First-Time Sales Manager

First-Time Sales Managers will quickly find out that the Sales Skills that got him/her promoted are very different from the skills required to Maximize this Opportunity.

Few facts to consider:

1. 40% of First-Time Sales Managers will Fail within 18 months
2. Only 5% of First-Time Sales Managers exceed Senior Managers expectations
3. Most industries experience 50%+ turnover in Sales Hires within 24 months
4. Salespeople are harder to Lead and Manage than any other employee
5. On average it takes 3 to 5 years for First-Time Sales Manager to be between Semi to fully Effective
6. It is more difficult to recruit star performers when the Sales Manager is semi-effective
7. Semi-Effective Sales Managers will experience above average turnover and will not be able to maximize Sales Opportunities
8. The Sales Skills that got you promoted or noticed are different from what you will need to Successfully Lead a Sales Team
9. You will also hear "Why you and not me." Transition from being their friend to Leading them as a team is challenging, and that is why very few excel at this

Typical honeymoon period for First-Time Managers is very short. They don't start with being asked to solve easy problems first and a few years later more complex issues. On Day 1, they are expected to perform by solving the following challenges and situations.

#	Challenging Situations
1	Coaching - how, when, and why
2	Sales Metrics, what to look for and understand what metrics don't show
3	90 day sales plan - 1 Year Sales Business Plan
4	Measuring the quality of your team, is it good enough to handle challenges?
5	Managing High Egos
6	Handling HR issues in a timely manner
7	Handling Negativity
8	Performing SWOT Analysis
9	Team Improvement Plan - Training, Coaching, Mentoring, Outside Vendor?
10	Compensation Plan - is it Fair, motivational, does it support desired behavior
11	Managing "Change" Successfully
12	Sales Quotas/Objectives - follow the 90/115 plan
13	Recruiting, Interviewing, Training and Retention Plan - is it working?
14	Sales Meetings - solving why 90% of Salespeople do not like meetings
15	Communicating with Senior Managers Effectively
16	Making sure that Sales Efforts are in Sync with Marketing
17	Managing Trade Shows and Special Events
18	Managing Leads and Follow up plan to maximize new business opportunities
19	Selling CRM Implementation, not to be used to Micro Manage
20	Managing Expectations
21	Conducting Effective Performance Reviews
22	Handling complains from your team , co-workers or customers
23	Handling Sales Cancellations, non performance issues or Lawsuits
24	Solving Complex Issues
25	Managing Expense Reports Policy and Administration
26	Solving Behavioral issues at inception
27	Solving Account and Territory disputes
28	Negotiations Skills with Customers and Internal Team
29	Provide Sales, Product and Soft Skills Training for Your Team
30	Having Difficult Conversations
31	Gaining Support from Senior Managers for your ideas
32	Motivating and Providing Inspiration for your Team
33	Consequences for missing Sales Targets/Objectives
34	3 Reasons to Travel or Observe your Salespeople on Sales Calls
35	How to Deliver Bad News to your team
36	Solving High Turnover and Morale issues
37	Earning Trust from your Salespeople
38	Time Management and Productivity tools for you and your team
39	Recovering after major loss
10	Being Confident in Decision Making
41	Developing Performance Standards, KPI or PRD
42	Create Positive Culture for your Team
43	Making yourself more Valuable to your Organization
44	Create Balance in six areas
45	Knowing the difference between Leadership and Management
46	Celebrate Wins and Successes - when and how
47	Learn to have Fun being a First Time Manager
48	Having Plan "B" - Key to Survival

Do you really expect a First-Time Sales Manager to Master the Skills to Solve these Challenges after attending a 3 day Management Training? And yet this is what is expected from this critical position. Perhaps this is why 40% of First-Time Sales Managers Fail within 18 months and only 5% achieve Excellence. Studies show that people attending Training Seminars will forget 75% of what was covered within 7 days and 90% in 2 weeks. Learning by Trial And Error is very Expensive in Lost Sales, Morale, Retention, and Health due to Stress.

Our Comprehensive Program Solves these problems by providing the needed Coaching, Training, Mentoring, Skill Building Exercises and New Ideas. It is built on the following steps:

Steps	Activities
1	Initial Assessment: We meet with First Time Manager to Assess his/her Skills, Knowledge, Experience, Beliefs and Character. Meet the team (if applicable). Obtain Sales Revenues data for the last 3 + years by accounts/salesperson/territory/ products, trends and reasons for them. We will also meet with “select“ Senior Managers and the Boss to better understand the Organizational Culture, what is Expected from the First Time Sales Manager, their views/opinions on the Sales Department and solicit their ideas. Meeting with Senior Managers is critical because the Success of the First Time Sales Manager depends on earning Trust and Respect from Senior Managers, Co - Workers, Boss and their Sales Team. This will normally take 2+ days
2	Jointly develop a 90 day plan, followed by 1 year plan. Start Providing Coaching/Mentoring, fully understand the Metrics and decide if new ones are needed. Provide the First Sales Management Training Session, by using bite size sessions every month to insure that learning and implementation takes place.
3	On a quarterly basis we will meet to conduct a Business Review Session, find out what is working/not working and make adjustments if required. If applicable, we will meet with other Senior Managers to obtain their feedback regarding progress.
4	Support: We will provide 24/7 support via email, phone, face time or face to face(if applicable) to assist in solving any critical issues. As part of Training we will provide additional relevant books and magazine articles to reinforce learning and skill development.
5	We will continue this process for the next 12 months and make adjustments as required.

Summary:

1. Initial Assessment Meeting
2. Weekly Check Up Contact/Meeting
3. Monthly Scheduled Meetings via face time, Skype or Phone
4. No long-term commitments
5. Quarterly Business Review Meetings
6. Risk Sharing model is also available
7. Sales Manager Training, not Generic Management Training. Based on the First Time Sales Managers Skills and Knowledge we will develop a special Training session that will focus on the "GAP“ analysis (Required Skills versus Current Skill Set by the first Time Sales Manager). This will be given in 12 bite size pieces (1 to 2 hours/month) to insure understanding and execution.
8. 24/7 Support