It is time once again for our weekly sales meeting, hope everyone has survived the first third of December, the part of the month where not everyone has completely shut down. This week we are going to talk about the role of the sales manager and the relationship salespeople have with their manager.

As with any relationship, the sales manager – salesperson partnership takes a bit of work from both sides in order to truly be successful. And also like any other relationship, there has to be trust that both parties are doing what is best for the other. The salesperson has to trust that the manager is going to be there for them, that they can talk with them about any struggles they might be having doing the job and expect to get help and coaching on how to fix the problem. Managers need to trust the salespeople are putting in the necessary work to get the job done.

Unfortunately, I have witnessed some managers who are great unless they are bothered. They run a great meeting, have earned the trust and respect of the other managers and can work magic with a spreadsheet making projections. What they aren’t good at, however, is working one on one with their sellers to get the best out of them.

Now, sometimes this isn’t all the manager’s fault. Salespeople have to want to be better, have to ask for help and have to listen to the advice given and then put it into practice. Too many times, as a manager, I have worked with salespeople who are only really trying to work hard to sell one person, the manager. They can come up with every excuse in the book as to why something is not working or how it is someone else’s fault but really aren’t willing to put in the effort to do the whole job and improve.

I write about this a lot because I believe it to be one of the most important things to always keep in mind about media sales. There are six key parts of the job: prospecting, appointment setting, the client needs analysis, the presentation, the close and the servicing of the account. I spent most of my career as a media sales manager repeating this over and over and over again. Usually, I didn’t have to go anywhere else but this list to evaluate what was happening with any one seller on the team.

After determining which part or parts of the sales process the seller is struggling with, the manager has to put an action plan together to both figure out how to correct the problem and get the salesperson to buy into the solutions. The best way to do that is to set measurable goals and track the performance while figuring out anything else that could be done to help the seller, such as articles or videos on the subject or even practice sessions.

For example, so many salespeople struggle with prospecting the right businesses to begin with. If that is where the breakdown is for the salesperson, you will need to nip that problem in the bud immediately, or you might as well tell the seller to start looking for new work.

Of all of the steps in the sales process, the first two – prospecting and setting appointments, is really what the salesperson is there for. Those are the two parts of the process the manager cannot do for everyone. I have always believed that if my team of sellers can get appointments set with the right decision makers at the right companies, as the manager, I could help them through any of the other steps even if I had to do them myself. While I can certainly train them on ways to be better at prospecting and setting appointments, if in the end the seller is not willing to put the work in, it isn’t going to work. The manager doesn’t have the time to help the whole team with steps 3-6 and set the appointments.

So, this is where the seller really comes into play as far as the relationship with their manager. Some managers are really good, and I have even worked with some who I would consider great. However, none I have ever met are able to actually read minds. If you are not communicating your struggles or hesitancies about the position with your manager, it is almost impossible for them to really help you.

Being honest with your manager is incredibly important, they are there to help you, but as the saying goes, ‘Help them, help you.’ And as managers, we have to willing to be honest with the salespeople, even if it leads to uncomfortable conversations.

One tip for managers is to always ask the salesperson their opinion of what the problem might be and see if they have anything to offer as a solution. Ultimately, you want the seller to see what the problem really is and work through/talk through the possible solutions. Most will know the answers to these questions, they just don’t want to be the one to say it. Use your sales manager skills to flip that around. Help them come up with the answers, but make it their answers.

Now, agree on some steps to work on the problem that are measurable. In this case, it might be coming up with a list of 100 businesses and challenge the salesperson to tell you why each is or isn’t a qualified lead or prospect. Have them do this over a few different weeks or until you are happy they know how to decide who fits and who doesn’t. Hopefully this then becomes a habit for the salesperson to think this way and to make weekly target lists.

Other times, the manager really has to dig in and see the seller in action. As mentioned, some salespeople are great at selling managers, but maybe not so great at selling clients. I had an example one time of a salesperson who was phenomenal at most of the steps, one of the best I ever had. I couldn’t figure out why she struggled to close more business until I went on a few different appointments with her.

I realized that while she was in my office, she talked a good game about being aggressive, asking for the business and closing the deal. Then, after a few times in the field, I saw she was great with everything, however, when it came time to actually ask for the business and get it done, she was hesitant. She put a lot of energy into the pitch and clearly at times was able to get people to say yes before she even asked. But when that didn’t happen and she had to make the move to go for the close, she locked up.

Now it was easier for me to see firsthand what the problem was. She was a great relationship seller with all the right relationships. The issue was she would be so close to her clients she now was thinking of it as asking a friend to spend money rather than a client making a good investment in their business.

Just helping her realize this by saying it out loud was one of the solutions. And keep in mind, this was a person who was a top biller, so anything I could do to help make her just a little bit better, paid off big time for the station’s revenue.

The truth is, most of the time it comes down to the salesperson, or the manager, not wanting to do the work and put the effort in to be better or to help someone be better.

If you are a salesperson struggling and looking for answers, think about how honest you have been with your manager. Have you asked for help? If you are a manager, rate your sales team on the six steps of the sales process and see if you have addressed the areas where you feel each seller is lacking a bit. If not, that may be a good way to spend the next couple of weeks.

It is a two-way street in order to be a successful partnership between sales manager and salesperson. It takes time and effort from both sides in order to work. Managers should always be thinking of ways to make each individual better. If you have tried with someone and it isn’t getting through, perhaps that means it is time for a change with that particular person.

If you are a salesperson, take this time to evaluate your relationship with your manager and let them know what you need more of or what you need less of. Get everything you can out of your manager or even the other managers in your building. Any amount of business it may lead to is more than you had before.

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