The transition from selling to managing — страница 2

second difference is that sales reps perform their jobs by themselves, whereas managers perform their job with others. Some of the best salespeople are described as lone wolves because they are interested only in themselves and their own success. They do produce an excellent volume of profitable business. But not one of them will ever be a manager because they totally fail to understand the meaning of teamwork. The third difference is functional. The manager must develop his player into a team. He must see to it that his team members like their fellow workers, respect and look up to their supervisors, and are comfortable with them us people. The sales rep is just an individual with a specific job to do, and can do that job without being part of a team. It is the responsibility of

the manager to build a team and to get his salespeople to react as members of a team rather than as individuals working alone. A fourth and vital distinction between the sales rep and the field sales manager is the fact that unlike the salesperson, the manager is a part of management. The manager now represents management, and so can no longer make fun of or run down company policies and objectives. Instead, the manager must be able to explain, sell, and implement these policies. The contrast between the sales rep and the field sales manager is accentuated by the fact that the field sales manager has a great many more – and diverse – responsibilities (developing people, recruiting new sales reps, running a branch office, seeing key accounts, handling records, conducting

correspondence, and perhaps working with other departments such as advertising, engineering, and credit). The field sales manager must know how to organize the work load and use time effectively to a greater extent than is required of the sales rep. These then are critical differences between the sales rep and the field sales manager. They demand of the person who moves from the sales force to the first echelon of sales management an entirely new approach to the job and its responsibilities. The cycle of management To understand the unique problem of sales management as distinct from those of selling, it helps to consider some of the attempts that have been made to define and describe «good management». Among these are the following: Good management is the capacity to get

people of ordinary ability to perform in an extraordinary manner. A good manager is one who can get more work and better performance out of subordinates and get this willingly. A manager is one who gets things done through other or with others. The components of the cycle of management are: Planning involves three steps. The first step is to set objectives. The second step is to determine how to reach those objectives. The third step is to decide when the job should be completed. It is actually a relief to have completed such a plan. Planning is a normal function of an orderly mind. Act in accordance with the plan at the appropriate time. While there are, of course, situations where a plan must be discarded, ordinarily the interview will be far more effective if it has been

carefully planned and executed as planned. The same is true of plans for the development of individual sales reps, for the improvement of sales of a certain product line, or for the sale of products to a particular class of trade. Sit back and take a good look at what manager has done. In other words, manager makes a thorough evaluation of his performance. 4. This leads directly to the fourth step in the cycle. Manager has now appraised his performance. Manager’s experience, increased knowledge, and careful appraisal of past performance will enable you to make better plans for the next operation. Thus the cycle results in ever-improving performance. Note that it is impossible to break the cycle and still manage. Management is the complete and continuous repetition of the cycle.

The cycle is equally applicable to the planning for and development of key accounts. The cycle of management Planning: the first step The first step in sound management is planning. Field sales manager has planned well when: He and his supervisors have reached agreed-upon objectives to be attained by a specific date, and have charted a course of action for achieving these objectives. Each of his salespeople has agreed-upon objectives to be attained by a specific date and has determined upon a course of action for achieving these objectives. Developing a plan of action There are undoubtedly many methods a field sales manager can use to develop a plan of action. One method may work better for one person than for another. The following method has been found effective when properly