Sales managers often perform as drill sergeants who deliver impassioned speeches to ignite their troops of salespeople. The sales manager position implies duties of coaching, training, implementing and other one-way forms of communication.
The art of managing effective salespeople is never successful when practiced through a one-way interaction. In fact, almost no human relationship works successfully like this. The act of imposing will on others is viewed as strength in some instances, but there is no room for imposed ego in the sales department. The most valuable tool for sales managers is the act of listening.
Sales managers work to understand the sales pipeline and strategize to smooth the rough spots. In order to identify rough spots, there are a few places to turn. The first place should always be the sales representatives.
When a sales manager identifies an underperforming rep, it isn’t a chance to coach or yell. It is a listening opportunity. The sales manager must approach the underperforming representative as an absorbent and empathetic listener hoping to understand the representative’s difficulty. The sales representative should be able to identify and explain what part of the current sales process is challenging to him or her. The sales manager may glean where the sales pipeline has a weakness. The sale’s manager should then work to eliminate the issue with the sales process, not the salesperson.
Listening is a sales enablement tool that must be cultivated by managers. Yes, listening can be learned and improved! To help sales listen to the problems that sales representatives may not be able to express, it is wise to enlist the aid of technology. Sales enablement platforms provide data to sales managers about the current state of their sales team.
The Skura sales enablement platform provides sales managers with data that helps.
