THE TEN SALES MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES

Sales management is a subject about which one will find countless books and articles.  The reason is clear.  There are thousands upon thousands of capable people with extensive sales management experience; hence, there are countless opinions about the very best sales management practices.  Having had a career in sales management, here is my list of the ten best practices in sales management.

1. Casey Stengel said it best when he told a group of writers that he was a far superior manager when he had Mickey Mantle playing centerfield for him.  In the business of sales management the manager is a far superior manager when he has a superstar covering the territory for him.  In college sports today, as anyone who follows collegiate sports knows, the name of the game is recruiting.  At the top of the list in sales management best practices is the subject of recruiting “Hall of Fame” type salespeople and support staff like systems engineers and application engineers.

2. Sales management is an easier business if there is a steady stream of major accounts flowing into the customer base.  Those are the accounts that sustain a business.  Winning the very large and complex sales campaigns is a skill that can be developed.  My book, Closing the Whales takes the mystery out of winning major accounts.

3. Funnel (business pipeline) reviews are a part of sales management.  The best funnel reviews are focused on collaborative coaching and strategy as opposed to accounting exercises.

4. Sales management is responsible for motivation according to most sales management performance plans with which I am familiar.  It is my experience that the idea is: Hire motivated people, then do your best to avoid de-motivating them.  Nothing works better than respecting individuals throughout the organization.

5. Forecasting accuracy is a top priority for sales management.  Good forecasting develops credibility upwards and makes the job of resource acquisition easier for sales management.

6. The ultimate task of sales management is the increasing development of the distribution channel and leveraging the channel by driving more products through it.  More feet on the street turning consistent and ever increasing profits is the trait of exceptional sales management.

7. Value selling is a spin on consultative selling, in my view.  The central idea is to fully discover the customer’s needs before prescriptions are written.  What differentiates a sales team is the professional approach to prospect assessment.  The sales team that has a current, professionally designed assessment process will be seen differently by customers and prospects.  Sales teams, on the other hand, that attempt to short-circuit the assessment process by asking a few questions fail to understand the differentiation process.

8. Sales management is a business of hiring, training and retaining winners.  It is not about retaining those who are misplaced.  The sooner sales management recognizes a misplaced person and corrects the problem, the better.

9. Sales management, particularly when there is attrition within the sales force, must completely understand and comply with current human resource requirements and practices.

10. The best sales management teams know how important it is to be on the same page as the boss.  Knowing what is vitally important upward helps in all directions.

Discover the best practices in sales management. Get your copy of Closing the Whales today!