After an interesting talent feedback call, I had spoken with a sales manager who was dealing with a challenge that most managers deal with at some point in their career. Can you identify with the following situation – and can you learn from this story?
The good news: The salesperson he is managing is highly talented. She has a lot of natural ability, and when she is engaged, she’s one of her company’s top performers.
The bad news: She is not that engaged. She is occupied with other things outside of work and seems to lack the desire and drive to succeed in her job.
We talk a lot at The Center for Sales Strategy about putting the right people in the right jobs and we believe that when you do that, they naturally soar with their strengths. Throw a fish in the water and it swims. Put Taylor Swift on stage and she belts it out. Hire someone who is born to sell, and they sell.
Except when they don’t.
How many decisions does a sales manager make in day? 10? 25? 50? That number probably varies, but most people would agree sales managers make a lot of decisions each day as they navigate changing conditions, corporate demands, and plenty of persuasion from their salespeople about doing what they want them to do. Better sales managers make good decisions more often than mediocre sales managers. So, how do they do that?
Campaign recaps have become an expectation of doing business in the digital marketing era, but they often become a delivery report instead of reporting on the performance of a campaign. The goal of any recap should be to sell the results of that campaign in an effort to retain and grow the business. Over the years, I’ve seen some really good recaps, and I’ve seen some bad ones.
It's easy for sales teams to get busy, get into a rhythm, or to get on a roll, and just do things the way you've been doing them. Sales managers can wear a lot of hats, and it can be easy when things are working to just keep them going the way they are going. Hey... nothing's wrong, right? Wrong. 
We know what it takes. It takes a lot of work to get to the BIG day. It's time for the sales proposal. 
Picture this. You are seven weeks into the quarter and pacing behind last year, and significantly behind your budget. Your manager and your manager’s manager are nosing around to find out what is going on and peppering you with questions about your plan to fix this. Your sales team is growing increasingly frustrated as orders get canceled and prospects fall through. This scenario is hypothetical, of course, but perhaps you have been there. So, how does a sales manager deal with this?
Proposals come in all shapes and sizes. Some are highly-technical and data-focused, while others are more detail-driven. Some are filled with fluff, while others are pretty worthless. The best proposals are a combination of data, solutions, and detail.
What is your sales culture? Do you even have one? I frequently hear from sales managers the need for a “sales culture,” but often they don’t really know what their own sales culture is or how to build one.
Media sellers today have more capabilities than ever to drive results for their clients. With all of the potential options, you would think that it has gotten easier to build a solution that will drive results, right? Nothing could be further from the truth! If anything, the sheer number of solutions has made it more challenging to determine when to use what when. And with all of those capabilities, their presentations have also become longer – many filled with a multitude of product one-sheets and then a laundry list of recommended products in the recommended solution.
Salespeople work hard to build an account list. Most clients on your list have been researched, painstakingly approached, and developed over time. Maybe a few just fell into your lap. But you value them all. Sure, some may be easier to work with than others, but you have no reason to change anything. Why would you?