. However, there are some core strategies that are at the foundation of any successful sales management approach.

Here are a few secrets that can make the life of a sales manager a little bit easier.

1. Hire Smart - Without good people, it's tough to be a successful sales manager. Make sure a potential new hire will be good a fit for the position, company and your team by determining a success profile, the job function identifiers, SEARCH model, Assessment tools, Interviewing and On-boarding process. Always be building your bench by keeping an eye out for good talent. Have a process, stick to it and take your time. 'Bad Breath' can be more costly than 'No Breath' out in the field.
2. Create Sales Culture by Creating a Sales Process Template - If you have 10 people on your sales team, and they all do it their way you are managing 10 different sales processes!? You may be saying "We have a Process", and that may be true, but do all of your people follow it? Can they recite it by heart, no questions asked? Gather your people together and develop a Common Sales Process, Publish it, Manage to it, and Tie it to CRM. Start with the Macro steps of the process from hello to yes/no, and then go micro under each main step considering what needs to happen to move the process forward.
3. Develop a Sales Playbook - Do you think Bill Belichick hires a new player for his team without giving them a playbook? I'm not talking about an organizational operations manual, I'm talking about sales tactics and strategies that win business. Your plays and processes need to be documented and shared with anyone on the team. Examples of the best of the best need to be recorded. Identify the key situations in the sales process and create scripts and messaging based upon them. On-board and coach to the tool. What are the common objections throughout the sales process and the responses to them? How does a rep effectively respond to "What do you do?" What are the top 5 pain indicators that your products and services solve?
4. Make Your Sales Team Self-Sufficient Through Rehearsal - People retain 90% of what they say and do. Instead of telling reps what to do, show them how to do it. Most sales reps don't practice enough because they aren't comfortable with it. This falls right on the manager's shoulders. As a manager we must be an example for our reps. In a role play don't put reps on the spot, show them how to do it first. Make your reps stronger by showing them how to do it and letting them practice in a safe environment. If you want reps to make more outbound phone calls, when was the last time you showed reps how to do a live dial, or had them warm up with each other, instead of on prospects? 
5. Change Behavior Through Pre-Call Prep & Debriefing - There are three stages to a call - pre call, the call itself and post call. A call that starts well, ends well, and it's critical to do your research and have a plan for the call. What are the goals for the call and what questions will the prospect ask? What questions do you need answers to? Debriefing a call is valuable for evaluation and pipeline management win, lose or draw. Develop a standard set of debriefing questions that you will ask your reps to review a sales interaction. Set the expectation that you will be asking these sets of questions upon their return and that you expect answers to them and why. This will help reps create the habit of obtaining the information they need to make a sale and debriefing themselves after ever call.
6. Create Prospecting Plans that fill the pipeline - You have a sales quota, great! How many unique conversations, meetings and closing appointments do your people need to hit that quota? Think about a prospecting plan like a cookbook for success. A cookbook is a collection of recipes, which allow you to recreate the desired result. In sales, you need a prospecting plan that is repeatable and reliable, which will allow you to consistently achieve success, month in and month out. Manage the behaviors, not the numbers

Successful Sales Management is not about getting your personal needs met. It's about growing your people and coaching them to reach their personal and professional goals, while exceeding organizational goals. Although managing salespeople is no easy task, it's incredibly rewarding to help people improve and get what they want out of life. By implementing these strategies you will experience less frustration, and more success as a sales manager.