Of constant concern with senior management is the turnover rate of their sales professionals. If you need to stabilize the sales team, improve their performance and retain your top performers, then you will want to read on.

Understanding why sales people leave is critical. It is not money! In fact studies validate that money is way down the list of why sales people leave. Sales people leave when a whole set of other factors come into play and make the job of achieving their sales objectives difficult to reach. Therefore to retain the staff of sales performers that make the difference, management must institute fundamentally sound sales management practice, as we will see.

To begin with, sales managers must develop realistic sales goals and objectives with their team members. These should be mutually discussed and agreed upon collaboratively. Why? Necessity dictates both have bought in to what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and what resources will be required to deliver the results. After that, monitoring progress attainment can be accomplished using a management by exception system.

When sales management takes a hands off attitude toward developing common goals and objectives with sales reps you can bet it will not be long before performance issues arise. Furthermore, with a plan, sales management is proactive rather than reactive, or worst of all, inactive.

Setting goals and objectives, observing their completion and monitoring success are functions of sound sales management. Winging it, if you will, leaves far too much to chance and luck. At the end of the day, What can be measured gets accomplished.

Sales People are the Manager's Customers

The best performers as a general rule know that to use the resources of the entire organization helps them present a more professional image and increases the probability of a sale.

Sales managers who spend time with their representatives in the field always have better performing teams. Joint calls permit the sales manager to coach and do on the job training with the sales people. The manager is able to observe skill set improvement, determine loss in skill capability and test the current sales person attitude. Sales managers who spend time with their people have a customer care attitude. In this case, they are taking care of their customers- the sales force.

Look at Sales Rep Aggravations

1.Sales managers who take over. Skilled sales managers are involved listeners in the sales calls.

2.Sales managers who don't listen or want info. There is no better way to gain the respect of a sales team than by sincerely listening to their sales related issues.

3.Managers who lose their cool. Consistency is the hallmark of emotionally mature and self-confident sales managers.

4.Managers who play favorites. Is there evenness in supervising the sales staff, or are there glaring examples of out and out favoritism.

In far too many companies the conventional wisdom is if we build it or have it, they will buy it. If that were the case, you would not need sales people!

The very finest companies tend to attract, engage and retain the best and the brightest. Recent studies confirm the best product, service or system will be marginally successful unless it is properly presented into the marketplace. This takes sales people.

Why is it that the companies that have the most efficient internal operations expect and get more sales results from the external operations, namely the sales department?

Inspect your policies, internal processes, procedures and practices and programs.

Do these actually impede the sales force or get in the way of sales person effectiveness? Do they actually encourage sales people to take a sales orientation? Does the sales compensation plan reward the type of behavior and sales achievements you desire? When a companyís internal systems are efficient and effective, you will see a greater amount of sales time being spent selling, rather than saving prior orders and customers. What you desire is the sales team selling, rather than telling. It may not be that the sales team needs to be motivated as much as the company needs to understand why they are being demotivated.

In conclusion, expect results and performance and expect your sales team to respond. Take a proactive position with sales management. Ensure you and they have the same goals in mind for the sales organization. Insist they supervise the activities of the sales staff toward attainment of previously determined objectives. Completion of successful objectives leads to goal attainment, for both the sales team and the sales management. Amazing results transpire. Top performers will know that they are valued members of your company and their contributions are vital to the organization. Then, sales representatives will stay in place when they see their personal and professional goals have a way to be accomplished within your organization.

Don McNamara is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and is President of Heritage Associates, Inc. at www.heritage-associates.net.

Heritage Associates is a full service sales management consulting, training and coaching company. Don also speaks and writes on the art and science of superior sales management and top sales performance. With over 30 years sales experience from the field level to executive sales management, in his career he has been an individual contributor, corporate sales training manager, regional manager, national sales manager and vice president of sales. Don is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, where he serves as Professional Development Chair and the National Speakers Association.

For a free e-newsletter contact Don McNamara at djmcn@heritage-associates.net or by phone (949) 230-4363. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_McNamara

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