digital marketer | Posted on
Are you a salesman stepping into sales management? Many salespeople see the change in sales as a logical next step in a career. However, you may not have considered the difficulties arising from this change.
It is difficult under any circumstances to move from a salesperson role to a sales management role. The behaviors and attitudes that great salespeople share are completely different from becoming a great manager, and it can be difficult to accept.
Everyone is naturally resistant to change (as every experienced salesperson knows) and if you always have highly successful results from certain behaviors then you will also have a hard time turning them into new and unwanted approaches.
When a salesperson is encouraged to manage his old sales team, the transition is even more complicated. The vendor in question has probably been a member of that team for at least a few years. She is acting on par with those who now report to her.
Many sales teams become quite close and social after business hours, teaming up to make a mess about big sales and unaware owners. At the other end of the spectrum, sales teams can be highly competitive and individual salespeople cannot trust each other - in the worst case, they can also try their best to break each other up.
As its new owner, it would be unfair to join the team in mocking the company or swapping office gossip. You should meet each other with each member of the team and quietly explain the situation so that they are not confused with the attitude in your shift. But unless you are very lucky, your friendship with your former teammates will turn into a simple business relationship.
If this bothers you, you should not accept a management position on them. Perhaps your company will be willing to give you a separate team to manage.
If your former teammates are super competitive with each other, your challenge will be different but no less difficult. Your new report will be used as a competitor or even as an enemy. But to be a good manager, you have to get them to accept you as an associate. It will take time to build trust between each of your salespeople and yourself, so be patient.The best way to prove to the team is the colleague you want to be. Ask for ideas and suggestions and then implement them (assuming they are not completely hopeless). Publicly credit the seller who has considered that it goes well, and blame yourself if things fall into place. This may sound unfair to you but it is an integral part of your new job as a sales manager.
0
0
0