Have you ever met a business owner who sucked when it came to being a sales manager of his or her own business? This is a very brief rant regarding how challenging it is for anyone to nail sales manager performance, let alone small business owners of the free Earth.
Of course, sales manager performance directly impacts sales producer performance or lack thereof. The two critical elements are getting new customers and ready access to working capital to fuel your growth. Cash and cash flow is King and Queen. Finding profitable customers is what it’s all about.
Why are so many small business owners still managing their own sales force? Truth is, most think they don’t have a choice. So they stay stuck. Until they get a massive wake up call one day screaming, “Get some sales discipline and leadership in here or die!”
Then we generally see them taking serious action like running their own recruiting ads, hiring and managing people or seeking outside help from consultants or contractors to fill the gap. Short cuts abound. Painful lessons lurk at every turn. We all learn by doing it. Or paying someone else who is really good at sales management, coaching, and all the other elements you need to be successful in this regard.
Here are three reasons most business owners really do suck at effective sales manager performance.
1. They have never done it before.
2. They already wear seven other hats.
3. They have zero patience or ability to do it right.
So there you have it. Which is why of the roughly 30 million small businesses in America today, the vast majority are owned and operated by a single person who is likely doing their sales and sales management or outsourcing it. Those who bridge the gap to building and managing an effective sales process or team are those that grow and scale.
I will write more on this in the days ahead. For now, I am curious and really appreciate your candid feedback on this topic of effective sales manager performance. What does that even mean to you?
How do you handle the small business owner who sucks at being his or her own sales manager thereby having a highly toxic effect on the people on the team?
Here’s a great article regarding the core issues impacting sales manager performance, from a manager’s perspective. Salesforce knows a thing or two about sales management by virtue of it’s dominant position in CRM and related technologies.
I always appreciate your comments, questions and feedback here on the Conversion Marketing Experts blog.
To your success and happiness.