At this time of year you’re probably setting out your sales strategy for 2017.
The usual suspects are there in the budget, including some sales training for the team. Often this will be passed on to HR for them to organise a generic sales training workshop which ticks the box. I know I sat through enough of them!
But wait…Is this really the best way to approach your sales team’s development?
I’d like to ask you a personal question. What investment have you planned for your sales management?
Often it’s not even on the agenda. It’s a shocking fact that most sales managers are around 40 years old before they have any formal development in sales management.
Most times these individuals have been promoted to management due to their top sales performance. They arrive in the challenging role of a sales leader without sufficient support and development which is a real mistake.
I recently worked with a sales manager who had this exact experience. She was highly regarded as a manager and of great value to the company but sales management was an area that had been overlooked by the leadership team.
The irony of her situation was that, like many top people, up to that point in her career she had not received any professional development. When you consider it’s ultimately the sales manager who sets the pace for the team. He or she is the one who could multiply their experience and effectiveness throughout the entire team with significantly impact on increasing sales revenue.
So if you’re a CEO or M.D currently reviewing your growth strategy what provision have you made to ensure your sales leaders can maximise their impact on the sales team and consistently deliver results to your bottom line in 2017?
As an insight into how this can be achieved effectively here’s a link to a brief video
https://www.linearstructure.com/insights/videos/
Is Sales Really a Professional Management Discipline?
