Herding cats is easy compared to managing a sales team.
What’s Easier Than Sales Management?
You were minding your own business and selling up a storm. And then . . .
BAM!
. . . you got promoted. You’re the new sales manager.
The “Paradox of Management” is this: You get paid for doing less of what you got promoted for doing more of.
As a salesperson, all you had to do was sell. Sure, there were tough customers and fires to put out. Once you accept the position of sales manager, however, you add a new level of complexity to your work life.
How much complexity? You ask.
Well, herding cats is easy compared to managing a sales team.
The American Marketing Association’s online dictionary offers this definition of sales management:
The planning, direction, and control of the personal selling activities of a business unit, including recruiting, selecting, training, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying, and motivating as these tasks apply to the sales force. Sales management involves three interrelated processes: (1) formulation of a strategic sales program; (2) implementation of the sales program; and (3) evaluation and control of sales force performance. In formulating the strategic sales program, sales management involves a number of activities including development of account management policies, demand forecasts, and quotas and budgets; sales organization; sales planning; territory design; deployment; and routing. In implementing the sales program, sales management activities include supervising, selecting, recruiting, training, and motivating the sales force. In addition, implementation requires the development of compensation systems and sales force incentive programs. The evaluation and control of sales force performance involves the development and enforcement of methods for monitoring and evaluating sales force performance. Sales management activities typically required for evaluation and control include behavioral analysis, cost analysis, and sales analysis.
You’ve probably thought of this already: You’ll want to copy and paste the above definition to a Word DOC and print it out. Then, you can circle the sales management tasks you’re already doing and underline the ones you need to add to your job description.
Or vice versa.
At the very least, you have a way to get your mind further around the job to which you were promoted.
Here to help you, Boss.
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