What Type Of Sales Manager Are You?

Part 3 – The Reconstruction Sales Manager

This is part three of a series of articles on the different types of Sales Managers. Just as there are different types of salespeople (hunters, farmers, call center reps, independent reps, etc.), there are also different types of Sales Managers. Understanding the different types of Sales Managers and identifying your specific type, will help you to define and achieve the expectations of that role.

Keep in mind that you may possess characteristics of several Sales Management types. However, 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 third type of Sales Manager is the Reconstruction Sales Manager. This Sales Management type is one that inherits a poor performing sales team and reforms it for success. They must “reconstruct” the sales team to make it function properly in order to meet the specific sales objectives. The existing processes and systems are outdated, ineffective or don’t exist. The salespeople may have received spotty coaching and training, insufficient sales aides and minimal accountability.

I’ve worked with many organizations that were reeling from a highly destructive administration and were left with a weak sales team with low morale and no direction. Entering in to a situation like this makes for challenging work for the Reconstruction Sales Manager. They have to get it fixed, make it work and meet quota – and they must do it quickly.

Conditions
The reasons for hiring a Reconstruction Sales Manager are varied. It could be the result of a CEO of a small company who is ineffective as a Sales Manager, but couldn’t hire one until he/she could afford it. The “homegrown” systems and management style prevented the sales team from growing properly, so the new Sales Manger has to delicately reconstruct the lead flow processes, reporting structure and training systems. In many cases, this will also be the first time that the salespeople will be observed and coached out in the field.

Another reason for hiring a Reconstruction Sales Manager is the result of a previous sales manager who was an ineffective leader. The previous Sales Manager may have been a tyrant, a friend of the CEO, a great salesperson who got a “logical” promotion to Sales Manager or an Operations Manager who inherited the sales team under their jurisdiction during a company strategy session. Regardless of the reasons though, the fact remains that the sales team is not performing and is in dire need of a competent sales leader making it work.

There are many tell-tale signs of poor sales management that beckons for new leadership. For example, one of the markings of a poor sales leader is an ineffective pipeline management process and reporting function. Either there a patchwork process, an outdated process or one that is overly complicated and taxes the time and energy of the salespeople. The Reconstruction Sales Manager analyzes the pre-existing system, and either overhauls it or throws it out and starts over. Either way, this is costly for the company and can cause push-back from the senior management who only 12-months earlier signed off on such a big expensive CRM system.

• Identify the caliber of each salesperson
• Move out poor performers
• Benchmark success standards for each sales role and hire new salespeople
• Identify key accounts and maintain those relationships in order to continue cash flow
• Identify poor accounts and refocus the sales teams’ attention on target markets and new sales opportunities that align with high caliber accounts
• Evaluate and fix existing systems or establish new systems such as: forecasting models and reports; sales quotas; training systems; performance appraisal systems; collateral materials and compensation plans

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but you can clearly see how this can be quite a difficult challenge even for an experienced Sales Manger. Factor in family run businesses, an ineffective management team, company politics and insufficient budgets and your probability for success can go way down. It does not mean that it can’t work, but I recommend that establishing a clearly defined set of realistic expectations prior to engaging in such a task will definitely keep you from ever increasing frustration and setting yourself up for failure.

Success
So what is a successful Reconstruction Sales Manager? The true test for success is simple - if you are no longer a Reconstruction Sales Manager. Successful Reconstruction Sales Manager’s move from fixing and mending pre-existing problems left over from the previous administration into a Pure Growth Sales Manager. (We’ll cover the Pure Growth Sales Manager in article six) This does not mean that the job becomes easier (although it should), but the problems from the past that inhibited sales performance are dealt with effectively and you’ve moved on to more strategic initiatives with a more productive sales team.

Ultimately, the final test for the Reconstruction Sales Manager, as with the other types, is achieving the sales goals within the projected time frame. Did you achieve the objectives within the parameters set for you when you took the job? Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of clearly defined goals and objectives. By asking your potential new Sales Director during your hiring phase – “What does it mean to be successful in this Sales Management role?” you will clear up a lot of confusion later. Knowing the different types of Sales Managers and which one is required for your new job will benefit you in that process.

About the Author
Barrett Riddleberger is an internationally recognized leader in the practice of sales assessment, sales training, sales recruitment and sales consulting. His book, “Blueprint of a Sales Champion,” details how organizations can find, train and retain top performing salespeople… even in a highly competitive market. An accomplished author and sales consultant, Riddleberger is also highly in demand as a business development and motivational speaker for organizations seeking to drive their sales force to greater levels of performance. For more info go to www.ResolutionSystemsInc.com or www.BlueprintOfASalesChampion.com or call 336.665.0506.