Sales managers have an endless list of tasks they could attend to every day. Am I right? Of course I am. A large client demands your attention, your top rep needs you to look at a deal they are going to propose, you have more than a hundred emails that you should do something with, and oh yeah—you have piles stacking up on your desk and floor! (Read our other Sales Management Secrets here!)
You can’t really ever get it all done. But when it comes to helping your salespeople succeed, I encourage you to apply these two principles.
The first is a saying I read from the sports world many years ago. “The coach's job is to get the player to do what they don’t want to do, so they can become what they want to become.” The other comes from the music industry. My wife heard this many years ago at a songwriting conference. “The songwriter’s job is to make truth new.”
The place where these two truths meet is a powerful place for you to focus your attention. Think about all the fundamentals you know your salespeople will need to excel at this year, and be sure to emphasize those in your one-on-one meetings, sales meetings, contests you run, things you talk about, etc. And in each case, think about how to bring those to life in a new way—how to make truth new.
If you want to help your sellers get off to a good start when it comes to new business development, ask them to use our Target Account Progress Tracker with their three best prospects. This tool will get them focused on the right steps with the right accounts.
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John Henley is the Chief Operating Officer at The Center for Sales Strategy
Read our other Sales Management Secrets here!
