A version of this article originally appeared on the Salesforce Sales Blog. When you think “sales manager”, do you think of Alec Baldwin in Glengarry, Glenross or Ben Affleck in Boiler Room. Do you think of someone pushing you and exhorting you to sell more and more? It’s time to take the power back. Be Your Own Sales Manager The best sales manager you are ever going to have is yourself. No one is going to care about your career success as much as you will. And the one person who you can’t lie to, or inflate your numbers for, is you. But it can be challenging to decide how to manage your activities in a sales world that’s in … [Read more...]
How to Help Your People Fail
When I was a young sales manager, one of the most challenging parts of my job was having 1-on-1 meeting with my sales reps to assess their performance. It was easy to do when they were rockin'. I'd give them a few pointers and some words of motivation and send them back out. But when they weren't doing well it was another story. It can be really hard to fail. It can be even harder to watch someone fail. It's the worst when you have to watch people fail... and you're their boss and the one who is supposed to address that failure. Manage Through Failure I think this is why so many competent individuals are such struggle as managers and … [Read more...]