What Type Of Sales Manager Are You?

Part 6 – The Pure Growth Sales Manager

This is the final installment in our series of six 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 sixth type of Sales Manager is the Pure Growth Sales Manager. This Sales Management type is one where the Sales Manager is managing a growing productive sales team. This typically includes growing both sales volume and headcount. The ultimate goal is to add more salespeople to achieve consistently higher and higher sales quotas by selling into new or expanding markets and penetrating deeper into existing markets with new products.

Conditions
In most cases, Pure Growth Sales Managers are hired for one of the other five Sales Management types first and then, by accomplishing the original objective, they eventually move into Pure Growth status. The primary purpose of the Pure Growth Sales Manager is to grow top line sales. Let’s take a look at where you might start and how you get to the Pure Growth Sales Manager status:

Selling Sales Manager
If you start out as a Selling Sales Manager, then you’ll want to sell your way to the point of adding on more salespeople. In many cases, your goal is to eventually manage from the top and disperse your personal sales quota to your team and increase the overall sales volume. The end result is stepping out of the sales role (having a personal quota) and coaching and developing an ever growing sales team.

Start-Up Sales Manager
When starting a new sales team, achieving sales goals early on while simultaneously establishing the processes and systems can be difficult. Moving from Start-Up to Pure Growth may take some time, so be sure to set realistic expectations with the one who hired you. Also, be clear on the tools, resources and support you’ll need to move from Start-Up to Pure Growth. Defining what that looks like and when that should occur is an important conversation to have with senior management. This transition usually occurs when you’ve built a repeatable formula for adding new salespeople and are achieving increasingly higher sales goals.

Reconstruction Sales Manager
You know when you’ve left the Reconstruction stage when you no longer have to overhaul the previous administrations systems and you’ve weeded out the non-performers and hired your core sales team. At this point, you can check off these achievements and work with your new sales team with longer tenures and consistency in achieving sales quotas. Once you’re in this position, adding new salespeople through your updated hiring and development process is repeatable and efficient. Keep in mind that you’ll always tweak your processes and systems, but you should be finished with the major overhaul.

Turnaround Sales Manager
When the company is out of danger from bankruptcy, foreclosure or takeover, step one is complete. This, however, should be determined at the beginning of your employment as Turnaround Sales Manager so you and senior management can both check off phase one as complete. You’ll probably move into another phase, such as Reconstruction, in order to establish proper hiring and sales processes once things have settled down from the turmoil brought about the radical steps you made to save the company. Once the Reconstruction phase is complete, you can move into Pure Growth, add new salespeople, train them and get them producing with less effort than during the Turnaround period.

Maintenance Sales Manager
There are organizations that are satisfied with the Maintenance Sales Manager model… unless they add new products and services, add new markets or verticals or wish to expand geographically. Whatever the reason, moving from Maintenance to Pure Growth can prove challenging if you’re used to a “status quo” run company. I’ve seen occasions where a successful Maintenance Sales Manager was replaced by a Pure Growth Sales Manager simply because the company lacked the confidence in their incumbent. For some it is not an easy switch. Pure Growth requires more work and more to manage. In short, be prepared for a shake up if senior management wants to suddenly increase the company’s revenue by expanding the sales team and demanding more from you.

Success
So what is a successful Pure Growth Sales Manager? Success occurs when the Pure Growth Sales Manager increases headcount of the sales team and achieves the newly established and sometimes aggressive sales goals. The Pure Growth period may last for several years or may be adopted as a permanent strategy. Regardless, the Pure Growth Sales Manager achieves the increasing sales objectives established by senior management. I’ve known companies who took a defensive position when they encountered new competition and, in most cases, that was not the best decision. This type of strategy can leave a company “out-branded”, out sold and with eroding market share. Taking an aggressive approach by adding new salespeople and developing the existing team members to sell more effectively in order to combat competition is usually a better solution. Outselling the competition requires a strong Sales Manager – one who is devoted to a Pure Growth strategy and drives the recruiting and on-boarding processes, as well as, the development and leadership responsibilities to achieve the goal.

About the Author

Barrett Riddleberger is an internationally recognized leader in the practice of sales assessment, sales training, sales recruitment and retention. His new 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 lecturer, Riddleberger is also highly in demand as a business development and motivational speaker for organizations seeking to inspire their sales force. For more info go to www.ResolutionSystemsInc.com or www.BlueprintOfASalesChampion.com or call 336.665.0506