Managing Salespeople

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How do you manage people who always want to be the first over the finish line?

Janine is an experienced manager, and she has led a number of highly successful teams in the past. So, when her boss asks her to manage a team of salespeople for the first time, she is excited about the opportunity.

However, after eight months in the role, her team is underperforming, and she isn't sure how to turn things around.

For example, people often arrive late for meetings, and morale is at an all-time low. Competition between sales reps is fierce, and these rivalries affect everyone's sense of unity. And some people struggle to work together on even simple tasks, which means that they spend their time arguing.

Leading a team of salespeople needs a subtly different approach from the one you might use with other groups of people. For example, sales professionals often need autonomy and strong motivators (among other things) to meet ambitious performance goals.

In this article, we'll look at how you can manage and motivate a sales team effectively.

The Challenges of Managing a Sales Team

Sales professionals are often ambitious and driven, and they value freedom and independence in their jobs. However, their motivation can plummet if you don't make your expectations clear, or if you fail to communicate performance goals and metrics.

Some salespeople may want you to give them high-level objectives, but not to tell them how to do their jobs, especially if you lack sales experience. So, you're likely to clash with people if you try to micromanage   them.

Another common challenge is team cohesiveness. Effective sales professionals can be naturally competitive, and team unity and morale can suffer if you don't handle this appropriately. ...