The 5 C’s to Successful Sales Management

WARNING: Reading this article and applying what you learn will lead to increased effectiveness in leadership, sales management, salespeople and sales results!

It’s a fact! There are many more small to mid-size companies within the promotional products industry than there are “big” companies. As a result, people just like you who have the formal or informal title of sales manager have been known to say these words; “It’s only me and one or two other people. I’m not really a sales manager.” Nonsense! If you are responsible for the sales performance, growth and development of anyone other than yourself, then you are among the many thousands of people responsible for sales management. Let’s consider some common and/or funny points of understanding associated with this responsibility:

You and the many thousands of people who are sales managers are generally after the same objectives. You want salespeople who are effective. You want sales growing. You want margins to be improving, you would prefer not to experience a “sales slump” and you would like a continual supply of qualified opportunities, prospects and customers.
You may or may not have been trained for the position.
You don’t want to do everyone else’s thinking for them because you have got plenty to keep you busy already.
Your performance is judged more by what you accomplish through others than by what you are able to accomplish on your own.
You weren’t aware that you would have to repeat things so much.
Delegation seems very complicated when you can simply do everything yourself.
There are days you wonder how everything will get done.
One of your favorite questions is “how did I get here?”
You were the “perfect” salesperson. It’s everyone else who has problems.
The growth of your promotional products business depends on your ability to orchestrate the performance and results of people besides yourself.

Let’s be up front and recognize that problems in sales management develop when managers are unwilling to confront their problems. These problems can come in the form of people or situations. Failure to confront is a no win proposition. What ends up happening is that good people with the greatest ability end up getting frustrated and leave the company. They may not leave today or tomorrow, but eventually they will be on their way out. Great people rarely thrive in an environment that lacks clarity, promotes inconsistency and demonstrates a lack of standards.

Whether you manage 1 or 100, the good news is that you can orchestrate highly effective outcomes and results in your promotional products business by developing or enhancing the skills necessary to influence and inspire others to the highest levels of performance. I know what you’re thinking; “If it’s that easy, every promotional products business should be achieving the highest level of results.” That would be like saying because someone knows how to pedal a bike; they will win the Tour De France. The reality is that some people and companies will perform better than others and win more frequently because they learn, practice and apply at a higher level.

Having led and consulted with companies of varying sizes over the last twenty years, it is apparent to me that the most effective managers have salespeople who generate more sales, increase their margins, develop strong repeat business and are creating a much more consistent flow of customers and business. In addition to their desire to learn, practice and apply, these managers are constantly working to master the 5 C’s to Sales Management Success. So what are the 5 C’s that are helping people and the companies they work for achieve top levels of performance. Concern, Clarity, Communication, Conflict and Consistency!

CONCERN

First and foremost, you must have a deep seated concern for equipping, developing and growing great people. The impact that one person has, particularly in a small to mid-size company is huge! Top levels of performance can only be achieved when people understand that their development is of primary importance to the company. This is more than training. This is the total development of the person. Development at this level requires participation and commitment from both sides.

CLARITY

While a large part of effective development comes from training, it also comes from clarity and communication. Let’s deal with clarity first. If you expect to effectively develop someone and in turn receive maximum output and performance from them, then clarity around values, standards, expectations and desired outcomes is critical! There should be no gray area in the clarity with which you present the foundational keys of your company. If you are not clear, the price that you will pay will come in the form of decreased speed in accomplishing goals, lower sales, shrinking margin or reduced output from that person.

COMMUNICATION

The partner to clarity in achieving top performance from people is communication. It is the way in which your expectations and core-values will be expressed. A majority of managers today are failing in the area of communication. The primary reason; they view communication as a reactive effort rather than a proactive process. Top levels of performance will be achieved when you communicate and interact regularly with people on your values, standards, expectations and desired outcomes. Communicate early and often and you will see the results. Remember that it takes 5 to 7 times of repeating a message before the average adult interprets it the way you intended.

CONFLICT

One of the greatest attributes that a manager can possess is the ability to deal with, rather than avoid, conflict! The inability to deal with conflict results in the inability to develop and grow people and achieve the highest levels of performance within your company. If you want to increase sales output and improve margins within your promotional products business, be a leader who is willing to confront conflict and utilize it to develop the people that work for you and the company. Don’t take this to mean that you want a person on your team that constantly creates conflict. There is a big difference between being skilled in confronting conflict and being skilled in creating constant conflict within your company. Managers who avoid or delay dealing with conflict are predictably decreasing the performance and output of individuals and their company.

CONSISTENCY

To be known for consistency is to be known for standards and expectations that people can clearly understand and identify with. Just like a child needs boundaries, the people who work with you need to understand what is expected of them consistently. When someone knows what is expected of them on a daily basis, it makes top performance and output that much easier to achieve. If the target keeps moving, it makes it that much more difficult to hit. While some movement is good, when people can establish their sights on the target and the location of the target, the odds of hitting it improve greatly. You want to be a manager who is known for consistency. That allows your people and your company to be known for their consistently high output and results!

Concern, Clarity, Communication, Conflict and Consistency. The 5 C’s of successful management that will assist you in achieving the goals and targets of your promotional products business!