Changing People: It is extremely common for sales managers to dive in and attempt strengthen sales rep weaknesses. For example, a rep is strong at bringing in leads, but weak in closing. The sales manager does everything possible to strengthen the rep as a closer.

1. The Pain Point
of People
Pain Points of Sales Management and How to Overcome Them

2. Nikolaus Kimla
Email: n.kimla@pipelinersales.com
Website: www.pipelinersales.com
CEO at Pipelinersales Inc.
Written by...

3. Changing People
It is extremely common for sales managers to dive in and attempt strengthen
sales rep weaknesses. For example, a rep is strong at bringing in leads,
but weak in closing. The sales manager does everything possible
to strengthen the rep as a closer.

4. Changing People
Would it not make more sense—not to mention require
a lot less effort—to make them even better at bringing in
leads? And every sales team needs great closers. Why
take someone who is great at closing and pester them
about lead nurturing?
Make them an even better closer!

5. Changing People
The first decision a sales manager should make as
regards people is not to try and change them, but to help
them to continuously improve at being who they are, and
doing what they do best.

6. General Sales Manager Rules Regarding People
Never get in competition
with your sales rep
—don’t try and show them up by
going after the same prospects or
some such.
Never sell for them
—come in and do the deal because
you are anxious because they're not
closing it. That's a very fast way to
lose their allegiance to you--and you
need that if you're going to have a
sales team at all.
Never overrule them
—if they make a decision to use a
certain strategy with a particular
prospect, or a particular method,
don't dive in and make them do
something else.
21 3

7. Measuring Ability
You're under an enormous amount of pressure to perform. In order to do so, you
have to not only know the best performers on your team, but at what they excel.
You want to figure out what your reps are doing right, and continuously assist them
at getting better at it. How do you do that?

8. Sales is about effective results.
You need to measure those results.
For example:
● How many leads does a rep bring in? Of what quality?
● What percentage of leads does a rep "heat up" and make
ready for prime-time sales?
● What percentage of leads does a rep convert to
opportunities?
● What is a rep's closing ratio—percentage of opportunities
closed?
Measuring Ability

9. Measuring Ability
A CRM should provide you tools so you can rapidly see
how reps are doing in each of these areas, and more.
Pipeliner certainly does—and in fact we even provide an
Archive (we're the only CRM that does) in which you can
instantly see why sales were won or lost, where they
stalled in the sales process, and any other data you need
to analyze lost sales.

10. Freeing Them Up
Once you know which reps are great at which parts of
sales, you need to free them up of things that are
weighing them down. For example, once I had figured
out who the best performers were, I would remove
extraneous administration from their jobs. Give them the
space to make those numbers.

11. A Worthwhile System
The next major effort you should make is to create a system that truly motivates
your salespeople to sell. A salesperson that is really happy with a commission
structure is going to bend over backwards to make sales—and the primary
benefactor is that salesperson's employer.

12. A Worthwhile System
A great commission structure is especially important
when it comes to your top producers. When you come
along and ask a top rep to do even more, their first
thought is going to be, “Why should I?”
And it's true—if they are already at the top of their game
percentage-wise, why should they go the extra mile?
You have to make it worth their while.

13. But It's Up to Them, Too
Given a decent commission structure, a worthwhile
product and an even mildly healthy market, it is then
truly up to the reps to sell. Just as you are watching and
monitoring to see who is a top performer in what area of
sales, so you must watch for those that just aren't
pulling their weight.
As a sales manager you have quotas to meet. If you
have people there who are not producing you must rid
yourself of them. As hard as that is, you must do it.

14. Building a Team
A sales manager, evaluating, coaching, and mentoring
personnel, must build a team. You hire the best you can
find, get them into the position they're great at, into a
commission structure they're happy with, get them all
fired up and selling. If they don't make it, you cut them
loose. The ones that do, you do everything you can to
help.

15. NEXT SLIDESHARE IN THIS SERIES:
The First Thing a Sales Manager Must Know:
Management

16. CRM (R)Evolutionized—Instant Intelligence, Visualized!
DOWNLOAD FREE TRIAL SEE ALL BENEFITSor