If you lead a team of sales reps, I want to remind you that it isn’t easy for most sales reps to ask someone else for help.
Quite frankly, they suck at it.
That isn’t a bitch slap to the sales profession, it’s just the way we’re wired.
Call it “ego” or some other word I’d reference if I had my Thesaurus handy but it’s true!
Now when they do ask for help, and that person they approach happens to be their manager;
1) They’d like for you to be approachable. Sadly, there are some managers who act as if a call, an email, a knock at the door etc is infringing on their vacation time. Oh, and if you constantly keep your door closed, you might want to rethink that one. It’s sending a really bad message to your team!
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your rep NOT to reach out to you again!
2) They’d appreciate your undivided attention. Taking every call and checking every email while a rep is trying to talk with you has a certain “you’re not important” vibe to it. Hold on, I need to check something. Yep, even if you’re good at multitasking. Would you allow them to do that to their customers? Well they’re your customer. Don’t ever forget that!
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your rep NOT to reach out to you again!
3) They’d like for you to actually help them instead of preaching to them what they should have done. As their coach, it’s never a bad idea to talk about what led to the challenge but . . . barring a time machine you usually can’t go back and fix what’s already transpired. Why wouldn’t you talk about options and then marry it with a discussion about how this could have been avoided?
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again!
4) They’d like for you to actually help them instead of busting their balls about some silly nonsense like why the event wasn’t logged into Salesforce or why their TPS Report wasn’t handed in, in triplicate. To me that’s just a silly way of avoiding the real point.
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again!
5) They’re (and I’m going out on a limb here) typically NOT looking for you to give them some irrelevant war story from “back in the day” when you sold. They’d actually like some help.
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again!
6) When it’s a challenge they’re experiencing with company policy, a department head, production etc, (provided they’re right), they’d really appreciate your help in removing the speed bump. They need to know you’re their advocate and not some WUSS that would have to remove your lips from your boss’s rear in order to help them.
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again!
7) They’d like to know that they can take whatever you promise to the bank. Continually telling your team that you didn’t follow through on something because you were busy just isn’t bueno. You hold them accountable, you have to be accountable too! Would you let them do this with their customers? They’re your customer and why do I have the feeling I said that to you already?
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again.
8 They’d like to know that you truly care. Sometimes, when we get to 30,000 feet, we forget what it was like to be at street level and it shows. Not a good message to send your team.
One more thing . . . you just conditioned your sales rep NOT to reach out to you again.
So there you have it . . .
8 really basic, almost “Sales Management 101” type things and yet. . .
Many sales reps will read this today and say “Sounds like Castain was writing about my boss today”
One More Thing . . .
If you are responsible for a team of sales reps, I hope you’ll consider my online sales leadership course.
There are 6 awesome (if I do say so myself) sessions waiting for you and we record each one so you can go at your own pace.
Please click here to check it out and to take the first step in taking your awesome leadership skills up a notch or 3!
