One thing I've noticed about Sales Managers: they are always busy. I bet I've worked with over one hundred over the past five years, and every one works insane hours and runs around with their hair on fire.

But I've also noticed their results vary all over the board. Some lead teams that sell a couple Million Dollars in Revenue, while others bring in up to $100 Million.

 Then it struck me: in the Sales Management world, hard work has no correlation to sales results. It might even prevent it.

Some of the best sales leaders I've ever met could barely work an Excel spreadsheet or navigate a CRM program. What made them so successful? I'll get to that in a minute. First, let's look at the snake pit most sales managers find themselves in.

Swiss Army Knives

Sales Managers are the "Swiss Army Knives" of an organization.   They need to be proficient in at least ten skills, many of which have nothing to do with sales.

Whack-a-Mole Management

Managers play the arcade game where the plastic head pops up and you whack it with a rubber mallet. You never know where the next head will pop up, and you have to react fast. Imagine yourself with a rubber mallet as these issues popping up during your day: 

• "The customer wants to sign the agreement but they won't agree to the T&Cs"
• "Pre-Sales promised to get the BOM done in five days, but it's already been two weeks"
• "The customer is on credit hold because of a return our warehouse lost"
• "I can't get this RFP response done without some help"
• "I didn't get my bonus because services didn't get billed on time"
• "I can make the sale, but our company won't let me sell the product"
• "I'm going on vacation for a week, and I need somebody to cover my accounts"

 Highly Effective Managers

The highest performing sales managers do none of those things (!). They refuse to play the "Whack-a-Mole" game in the first place.   They get those done all right, but through other people.   They focus on the very few things that are most important to their success: 

• Hiring great people
• Winning important new accounts
• Developing their people through coaching and training
• Developing and maintaining a high-value network of customer and industry contacts

 A Tale of Two Mikes

I once had a salesperson work for me, Mike C. He was so helpless with office productivity software, I had to write and print his proposals for him.   Still, he was a great salesperson, and the customers loved him.   When another sales manager position opened up, he was offered the job. He was now my peer.

A year later, when our company was acquired, there was a management restructuring.   Who became the new regional manager?   Mike C. He was now my boss.

As the company expanded, Mike C was promoted once again, this time to Area President. During a five year span, he had been promoted three times and increased his area of responsibility from $2M to $12M to $60M to $300 Million. While I had also been promoted a couple times during this period, it was nothing like what happened to Mike C.

Be Like Mike C

What a great lesson for me, and one I've never forgotten.

The best way to win "Whack-a-Mole" management is to not play it in the first place.