Five Tips for New Sales Managers

 

‍INTRODUCTION

Sales is a cutthroat industry where there are no second chances. The first impression you make will set the tone for your entire career in sales, so it’s all about making a great first impression. 

Your first day working as a sales manager is full of important details that can either make or break your future success in this field, but it’s easy to get caught up in all the little things and let these essential tips fly right over your head. 

Read on to discover 5 simple ways to get ahead as you begin your new role of Sales Manager.

 

1. Don’t Forget the Basics

With all the excitement about your first day on the job, it’s easy to forget about the fundamentals. You do know how to prospect for new leads, right? How about closing sales? Part of what led to you to this promotion is that you are able to identify problems, understand client needs, and make recommendations to solve these problems.

These are all important basics that are critical to getting your foot in the door and securing your first few successes as a sales manager. Make sure you have these fundamentals down pat before trying to tackle anything else. 

If you’re feeling nervous about your lack of experience or knowledge, you could be tempted to jump right into the complicated stuff before thoroughly mastering the basics. But this is a big mistake. 

If you try to move ahead of where you are now, you’ll only dig yourself into a deeper hole. Get your feet wet by mastering the basics. You’ll make your transition into the role much smoother and easier.

 

2. Communicate Expectations Clearly

For many sales professionals, the most stressful experience is the first day on the sales floor. It’s like stepping into the unknown with no idea what to expect or how to succeed. As a manager or sales manager in training, you have the critical opportunity to ease new sales rep anxiety by clearly communicating your expectations. 

You might have been given a certain quota to meet or a specific number of leads that need to be generated. If so, communicate these expectations clearly to your team. Let them know how many calls you expect them to make each day, what type of leads they should be focusing on, and how soon they should be closing sales.

If you don’t have a specific quota or number of leads to generate, use this opportunity to let your team know that you’re not interested in hard quotas. Instead, focus on building relationships and closing deals that are mutually beneficial for both parties.

 

3. Find Your Top Performers

One of the most important things you can do on your first day as a sales manager is to find your top performers. It’s crucial to understand who on your team is generating the most sales, who is closing the most leads, and who has the best overall performance. 

You can start by bringing each sales rep into your office and having a private one-on-one meeting. During this meeting, let each sales rep know you’re interested in understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and what they need to do to be successful in the future. 

Ask them what they need to be successful, and be sure to listen carefully, take notes, and follow up with any necessary action items. After meeting with each sales rep, there should be a clear picture of who is doing the best and who needs to improve. You can use this information to set up weekly sales meetings and keep track of each rep’s progress.

 

4. Set Up a Sales System

It’s important to understand the sales system of your company and how sales reps are expected to use this sales process and system to generate leads and close sales. But it’s even more important to understand how your sales team is using this system and how you can help them to be more successful. 

If there’s an existing sales system in place, familiarize yourself with it. If there isn’t, or if you’re not sure how it works, talk with your manager or other sales managers to get clarification. Make sure you understand how your sales reps generate leads, where they’re generating leads from, what leads are good to work on, and how leads are funneled through the system. 

From there, you can help your sales team be more successful by identifying weak links in the system and offering suggestions on how to improve. If you see there’s a problem with the way the system works, use these opportunities to offer helpful suggestions on how to improve.

 

5. Balance strategy development with flawless execution

You may have been hired to bring new ideas, innovation, and creativity to the sales team. But before you begin implementing new strategies and new ways of doing things, it’s important to get a solid understanding of the current sales process. 

Once you have a clear picture of how things are currently happening, you can start thinking about ways to improve. Don’t try to bring in new processes, ideas, and strategies right away. Focus on getting the basics down perfectly first. 

Once you’re comfortable with executing each sales process flawlessly, you can begin to think about ways to innovate and improve. Sales is an extremely competitive industry, so you’ll want to make sure you’re always thinking about ways to stay ahead of the game.

As you work your way to a day-to-day routine of sales execution, do keep in mind that as a sales manager, you’ve graduated to a level of responsibility where you are expected to think further ahead, being strategic and longer term.

 Make sure you balance sales activity and delivery of results with the need to take a step back, look at your business, your product, your customers and competitors – and think about ways that you can achieve and maintain a differentiated sales strategy and positioning.

 

Conclusion

Your first day in a sales manager position is important, but it’s not the end of the road. It’s just the beginning of a long and challenging journey that will requires strategic thinking and consistent effort. 

These tips will help you get ahead on your first day as a sales manager, but it’s important to remember that nothing is set in stone. Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities and new challenges. 

Focus on these tips and you’ll be well on your way to making a great first impression that leads to long-term sales success. If you were in a sales position and are just starting out as a manager, these tips will help you get a grasp on the industry and make that all-important first impression. 

If you’re an experienced sales manager, they may help you out too. Now get out there and make that first day memorable!