Whether you’re ready or not, the modern buyer has changed. And that means you need to change too. Yes, we’re talking about you, sales manager!
In 2016, sales performance is no longer the domain of characters like Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross (revisit this memorable scene). This type of tyrannical and terrifying manager belongs to the past. The 2016 sales manager is human and focused on their figures and data.
The good news is that it’s not so difficult to become a modern sales manager. We spoke with some of our own managers to find out what it takes to succeed. Discover their advice:
The 6 Essential Habits of the Modern Sales Manager
1) Be a Knowledge Leader
This advice seems obvious. But it’s about much more than just occasionally clicking the “tweet” button on an interesting article.
Share interesting articles about your industry with your colleagues, or even your prospects. A new white paper or webinar can be a great opportunity to reconnect with a prospect. Participate in discussions at events or on social media. Don’t hesitate to write one or two blog posts.
The President of Incenteev and former Sales Director at Dell, Roland Massenet, listed this point as the primary characteristic of the modern sales manager. According to Roland, “Whatever company you work for, be recognized as a leader in the field of knowledge.”
2) Join Them on the Front Lines!
If you’ve reached the rank of sales director/manager, it’s because you’re probably a very good salesperson. So don’t stop being one!
Instead of hiding in a corner of the office and managing your teams’ sales performance from afar, be a sales manager who sells! Join your team and try to achieve targets with them.
The best way to be a leader remains by example. Having them hear you make calls and close deals can motivate your salespeople to do the same.
“Listening to each other on the phone is extremely important,” says Simon Vandendriessche, General Manager and co-founder of Incenteev.
He also advises forming pairs, between salespeople or with a manager, to listen to each other during calls and discuss messages, objection handling, and sales techniques.
Prospecting by phone takes salespeople out of their comfort zone. Contacting a stranger and selling them a product is always a complicated operation. To break the silence that sometimes reigns in certain sales departments, nothing is more effective than sitting down and making calls.
3) Focus Teams on Secondary Indicators
A great way to motivate sales teams is to organize short challenges based on secondary KPIs (key performance indicators) that are not part of salespeople’s variable compensation. For example, at Incenteev, we organized a one-month challenge on the number of LinkedIn contacts. The prize was symbolic but fun: a Nerf gun. According to Simon Vandendriessche, simply drawing salespeople’s attention to a secondary indicator for a short period will make them focus on it. And offering a symbolic prize avoids the risk of the challenge being perceived as unfair: if you don’t have a chance to win, it’s not a big deal, you don’t feel wronged. The short duration prevents interest in the challenge from waning. And the good news is, it works! Our salespeople increased their number of contacts by 50% on average, and the best one gained over 400 connections in one month! Obviously, the key is to choose indicators that contribute to the success of sales objectives: our salespeople broke their records for appointments and contracts during that month.
The Incenteev platform makes it easy to launch these kinds of short operations. In just a few clicks, you can invite participants, choose a theme and prizes, and propose a challenge where everyone can easily track their indicators and rankings.
4) Above All, Be Consistent and Constant
Don’t try to be consistent. Be consistent.
Consistency in management is crucial for maintaining a healthy and motivating work environment. Of course, you must be consistent in how you interact with your colleagues and how you evaluate them. But it’s just as important to maintain the regularity of meetings and standups. Standups are short daily meetings (about fifteen minutes) where everyone states what they did the previous day, what they will do today, and if they need a team member.
Don’t cancel face-to-face coaching sessions with salespeople when it suits you, just because they don’t seem very important. Improve them so they are significant and meaningful.
“You have to be consistent and structured in how you manage a team,” says Roland. “If you start changing things, then nothing has value.”
Consistency creates a rhythm of expectations and allows for accountability, both for you and for your team.
5) Live for Data
Yes, you know that your salespeople’s KPIs should be your daily bread.
But data can do much more. Data should go beyond simply measuring sales performance. Data should guide almost every one of your decisions. Do you feel that your team spends too much time on small deals? What do the data tell you?
“The modern sales manager follows their data to confirm or refute what their instinct tells them,” says Roland.
In other words, the 2016 sales manager understands not only what is happening but also why it is happening.
6) Forge a Collaborative Culture
Company culture is something many people talk about, but sales managers often tend to take it lightly or not believe in it too much. The 2016 sales manager not only recognizes the importance of company culture but, above all, creates a positive and collaborative environment to promote it.
According to Roland, one of the main challenges for the sales manager is to create a collective atmosphere that encourages the exchange of best practices and feedback, where a salesperson who needs help doesn’t hesitate to ask for it.
“There’s nothing worse than a salesperson who thinks they know everything,” Roland continues.
He adds that this applies particularly to the recruitment process. A good sales manager ensures that newcomers integrate into the team and its culture.
“I can teach anyone to sell, but I can’t teach anyone to be a good person,” Simon told us.
If you think you’re ready to become a modern sales manager, join the most innovative sales leaders in France for a webinar hosted by Roland Massenet and Simon Vandendriessche, co-founders of Incenteev, on the challenges of digital transformation for sales forces!