28 thoughts on “How Would You Handle A Sales Manager Like This?”

1. I started off in retail sales management, so when I moved into a new B2B sales role 3 years ago, I expected that there would be a few things to learn. What I didn’t expect was that my Manager would run EVERY call, well after the training period. She was like a runaway train – I would ask some very initial discovery questions and as soon as the prospect would answer, she would launch into a 15 diatribe about the product and our services. 

   There were times when even the prospect became confused. They had returned my call and accepted my meeting invite. So who was this other person and why did she talk so much? 😉

   Unfortunately, the only resolution to this issue was to book my calls very early in the morning or late afternoon – when she wasn’t in the office or on another call. The whole experience felt like hand holding and I believe ultimately diminished my faith in myself. The lessons I took with me, however, were invaluable. Always set expectations, be assertive, and let the PROSPECT do the talking.  

   Always love your posts, Paul! Thanks for this one!

   1. Wow Megan . . . I give you so much credit for dealing with this situation. 

      Most importantly, your take aways are simply brilliant “always set expectations, be assertive and let the PROSPECT do the talking”

      The force is strong in you my friend and thank you for the kind words too . . . you are appreciated!

2. Paul, I totally agree with your suggestion – Mgr and Rep must discuss and agree roles before the call, meeting, presentation, and then work that plan.

   I personally have been on both sides of this scenario.  The only way that a rep is going to learn and gain the trust and confidence of the customer is to handle the call.  Thus if a sales manager continues to take over the call, the rep must, post call, take up the issue with the manager in a persuasive selling manner.

   Jeff

3. This is a tough one requiring balance on the part of the Rep. I have a sales manager that likes to run the meeting, but he is good at it and I sit, observe the clients and add information or chime in if something needs clarification. Observing the clients I find very useful as it helps me to understand their demeanor and state of mind during the presentation. If they are bored or seem to be getting overwhelmed, I wait for the sales manager to take a breath and ask a question such as, “How do you see the technology being described fit into your operation?” and the sales manager is astute to my interruption and let’s the client talk. This allows him to refocus his pitch to steer it toward the clients needs more. As the presentation winds down, I also ask the question, “what is your timing for getting a…”. This the Sales Manager never does, but it pulls me back into the role as the main contact. 

   If you work it well, the Sales Manager/Rep presentation can be real powerful and give the client a sense that they have a team of people to work with.

   1. I agree with the obvious caveat that the effort must be coordinated and executed properly.

      That certainly sounds like the case with you and your manager!

      Thanks for weighing in with your thoughts . . . I really appreciate it!

4. Hi Paul:

   Good topic! I just had a similar conversation last night with two of the regional managers who report to me. Different salespeople have different preferences and need different things at different points in their development.
   As the post said, Some want to watch the boss run the whole appointment while they observe – some want you there only as a safety net.

   The thing is, the manager may be thinking that they’re helping when they take over a sales call.  

   So my suggestion to the salesperson is to communicate what you do and don’t need to your manager in a professional way.

   “Hey, boss…since I have you with me today, can I ask you a favor? It would be really valuable to me if I could have you observe me do a whole sales call start to finish on my own so you can critique me after. Is that ok with you?” 

   Of course, if they still take over after that you have a different issue that you need to address – But I’d venture to guess that most of the time they really do think they’re helping.

   Sometimes you need to manage up!

   1. I agree Gary . . . so much of this can amount to communication between sales manager and sales rep.

      Also, I love what you said here “Different salespeople have different preferences and need different things at different points in their development.”

      One size certainly doesn’t fit all!

      Thanks for contributing Gary and keep up the fantastic work on your blog my friend!

      1. Will do, Paul. 

         Thanks for the support. 

         And by the way – it’s spooky how accurately your last few posts have paralleled some very specific things going on in my professional life. 

         Well done.

5. Wow! I’ve never had the situation described here, and I find it quite astonishing.

   If the sales rep is preparing professionally for his or her meetings then there should not be room for this kind of boorish behavior. They should be setting expectations with their manager well in advance of the actual day of the meeting.

   One suggestions I would make would be to say something in a teasing tone to the client as part of the introduction… “Paul, this is Jacqui Sakowski, my regional manager. She is here to observe me as part of a training day – it will be fascinating to see how long she can resist the urge to jump into our conversation; she’s a great sales guy, and I know she finds it challenging not to contribute!”

   This way you demonstrate respect for the manager to the client, and remind the manager to shut up!

   1. That’s awesome Jacqui!

      Thanks for suggesting it!

6. Good morning Paul,
   I wonder what would happen if after each meeting like you describe–you asked “I’m still learning and I need to understand what you wanted me to learn from this meeting; can we discuss how it went and the key learnings?”

   1. Good question Debbie!

      Thanks!

7. Paul, My feeling was to never take anyone on the first call until I had created the connection myself first. A second visit or annual visit with someone else would work only if I let the customer know that I was bringing them in to meet them for a follow up meeting or more information. 

   In 30 years I never had someone train me on how to do it and would never join a company that required it….I detest double team selling and believe it puts the customer in an uncomfortable situation if the team goes in to “sell”… if you go into help train their staff or do a presentation for a group thats a different reason..and the perimeters should be discussed prior to that ..

   You must be strong enough to build the relationship first by yourself and then get help with information…but if someone needs help with getting to know someone, maybe they should find another career.

   1. I’ve had a few people respond the same way John so you are certainly not alone on this (developing the connection first)

      Thanks for taking the time to stop by John . . . I always appreciate your contributions my friend!

8. Morning Paul!
   I actually do a lot of “combo” selling with my boss. It started that way as I was being trained in and we learned that the approach was rather effective. At the beginning, we used to divvy up the material/roles so that the prospect never felt like one of us was just teeing up the other for a close (which is where I think you get into some trouble with the prospect). We naturally recap eachothers statements or interject with some additional perspective… I think if done effectively, this approach helps communicate passion and confidence in our process.

   I agree that pre-call planning (duty assigning) is critical. I would add that a heads up to the prospect that you’re planning to include someone on the call is just as important. If you cannot come up with a logical reason why they should be joining, then they SHOULD NOT join. (i.e. “If you don’t mind, I would like to include my manager, Steve Perry, on this call. He works directly on ABC’s account and I trust would have some relevant information to share to help strengthen your programs”.

   Great topic! Erik

   1. “I would add that a heads up to the prospect that you’re planning to include someone on the call is just as important. If you cannot come up with a logical reason why they should be joining, then they SHOULD NOT join.” < Well stated Erik!
      Thank you for weighing in on this it certainly seems like you and your boss have worked things out nicely!

9. I have struggled with this with a few sales managers, as one actually lost the sale for me, because he just wouldn’t stop pushing.  I’ve learned that the sale is my paycheck, so I have politely told my managers not to say anything unless I ask them to interject.  This has really worked out well!

   1. AMEN, AMEN and AMEN!

      Back in the days where Uncle Paul had hair, I escorted my manager out to my car when my prospect took a call and informed him that I was perfectly capable of screwing up my own appointments.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

10. Paul, you’re spot on about pre-planning. Something I would add however is that the sales rep not insist on taking lead. I struggled to get past my ego when I initially got into sales, but I quickly learned that a senior rep/manager can bring a lot of expertise to bear. Something else worth considering are the relationships of parties involved. If my manager knows my prospect from back in the day, it can be in my best interest to let them do the talking initially since there is already a rapport.  

    1. You’ve made me step back and think about this Jason . . . 

       Should a sales rep always be willing to step back and have the Sales Manager take over or only in certain instances. 

       Personally, I think other than certain instances, its the rep who needs to have that control and the manager as purely support.

       Thoughts?

11. Great post Paul!  I always do my best to avoid bringing anyone with me to a meeting.  Before an in person meeting I have already established myself as the expert.  By bringing a manager with me I feel it is implying that he is more of an expert than I am.  Maybe that’s a bit of a sales ego thing but it has worked for me.  My close rate is much better when I go to a meeting by myself than when my manager wants to come along.

    I have a meeting next week with an HUGE internet company who is asking for the entire “dog and pony show”.  For this meeting I am bringing a few members of my executive team because they each have a lot of value to add to the meeting. 

    My rule is I only bring someone with me when my colleague
    adds obvious value to my potential client.  In these cases I always plan out the meeting so it flows well. 

    1. I see pluses and minuses to having Sales Managers along and in many ways 
       I think this all comes down to comfort level.

       If a sales rep is clearly uncomfortable having their manager along, the client will see this and it will distract from the bigger, better message which is “we are a valuable partner for you and your organization.

       Thanks Jonah!

12. Paul,

    It has been my experience that this happens all too often, particularly with newer managers. The sales rep should not feel that he/she has to walk on eggshells when discussing manager interruptions with the manager. They should describe what their plans for the meeting are and the roles that each ARE going to play. The rep should explain that they may get to the points through a different route than the manager might typically go but they will get there.

    The rep should also emphasize that if the manager takes over the sales call, the customer is likely to  call the manager with follow-up questions and not feel the need to call the rep…does the manager want more phone calls?… and the relationship that the rep has built with the client may suffer as a result.

    Some managers simply don’t realize that they do this. Most will respect being tactfully told of what they role will be in calls. The rep also needs to respect the manager’s role and get them involved in the call.

    Mike

    1. Well said Mike . . . It truly needs to be a two way street as you have laid it out.

       Thanks!

13. Great topic, and comments. Why can’t I just retweet without having to authorize another application to use my account?

    1. Thanks Traci . . . I wish I knew the answer to that one. Its all that damn “tweetme” apps fault 🙁

14. Agreed Jeff.

    Now if this were to continue I think its time to go over the Mgr’s head at that point.

    Thoughts?

    Thank you for taking the time to stop by and contribute to the discussion Jeff!

15. Paul – I have been there. I have had sales managers who couldn’t keep quiet for even a few minutes before launching into their agenda.

    During one meeting, I had to kick my boss underneath the table, to get him to shut up. After the meeting, he asked me why I did that and I told him the prospect had already agreed to do business, had been clear about what they wanted, yet the boss wanted to talk about his talking points regardless.

    I didn’t schedule too many more ride alongs after that one, but when I did, I made sure that we discussed our roles and what was expected of each other. Didn’t always work out that way, but it was better.

    Difficult as it may be, I think it is important that your boss understand that this is YOUR meeting and unless you have mutual agreement, it should proceed as YOU have planned.

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