Sales Mangler 101: A Lesson in Sales Manager Sales Call Behavior
April 1, 2007

This month's article is about how sales managers can behave on sales calls with their reps. I am writing it because I feel that sales managers often behave as "sales manglers" when they go on collaborative calls with their reps.

My observations have been that sales managers have typically been promoted from being pretty successful salespeople, to being sales managers. Unfortunately, being a good sales rep often does not provide the foundation or training for being a good sales manager. This is glowingly apparent when the sales manager works with his rep in the field.

When sales managers perform as "sales manglers," the results can be horrific. First, when a sales manager creates an uncomfortable and disruptive sales call for his sales rep, the rep is unhappy, the customer wonders what value the manager provides, and the manager loses credibility with everyone.

Ironically, I have observed that the majority of sales managers seem to gravitate to the office, focusing on planning, creating reports, and rationalizing rep performance without having a clue about what is happening in front of the customer.

Therefore, I am a huge advocate for sales managers getting out into the street. However; be warned. Having a sales manager suddenly get the bug to work in the field, without having a good method of doing so, can create disastrous results. Let's explore how sales managers become "sales manglers" on joint calls with their reps:

Sales Manglers:

• Don't coordinate sales days with their reps in advance;
• Don't use collaborative calls to observe and provide feedback on rep performance;
• Often insert themselves into the sales call without having a clue as to what the call's purpose may be;
• Use the sales call to relive their glory days as a superstar sales rep. The mangler talks too much, doesn't listen, and has no shot at providing constructive feedback to his rep on the rep's performance and areas of improvement;
• Takes over the conversation, emasculating his rep (if male), and giving the customer the impression that the rep is a lightweight.

What can be done about this? On the one hand, it is prudent for the sales manager to get into the field. There is no better way to really understand the rep's challenges and opportunities for improvement, than being in the field making productive collaborative sales calls with the sales rep. However, this is easier said than done. Let's explore how sales managers can really behave as "sales managers" on joint calls with their reps:

Sales Managers:

• Work collaboratively with all reps, and publish a schedule at least a month in advance;
• Let the rep coordinate the scheduling, however; the manager encourages the rep to take him into accounts that are not necessarily his best accounts, or the ones that are paid to say how great the rep and the company are performing;
• Ensure that each call has a clear sales objective, and further, ensures that the manager's role on the call is totally clear, based upon what is agreed before walking into the customer's office or workplace;
• Understands that the rep is the one managing the account, and that the manager's purpose is not to be the "answer man" or take over the call;
• Listens intently on the call, and behaves in the agreed manner that the rep worked out with the manager before walking into the call;
• Observes the rep's behavior, and is able to provide concise and immediate feedback after the call to enable the rep to have the benefit of the manager's feedback;
• Participates in the call in a professional manner, and provides comment and input during the call based upon the rep's cue, as well as the manager's intuitive understanding of when to insert himself;
• Asks the rep for feedback on both the rep's performance, as well as the rep's perception of the manager's performance on the collaborative call. Further, he asks how he can improve and provide greater value to the rep on future collaborative calls.

There are other ideas that the manager may use to provide great value to the rep, the customer, and the company through effective collaborative sales call behavior. Consider the above ideas if you are a sales manager.

In closing, there is no magic formula for collaborative sales call behavior. However, I suggest that every sales manager consider field work with his sales team to be a significant tool to enable the rep to meet/exceed his goals. Doing so will enable the manager to get past the office rhetoric, and really understand the rep's challenges, (even if the rep is a "keeper"), based upon what he observes in the field.

I suggest that sales managers work with all of their reps on a consistent basis. High performing reps are often the ones that can benefit from a manager's input, yet ironically, these are the ones who often escape the collaborative manager calls! Further, make collaborative calls a part of a discipline, as opposed to something episodic, or once in a while.

I think you will find "sales manager," as opposed to "sales mangler" behavior to be a strong indicator that a sales organization is meeting or exceeding its goals.