What mistakes did your sales manager make?
Asked by Mike O
My father-in-law wants me to take over the sales division of his shipping company. The company has independent sales reps throughout the country. The man I'm replacing is well respected and retiring after 17 years with the company. I can't afford to screw this up. What were the biggest mistakes your sales manager made? What would you have done differently?

Best Answer:
The biggest mistakes were 1- putting too high of a value on untested sales people. This was a pet peeve of mine when the sales manager would tell me how great a sales guy was only to have me triple his production. 2- humility regardless of your performance is key. The other sales people will believe that you are getting special treatment even if you are not. 3-Not valuing top talent. Top sales people are tough to replace. They need to be treated that way. 4-Telling sales people how to sell when you can not sell better than them. You have to prove to a sales person that you can sell to earn their respect. Actions speak very loudly to sales people. 5- Not working the hardest. Managers need to be first in and last to leave or they get less respect.

The biggest mistake is not being available to answer questions or just the opposite and being overbearing like a micromanager. Be honest and fair and available to help and you will also be respected.
Answered by David W

Congratulations! If I were you, I would not take the approach of not screwing up, but how to make the team successful. Think of this as a long-term, where early on you'll be learning, you'll make a few mistakes but you'll learn and grow and over time become a super sales director. I would learn all you can about sales. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the senior sales rep on your team (why did you do it that way, why is it done that way, etc). Take note of what they say and learn. I would also find a few Sales Directors (cold call them if you have to) and ask for informational interviews. Many will say no but some will be willing to help. I would hire great sales reps (pay more if you have to) and then trust them to do their job. Listen to your good reps on what their obstacles are and work to address them. Good Reps will make or break your organization. I'd read The 25 Habits of Successful Sales People and SPIN Selling just as a basic intro to sales. Salesguy.org and BDMNews have good suggested reading lists. I'd also subscribe to millerheiman.com, huthwaite.com, sellingpower.com, emarketer.com and salesguy.org's newsletters for regular suggestions/research. Don't be lured by the sales coaches who give car sales tactics -- look for practical information and useful research. Don't be lured to by the idea you can sugar coat everything and spin people/customers into doing anything -- people buy because they have a need. Lastly, three management books I found motivational were From the Gut (Welch), The Carolina Way (Dean Smith) and Management For Dummies (believe it or not, it has some good tips in there).
Answered by Kip J