Importance of SalesRep (Managers)
Sales representatives have been in center of most academic and company based analysis - being on the front-line of delivery. However their success rate is effected by their management, so managers of SRs play several crucial roles in delivering today's results and building foundations for future.
Delivering today's results
Let's look into what Sales Rep manager job should be.
1. On the job training of SRs
Importance of the on job training account for almost 70% of SR development. Having said that, this aspect of managers job plays a crucial part in delivering results - both financial and organizational. Coaching is big part of on the job training, so managers should be equipped with skills to exercise coaching (e.g. trainings), but company should emphasize importance of this work by stating importance of it and tracking delivery. By tracking delivery I mean introducing clear processes for setting targets and measurements of delivery which can/should be part of the compensation model as well. I often see that companies claim on the job training as crucial part of their success, but they are reluctant to pay accordingly. Explanation for this habit is in most cases explained in a way "good training, would lead to desired behavior, thus results", but the risk involved is that you have a share of average to low performers in this position (like in other positions as well), and that on the job training they perform is on the same/mentioned level. Even worse situation is if you are clouded by excellent sales results relying on e.g. brand performance, while work they should be doing is not done (or done below expectation). I am supporter of including "on the job training" in compensation model of managers, as I want to pay for the work being done, and I want to have process underlying importance of this work. Choosing right people for this managerial position is very important, as in a lot of companies this position represents first managerial level from which talent is selected for more senior positions.
2. Target distribution
SR managers either receive or participate in their (SRep) specific target setting, but here I am talking about distribution of targets within their teams. What I see as the most common practice is giving star SRs stretch targets which can compensate for underperformance of those of mediocre performance. As a result of this activity, principle of "fairness" is put aside, which can lead in dissatisfaction of star performers, and finally turnover (don't forget that star performers are interesting for recruiters) - leaving you with higher share of average performers overall. I suggest process in target setting which starts from data based customer potential, combined with target setting accuracy. On one side this process leads to regular check of customer opportunities and on other side it focuses manager once more to point 1 of their job. Presuming that overall target is set in a way that needs improvement in quality of work, based on customer potential, fairly distributed - result in most cases would be that star performers get their numbers, while others struggle - which would lead manager to spend more time with this part of organization (any way needing most of improvement or change). Again I advice "fairness of distribution" as a criteria in managers compensation - for the same reasons mentioned in the part "on the job training" - it's important part of managers work (I want to pay for it), it allows focus on organization (improvements or change) and motivation, ultimately increasing chance for target achievement.
3. Target achievement
Delivering versus set plans is SR managers key role. I would add continuously, as having couple of peaks during the fiscal year most probably would not be enough to make overall yearly target. Types of targets for SR managers can vary a lot, but my point of view is that there are several focus areas: working with discipline (productivity), scarcity mindset (efficiency), out of box ideas (+1 mentality), delivering value for company (sales volume/value, profit, shares).
Working with discipline - "repetitio est. mater studiorum", this basically transcends making sure that workforce wakes up at proper time, does basic work and delivers - for example - number of daily visits, visit cycle, etc.
Scarcity mindset - it's fair to say that there is no big number of examples in any industry which show year oy year growth and delivery. This means that due to different reasons it's right to say difficult times will come, and top management could decide to cut cost (this doesn't mean that i agree that this is the only solution to problem) if the "only option". Organization and our SR manager should be mentally ready for this or even prolong this situation for future, by keeping a close eye on the cost evolution. This means you could include regular operational expense saving targets for managers. With the troops on the ground this could mean : better utilization of mobile phone, cost effective driving routes,... ultimately not break through savings, but building a certain way of thinking which will challenge costs.
Out of box ideas - Customers list "delivering new ideas" highly on the "appreciation list" of SRs, but on the other hand they rate most SRs poorly in this effort. Organizations which forget that breakthrough ideas make difference for customers, relying on rapport building, product strengths solely, will find themselves sooner then later following same pattern on business call by call, month by month, until ultimately competition catches up, overtakes and wins. Therefore it's important to appreciate "breakthrough", but also measure it/plan it. This will not only increase customer satisfaction, but it will drive "+1 mentality" as culture within team (e.g. with every visit deliver new idea for customer).
Delivering value for company - I don't say that things mentioned before are not delivering value for company as proper call frequency, new ideas for customer, savings in OPEX for sure do, here I speak about basic volume/value features of targets. This is not something to be removed from the targets list, as you could deliver all previous things and not deliver profit and find your company closing soon, putting you on a route of finding new employer. Depending on company strategy, most of targets here relate to sales value/volume and gross profit. I am advocate of sales value/volume targets in companies with more layers of organization (no gross margin targets), as enabling SRs and their managers to manage gross profit potentially lead to lots of compromises on gross profit level. If you have a problem with your offering that needs to reduce gross profit, this problem should be tackled on a top/strategic level, vs handled at the front rows.
Building foundations for future
How SR manager contributes to company's future?
Putting aside obvious that continuous delivery of expected targets should help company deliver expected strategic goals, what else should we keep in mind? In most companies sales representative is the entry position - first manager they meet is their line manager. In this case they have the work of "first impression manager" for the company. What first impression we want to leave after often robust recruiting process? What kind of sales representative we would like to hire - ideally I would say a "plug and play version", so in order to do so (or be even close to), we need to make sure that manager acts and present himself in certain way. It is often said that first weeks in the company determine the total amount of time which one spends there - again emphasizing the importance of good onboarding.
For companies which are finding talent within their ranks, layer of SRs is a big pool of potential candidates. Proper development of SRs is therefore fairly important, and most of development is done by their actual managers.
Having said everything related to role of sales representative managers to everyday results and companies future, I am positive that these employees represent one of the most important part of sales organization. Making sure that frontline is working properly, making sure customers satisfied, sales KPIs delivered, talent retained and motivated and the list goes on ... - someone could say a "full plate", but this is a reality of their work, making them so important.
