“Leading” a sales team is more like coaching little league than it is like “managing” a department.

Top sales people crave “coaching!” They resist “management!”

Recently I met with a young sales executive. He inherited a sales organization of about 15 people, in a technical industry. They are in a rebuilding mode with new corporate initiatives. As we shared breakfast and talked, I asked him about his management style.

He made several excellent points:

• He recognizes that everyone is not a super star, but that each one has value.

• Regardless of his opinion of the person, he gives them all the same opportunity to succeed by providing the training and the infrastructure.

• He does not micro-manage. This attracts potential super stars.

• He looks at results and the activities that he knows will lead to those results to determine how a person is progressing.

• He teaches that their first job is to find out what the prospective customer needs, and then get their products specified, if possible.

I predict that this young man will soon lead a much larger organization, making more money and enjoying higher levels of personal gratification.

Here is why:

• He is a “people builder.” Rather than “beating them up,” he encourages them.

• He is customer needs focused in his philosophy, his training, and his work in the field.

• He focuses on results first, not just activity. He knows that any sales person can look busy – can learn to “play the activity game."

• He trusts people to go out and do their jobs. If they prove untrustworthy, he can decide whether training them can solve the problem, or whether they need to be doing something else.

After more than 40 years in sales, I have concluded that the most successful sales managers don’t just “manage.” They lead and coach!

Think about a person in your past who was influential in your personal and professional growth.

While the personalities will almost always be different, if we could all meet and compare notes we would see some common characteristics, such as:

• He saw more in me than I saw in myself.

• She helped me understand that I was growing to become the person I want to be.

• He would not let me goof off, but forced me to think through the situation and confront the client tactfully with the truth.

• He helped me understand how to set and achieve both personal and business goals.

• She patted me on the back when I did something right.

• He traveled with me and coached me after every call. I learned what to do right by doing it right.

Lead your sales organization by showing the way.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker