This is part two of a series of articles on the different types of Sales Managers. Just as there are a variety of sales roles (hunters, farmers, call center reps, independent reps, etc.), there are also different types of Sales Managers. Knowing the different types of Sales Management roles and identifying your specific type, can significantly enhance your performance and realign your daily activities to achieve your team sales goals.

You may possess characteristics of several Sales Management types. When you read each of these articles, think about which type most closely aligns with your current role. From that you can determine which one you want to become.

The second type of Sales Manager is the Start-Up Sales Manager. The Start-Up Sales Manager creates a new sales team from scratch at the beginning of a new company or division. There are no preexisting processes, resources, salespeople or sales culture. Everything must be created new. Don’t get this one confused with the Selling Sales Manager who must start-up a new sales office, sell and eventually manage others. There are certainly cases where the Selling Sales Manager takes on the role of Start-Up Sales Manager. Usually, Start-Up Sales Manager builds and manages a sales team from scratch without having to take on a personal sales quota.

Conditions
There are several conditions that exist which are unique for the Start-Up Sales Manager. First, because there are no preexisting systems, this requires the development of new hiring, on-boarding, coaching, training and appraisal processes. Utilizing knowledge gained from previous work experiences is critical. Also, tapping into corporate resources that enable the quick development of a sales team is useful if revenue must be generated quickly through sales. Venture capital or some type of funding will be critical early on in order to attract, hire, train and retain premium sales talent. This role can be difficult early on if the Start-Up Sales Manger does not have access to the type of resources required to accomplish this initiative.

On the other hand, the Start-Up Sales Manager may have an easier job than many Sales Managers because they can establish expectations, set standards, create processes, hire all new salespeople and create a true sales culture the right way. There are no bad habits to overcome, poor conditions from previous management administrations or morale problems. There are no ineffective processes, systems or salespeople to “fix”. In short, they can start with a clean slate and build a sales team the right way the first time with no baggage.

Success
Success in the Start-Up Sales Manager role occurs when they achieve the initial sales goals and objectives within a specific time frame through a newly hired sales force. In short, they are successful as a Start-Up Sales Manager when they are no longer a Start-Up Sales Manager. Ideally, they should move as quickly as possible from the Start-Up Sales Manager role into the Pure Growth Sales Manager role (which I will cover in article #6). Start-Up Sales Managers should never remain in that type of role for too long. They should establish the processes and systems, hire the right people, penetrate the market, build a pipeline and generate consistent revenue ASAP. This, of course, can take months or several years depending on company, market conditions, quality and quantity of sales talent and product/service differentiation. Nonetheless, once the start-up phase is over, the Sales Manager can move into a pure coaching and management role by monitoring the systems they’ve established, adding new salespeople and concentrating on growing the top line and/or generating greater shareholder value.