The trait of a good manager is their ability to delegate tasks to their team or to outsource.  Knowing how to delegate is not difficult and it can make or break a manager.  Many managers are reluctant to delegate because of their own insecurity.  Some of the typical reasons I hear from managers that don’t delegate are:

• It is done quicker if I do it;
• They will just waste my time asking me how to do it anyway;
• I need it done right the first time; and
• We can’t afford to make mistakes.

Working with many different sales organisations, teams and managers I have found that most of the problems that they face on a regular basis are due to the lack of planning by the sales manager.  As the old adage states, “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”. So why don't sales managers plan?

Well over the years of training, my students have given me many reasons why they don’t plan and these are the most common:
•    I don't know how to plan;
•    I don't have the time to plan, I am way too busy;
•    I prefer to be spontaneous and reactive and planning stops me from doing this;
•    I spend so much time addressing problems, I don’t have time to plan; and
•    It isn't part of my job description so why should I do it.

The role of a sales manager is not an easy one and I have seen many fail.  Some have failed because of their own abilities but most have failed due to the company they work for.  So in this article I will outline the top 5 reasons why sales manager fail.  This is not by all means the only reasons but the ones that I have encountered the most over the years of training, coaching and mentoring sales managers.  The list is not in any order.

1.    Promoted to Sales Manager because they are an excellent salesperson - Most organisations have the misconception that if a salesperson is excellent in selling then they should naturally be an excellent Sales Manager.  While some are most aren’t and the end result is that the organisation will lose an excellent salesperson to another company.  In my experience an excellent salesperson should continue to sell because that is what they are good at.  In most circumstances they will normally revert back to selling and neglect the requirements of being a sales manager.  
2.    The sales incentive scheme - How a salesperson is motivated is critical to the success of a sales manager.  If the sales team is not making their sales targets or quotas this is a reflection on the performance of the sales manager.  But how is a sales manager suppose to help his team if the incentive scheme is counter productive.  A good sales incentive scheme is essential to the success of sales managers and their team members.  
3.   Teamwork - As salespeople normally operate as individuals they find it difficult to function as a team.  They will fight for the same opportunities and in some cases they act like children.  It is the responsibility of the sales manager to bring the individuals together and this is possible in many different ways.  
4.    Taking sales from their sales team - Normally a sales manager has been a salesperson in one stage of their career and it is their instinct to try and win business. For some sales managers their ego takes over and they believe that certain opportunities can only be won by them, so they take it away from one of their team members.  This also occurs when the organisation forces their sales managers to have an individual sales quota as well as a team sales quota.  
5.    No training -  In most circumstances sales managers are put into this role with little or no training.  Sales management is not the same as selling and the manager should be trained accordingly.

As you can see, sales managers normally fail due to organisational policies, procedures or lack of training.  It is up to the organisation to ensure the success of their sales managers.  Look out for a future articles on how to bring a sales team together and sales incentive schemes for ideas and techniques.

I have worked with many sales managers over the years and I have noticed that the successful ones have certain attributes, traits and patterns of behaviour.   When coaching or training sales managers I get them to do a self evaluation against these key attributes.  So if you are a sales manager lets see how well you measure up.

1. Lead by example -  Do you dress the way you would expect your team to dress? Do you know your products and services well?  A good sales manager will set a good example because as their leader they demonstrate through their actions what is the correct behaviour.  As they copying you? Look at your behaviour before you criticise your team.   Walk the Walk.
2. A good coach - Do you look at every encounter with your team members as opportunities to help them?  Do you get your team together for training and coaching?  Do you go on sales calls with your team members?  A good sales manager is there for their team to help them through the good and bad.  Each encounter is an opportunity to help them.
3. Understand the team - Does your teams performance reflect on your performance?  Do you know what is expected of your team members in their roles?  A good sales manager is only as good as their team.  If the team is failing then it is a direct reflection on the sales manager.   Know what is expected of each team member and help them achieve their go
4. Continually develop staff - Do you have training sessions?  Do you celebrate wins? Are losses analysed?  These are all aspects of developing your team to be successful.  Encourage your team to grow by providing ongoing training, coaching and mentoring.
5. Determined - What do you do when things don’t work out?  Do you give up or keep on going?  A good sales manager is determined and will not give up.  They understand that times can get tough but with perseverance and determination on doing what must be done, success will come.
6. Teamwork - Does your team work as a team?  Do you get them to do things together?  So many sales managers don’t understand teamwork because sales people normally work on their own.  However a good sales manager will get the team together to work on opportunities, share successes and analyse the losses.  You don’t have a team if they don’t work together.  You are part of the team?
7. Trust - Does your team trust you to do the right thing?  Who is more important, you or the team.  As a leader your team must trust you to support and do the right thing by them.  A good sales manager will go to bat for their team when times are tough and share the rewards when times are good.
8. Respect - Does your team respect you?  What do they do behind your back?  Without the respect of your team you will fail as a sales manager.  They will not listen, perform or do what is expected if they don’t respect you.  They will fail and this will reflect on you.  Earn their respect by helping, supporting and working with them.  Be part of the team.  Remember, you are not better than them because your are the sales manager, you are also a team member with a different role to play.

So how did you go? Most of these are common sense, easy to understand, but they can be difficult to perform.  Successful sales manager are no longer salespeople.  They need to be different to be successful in the role.  
Good Hunting.

Many years ago my wife was studying for an exam and she was drawing these colorful diagrams while reading her notes.  At first they didn’t make much sense to me so I dismissed them thinking she was crazy.  Curiousity got the better of me and later I had to find out more about these crazy looking diagrams so I asked her what she was doing.  She told me she was “Mind Mapping” and she quickly explained how it worked.  It intrigued me and I wanted to know more.

Now I am using Mind Maps all the time to help myself and my clients with projects, coaching, sales proposals and nearly anything that needs clearer thinking.  So what is mind mapping?  Well mind mapping is a tool that engages both your left and right sides of your brain and as a result you actually complete activities more effectively and with better quality.  You basically put your thoughts down in a very effective manner on paper or a computer as a diagram that represents the way you think.   They can be used in many different situations and for many different reasons.  Use them during business meetings, when you study, when you plan or to come up with the most innovating ideas.

Over the years of working with salespeople I have found that their most common weakness is asking questions. Most sales people are so keen to make the sale they forget to ask the customer what they really want or need. They simply don’t engage the customer and force feed them the products and services in their sales kit.

In most cases the products and services a salesperson is selling are needed or wanted by the customer, but they don’t get the sale. Why? This is simply due to the fact that they haven’t spent the time to find out more about their customer and tie in their products and services to address their pain points.

Don’t ask a question. Don’t get an answer.

Ask the wrong question. Get the wrong answer.

Ask the right question. You:

A DISC Profiling System could benefit your business in the following ways:

• Clear identification of learning and working styles.
• To avoid the placement of 2 dominant people working together all the time as they would both want to be leaders.
• You can place people in roles which are more suitable to their behaviours.
• To get the right mixture of different people in a team when their roles and behaviours are varied and suitable for them.
• To know where your team members fit into the above categories and ensure their roles reflect their natural abilities.
• Most people will be a blend of several different behaviour types, they will generally have a dominant behaviour type and may be heading towards trying to be another behaviour type.
• Have the whole team assessed for their behaviour types and when recruiting, find someone that "blends" into the mix as well as having the relevant skills and experience.
• Behavioural identification is not something that can not be found out just from a job interview, but usually takes time in getting to know the person. In a job interview, it is common for a person to sell themselves into a role without addressing behaviour, as you are addressing other characteristics such as relevant experience and presentation.
• Some candidates many not present very well in a job interview but may have more of the behaviour characteristics to fit into your team and could possibly have the relevant skills and experience.

If you would like further information about Extended Disc or would like to see a sample report, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further information.

How you react in your work environment influences the culture and morale at work in more ways than you realise. Can you identify with the following Management styles and how they impact on culture and morale?

Passive

• Only addressing major problems
• Won't confront poor performers
• Won't deal with difficult issues
• Retreats when challenged
• Narrow job descriptions to maintain control
• Procrastinates
• Blames higher Managers for unpopular directives

Aggressive

• Gives negative feedback
• Complains and criticises on impulse
• Does not identify the problem
• Treats employees as worthless
• "I'll talk, you listen"
• No discussion or listening
• Gets frustrated and yells

Assertive

• Is approachable and listens
• Encourages feedback
• Has clear and firm expectations
• Employee development is crucial
• Communicates often and has regular reviews
• Treats employees as individuals
• Offers praise and rewards
• Work is enjoyable
• Is fair and impartial, is consistent and predictable
• Gives time for feedback and improvements

Which manager are you? There are further articles about each type of manager and how you can influence employees in a more positive way. Please give us your feedback on this article.

How effective are you as a leader?  This questionnaire will help to give you a rating on your leadership abilitites and how leadership development training can benefit you.  No-one is perfect and there are always ways that we can improve.  This questionnaire will help you to understand areas that you can improve in and you can find tools on this website to help you to become a more effective leader.  So give yourself an honest rating for each of these areas with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest (in the positive).  Grab a pen and paper and rate yourself out of 10 for each of these questions.

1. Are you working effectively in your role?
2. Do you understand the characteristics of being an effective leader?
3. How well do you manage your stress?
4. Do you communicate effectively?
5. Do you listen effectively and ask questions of employees?
6. How effective are your working relationships in your organisation?
7. Do you understand the element of effective working relationships?
8. Do you understand the personality traits of your employees?
9. Do you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your employees?
10. Rate the culture and morale of your organisation.

Add up all your scores.  How well did you do?

A DISC Profiling System identifies the behaviour characteristics of an individual.  The DISC Profiling System is based on four areas of influence including:

1. Dominance - the person's ability to get their point across in a challenging environment, which range from Passive to Aggressive.  They can be competitive, aggressive, decisive and results orientated.  They can at times be impatient, overbearing, rude, not good listeners and prone to making snap decisions.
2. Influence - Their ability to persuade others, people rating high are friendly and suited to customer service or sales.  They are talkative, sociable, optimistic and lively, however, they can be inattentive to details, overly talkative and emotional.
3. Steadiness - They like to remain in one job and don't like a lot of change or variety, this is a good trait for data entry jobs.  They are calm, helpful, patient and modest but can require stability and security.  They can also be indecisive and stubborn.
4. Compliance - Their ability is to follow rules.  They are a stickler for regulations and guidelines and have little flexibility.  This is good for auditing, standards or accredition.  They are precise and logical, analytical and careful.  They can get lost in analysis and can possibly be critical, distant or pessimistic.

Most people are a blend of two of the above personality traits.  Different personality traits have different benefits for different roles in the organisation.  The key is to get the right personalities in a team, with each individual working in roles reflective of their personality traits.