Do you ever wonder why you were put on that performance plan, why your territory is shrinking, or why your raise was insignificant If you answered yes to any of these questions this article will help you turn the tide to a successful career in sales. Many young sales reps do not understand that being in the TOP 10% of your organization often starts with the relationship you have with your manager.
The definition of sales management and sales manager is below.
Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm’s sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial business. These are also typically the goals and performance indicators of sales management.
Sales manager is the typical title of someone whose role is sales management. The role typically involves sales planning, human resources, talent development, leadership and control of resources such as organizational assets.
We as sales representatives are responsible for increasing market-share or volume of sales for are products in our respective territories. However, I argue that you can only do this year after year if you have complete buy-in and support from your manager.
Top Resource Your Manager Controls:
Budget – Budget matters, if you have fewer resources than your peers you will be at a disadvantage. For instance, if Rep A only has budget to do one lunch with his top customers every six months but Rep B is able to do a lunch every month who do you think will have the better sales? Remember the 80-20 rule, spend 80% of your time with 20% of your top producing customers. This added budget will give you more opportunities for quality relationship building and selling time with these top customers.
Also, managers generally won’t play favorites, so a tip is to spend early and often. One matrix that managers are rated on for their annual reviews is where they came in on in regards to budget (Goal is typically 100%). If they are tracking at 70%, then generally they will re-allocated to other reps that are spending in order to hit that 100% mark. It never looks good for a manager or representative whose sales are flat and they didn’t spend their promotional budget. Most businesses believe there is a strong correlation to budget spend and sales. Furthermore, the rep that saves their budget like it’s their money and not the promotional funds that it was intended for usually gets it taken away. So do yourself a favor and come up with a plan that you will share with your manager on how, when, and where you are spending your promotional budget in 2012.
Please share with me your thoughts or stories on sales budgets and how you’ve had success with or without one.
Jason B. Douglas 