Seven Core Competencies of Today’s Sales Manager
Many years ago when I was a salesman, one of my greatest ambitions was to become a Sales Manager. I figured that I’d love the job. You’ve heard the expression, “Be careful what you wish for?” This was not one of those times. I loved being a Sales Manager. I loved leading a group of salespeople, developing them, watching them grow, and watching the results come up. In fact, I still love it – it’s just that I get to love it now with many companies at once, rather than one at a time.
It’s been over twelve years since I’ve led a sales force, and the most amazing aspect of those twelve years is how much the job of Sales Manager has changed. Some of those changes are due to technology, some are due to changes in people, some are just due to changing times. What is disturbing to me is how many Sales Managers aren’t changing with the needs of the job. Today’s Sales Manager has different requirements than even twelve years ago. Let’s talk about the core competencies that will make a Sales Manager successful in today’s world. These are presented in no particular order.
- Training and Development. This is still the prime skill set of Sales Management. The ability to contnue to train and develop salespeople – both initially and on an ongoing basis – is the core of Sales Management. If you’re a Sales Manager, your job on any given day is to ask yourself, “How can I help my salespeople – or even one salesperson – to be better and more skilled at the end of this day than they are at the start?” And then, by the end of the day, have an answer to the question.
- Understanding of Process. Yesterday’s Sales Manager did things on gut feel; today’s must understand the value and execution of processes and road maps. Whether we’re talking about hiring processes, sales processes, or coaching processes, the top sales managers understand that good processes (continually refined) are key to increasing productivity in every phase of their sales force’s development.
- Talent Acquisition. Note that I said “Talent Acquisition” instead of “Hiring.” There’s a difference. Today’s sales manager is always working to upgrade his or her sales force through finding and acquiring new talent and skill sets. This means being open to the approaches of other salespeople at networking events, trade shows, and even when being cold called. Although sales managers will excecute hiring processes when needed, they’ll always have their ears and eyes open.
- Understands the Science of Hiring. This goes along with talent acquisition, as I mentioned above. This is a relatively new development. Fifteen years ago, our primary hiring was on our gut and instincts – and we were wrong more than half the time. In today’s world, we have scientifically valid psychometric assessments that can bring our hiring accuracy to 80% and above – IF the manager understands how to use them. Too many managers don’t; many are unwilling to even try. If that’s you, you’re behind the times.
- Is CRM Savvy. By “CRM Savvy,” I don’t mean that the Sales Manager can program CRM, but that the Sales Manager knows how to0 use CRM as a tool for getting the most out of his or her sales force. That Sales Manager also knows how to manage the sales input into CRM and makes sure that the CRM system is working well.
- Is Social Media Savvy. Like it or not, social media is part and parcel of selling and managing salespeople. It’s a conduit for learning about the competition, about the industry, and disseminating your message to your customers. One of the best sales managers I know spends the first 20 minutes of each day on social media, on the topics that I mentioned above. Some days he learns things that turn into sales, and some he doesn’t – but the ones where he does pay for the ones that don’t.
- Is Constantly Learning. Here is the scary part for some. What I’m talking about here are the core competencies of a sales manager TODAY, and as far into the future as I can see. And you know what? There could be some Earth-shattering development tomorrow that could change everything….and as a sales manager, you absolutely must be able to change with the times. I meet many sales managers where my only question is WHEN their learning stopped. 1980? 1990? 2000? 2010? Whenever it is, if your learning has stopped, you’d better start again. Your company and your team depend on it.
You might think that I wrote this column for the Sales Managers out there, or for the business owners who employ them. And, partially, I did. But I also wrote this for those of you who maybe were where I was in 1997 – working toward that first Sales Management job. I got it in 1998, but nobody told me what the core competencies were. I had to figure them out. Hopefully this shortens your path.
