In the early 1980s, Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson, M.D. sat down to write a book on management called The One Minute Manager. It immediately became a huge hit and a near immediate bestseller.

Thirteen million copies later, its still considered one of the best books ever written in the field of management…and for that matter, sales management…or is it?

“Once there was a bright young man who was looking for an effective manager…” (more…)

There’s a common misconception that sales managers must be good talkers. Its true that any leadership position requires superb communication skills in which you can clearly articulate your thoughts through the words you use and the way you communicate.

But if you are always talking and never listening, then youre going to have a real hard time leading your sales team…because you’ll never know what really matters to them.

Being a great sales manager is more than just (more…)

“Sorry, I’m swamped right now”

“I need to call you back, I’m way behind right now”…

“I’m up to my ears right now…”

Does this sound like your sales managers?

No doubt, in the hectic corporate environment, there is a big tendency for sales managers to get bogged down and extremely busy. The front-line sales manager has so many forces all converging upon him: salespeople, customers, upper level executives, training people, operational departments; all vying for the sales manager’s time.

But by far the biggest drain on the average sales managers time is (more…)

Do your best sales reps feel disrespected when their sales managers assume they always have ALL the answers?

They hate it!

In fact, they feel that it’s a sign of disrespect, as well as a complete lack of belief (yours) in their inherent abilities (which they feel are enormous).

There is a “real life” trick that you can use to turn even the harshest dissenters into followers by simply changing the way you deal with them. It doesn’t take much, all it takes is for you to release a little control and let them feel the excitement of being on the business end of some kind of relevant policy change…especially one that directly impacts them.

So here’s the trick… (more…)

The thing with underperformers is that because of their failures to hit quota, they start to have a hard time picturing themselves on top. They know they’re performing way below their peers and like a baseball slugger in a slump, they start to lose confidence.

The real challenge for the sales manager is to help underperforming salespeople stop this destructive thought process. Not easy. But a salesperson whose lost confidence in their abilities cannot possibly perform at the level that’s expected of them.

And this is where the third rule comes in. (more…)