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| Sales Management Information |
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Leadership Lessons for Sales Managers
Leadership, like class, is hard to define, but easy to spot. Someone once defined management as "the effective coordination of the efforts of the individuals in a group to accomplish that stated objectives of the organization." Managers get results by establishing goals and working with and through people to achieve those goals. As a manager, your success depends on your ability to: ? Find and attract career-oriented men and women who have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to do the job, who are motivated to work, and who will cooperate with you and each other, and; ? Develop and manage these people to meet specific performance standards. Management is a process because it involves a series of skills. But management is as much attitude as it is skills. Managers should be helpful supporters, working to build trust and confidence, and seeking to improve performance by recognizing that individuals have different needs, motivations and aspirations. That means, the more of a leader you are, the better manager you will be. Happily, most leaders are made, not born. They are cultivated, shaped and strengthened by education, training and real-world experience. Understanding leadership AND management is a good way of becoming more proficient at both. What is leadership? What does it take to be a leader? Here's a short course: ? Leadership means having a mission and inspiring others to be committed to it. The mission is everything; leaders approach it with enthusiasm. ? Leaders are agents of change; they make decisions based on a vision of the future, not just on established directions. ? Leaders take risks to make things happen that would not otherwise happen. ? Leaders need a combination of competence, integrity, credibility and authority. They're seen as being involved in a lot of things and able to answer a lot of questions. Leadership is a collaborative, not individual, process. It's the ability to get people to do what you want them to because they want to do it! ? Leaders help people do their best. ? Leaders depend on themselves and act on their own authority, but they recognize the importance of others. ? Leaders ask questions and know how to listen. ? Leaders let others talk; they don't talk about themselves. Leadership begins when people disagree. ? Leaders recognize that performance and progress are forged on the anvil of constructive conflict. ? Leaders are willing to be unloved! In the words of Admiral John S. McCain (the late father of the Senator): "People may not love you for being strong when you have to be, but they will respect you for it and learn to behave themselves when you do." Try it; it works! Qualities of an Effective Leader ? Leaders are purposeful; they have a clear view of their objectives and avoid digressions into irrelevancy. ? Leaders know their stuff; they have a thorough grasp of their subjects, when possible, backed up with hands-on experience. ? Leaders are prepared. No matter how well you know what you are talking about, choose appropriate ways of getting your message across. Avoid shortcuts. ? Leaders are enthusiastic, but season their enthusiasm with intelligence and appropriate humor. ? Leaders understand the use of drama. Dull is boring, so cultivate a sense of staging, especially when addressing a group. ? Leaders are confident and easy-going. Regardless of their management style, they speak clearly, projecting their voices and looking people in the eye. Distinct speech is a sign of distinct ideas; self-assurance catches on. ? Leaders maintain a positive attitude. They never speak ill of their organizations or of individuals under their management. The glass is always half full, never half empty. ? Leaders demonstrate the contagion of example. It's not enough to talk the talk; leaders must walk the walk. ? Leaders support their subordinates, giving them the widest possible authority and discretion, while keeping responsibility centralized with themselves. ? Leaders live the U.S. Army's motto: Adapt, Improvise and Overcome. Leadership Makes Businesses Work If management ability keeps systems operating efficiently, leadership identifies management needs and seeks systems to address them. If management skills are required to administer existing programs and systems, it takes leadership to create a vision of success, and get people excited about attaining it. In short, leadership-provided by agency heads, sales managers and other members of the management team-makes businesses work. It enables them develop to the limits of their potential, then helps them break those limits. Wnat More? Send comments and questions to w.willard3@knology.net Sources: Management Online A "Do-While-Learning"? Program, The Diversified Group The Marine Officer's Guide, Naval Institute Press Bill Willard has been writing high-impact marketing and sales training primarily for the financial services industry for 30 years. Through interactive, Web-based "Do-While-Learning?" programs, enewsletters and straight-talking articles, Bill helps SBOs and independent professionals get the job done: profitably improving performance, helping grow your business, skipping expensive mistakes, making the journey to small-business success faster, smoother, easier. And fun!
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Careers and Employment Increase Retail Sales With Meetups I recently attended the monthly Italian language Meetup here in Little Rock. Meetups are informal social gatherings of people with similar interests in a particular topic. Topics for Meetups range from political to cultural to intellectual to fun. Project/Program Management Best Practices for Success in ANY Industry! Where is our success? Although there have been improvements, over 60% of projects/programs failed and many were canceled in 2003 (ref:The Standish Report CHAOS)! Our goal for 2004 and beyond is to contribute to a 60% and better, project/program success rate! STOP THE MADNESS-MANAGE AND CONTROL PROJECTS Energize Your Organization No matter what you do, it seems, your employees do only what's absolutely necessary to get along. You've handed out raises across the board year after year. You've been as generous as you can be with various incentives. Now you are at wits end. You ask in frustration, "What will it take to motivate my employees?" The Nine Warning Signs that You Need a Sales Video Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often be overlooked in marketing budgets. Never Trust a Silent Customer Imagine you run a pizza parlour. You have all these neighbourhood families that pop in at least once a week for some pizza, garlic bread and Coke. On an average, one customer spends about $30 per week. But let's assume they spend just $20. Imagine you did something that bugged this customer, but he or she never told you about it. What would you stand to lose if they left? Sales Tactics to Beat Your Competition This month I want to share a success from a friend and customer of mine. You'll find in this story two important sales tactics for beating your competition. The Spirit Of Change A Highly Conscious Approach To Business Management. For more on this topic please link to Innerwealth Web Site How To Build A Worldwide Distributor Network When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network. Five Steps to Maximize Success in Targeting For Growth Targeting is the process of selecting high potential customer accounts to receive intense sales focus. Goal setting translates that high potential into achievable numeric objectives, i.e. revenue and margin growth. Leadership - How To Turn The Vision Into A Reality Be clear about where you are now. Audit your strengths and areas for development Sex, Drugs, & Rock-n-Roll at Trade Shows Here's the Scenario... Raise Concern About Sales Competition, Not About Yourself As you are reading this sales article, read very carefully. Because I wouldn't want you to think of a pig right now. No, do not think of a fat, brown, smelly pig right this moment. What are you doing? Do you have a picture of a smelly, fat, brown pig in your head right now? I thought I just told you not to do that. What are you doing then? Seven Deadly Sales Mistakes That Cost Business Owners Big Money - And What To Do About Them 1. LOOKING for a "quick fix" to close more sales sales aren't closed, they're opened. How to Develop a Proactive, New-Business Sales Team! I don't know about your business but in my experience proactive, positive, consistent new business winners are the holy grail of any sales organisation. All of my clients have their own unique ways of motivating, managing and running their sales teams yet they all have problems from time keeping those teams on target and "up for it!" In this article I am going to cover the core fundamentals of How to Develop a Proactive, New-Business Sales Team. These are the same strategies and techniques that I have used to help many of my clients explode their personal and their team's sales. These strategies all combine an exciting and proven mix of attitudinal, skills and structural development that really works and what's more they're fun so your staff will want to use them! Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables. What Is A Proposal? And Why Do You Need One? Do you know anyone who regularly wins bids? Or can boast a balanced relationship between doing the hard work of producing proposals and regularly winning the business? Pointless Targets I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months. How Do I Manage Workplace Conflict? Workplace Conflict The Effective Executive What does it mean to be an "effective executive"? Well very simply it means achieving the goals you set out to achieve in an efficient, creative and effortless manner. Some of the benefits that ensue from this self efficacy are: feelings of self confidence, self esteem, self worth, a sense of personal empowerment, feeling invigorated and passionate about everything you choose to do, a sense of resilience, more energy, personal emotional and physical health and for some a great sense of purpose. Outsourcing the Sales Function Small to medium companies that want to increase sales or profits and find it is possible to outsource sales should - do it! At this point most business owners and executives either become overwhelmed with doubt or fear.
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