- When I first became a sales manager,
I was filled with excitement and enthusiasm
to make a real difference in growing the business
that I was responsible for.
During those first few days,
I remember getting notices
for new product launches here,
promotional planning meetings there,
and a ton of other meetings that
I never even knew existed when I was based in the field.
My calendar filled up really quickly
and I soon realized that I needed to make
scheduling of working with my sales teams
and visits to accounts a priority before anything else.
It's a dilemma that many field sales managers face.
It's how to handle the new requirements of the job
and not be trapped and chained to your desk.
We can never lose track of what our primary objective is,
and that's to increase revenue and be fully aware
of what's going on in the marketplace.
I still go back to the lessons we all learned
as new salespeople,
since they very often remain relevant
throughout our entire careers.
The planning and preparation and the management
of our time is a critical objective.
On all of our job descriptions as field sales managers,
I guarantee within the first few sentences it says
that we're accountable for the revenue from the sales team
that reports to us
and for directing their efforts to achieve that goal.
So as you plan your quarterly schedules,
that needs to be a main focus.
For illustrative purposes,
let's assume you have 15 to 50 field representatives
in your sales team.
Each of them is at a varying levels of expertise
and experience.
They report to two or three regional managers you have.
Obviously, you can't travel with each one
in a 12-month period,
so you must develop a plan of who to work with,
why, and when.
Maybe one of them is a top performer
and you want to see them in action.
Possibly another one is less experienced,
but you've heard has a lot of potential
and working with you for a day
might provide some great coaching opportunities.
Create a strategy
and then be open and forthcoming about it.
Remain visible with key accounts
and going to new ones is going to be a requirement, too.
Your role is to help the sales representative,
not take over the call or get in the way,
but accounts do expect to see you occasionally.
You bring a different perspective to the situation
and can ask questions from a different angle to the buyer.
Let's also be clear that key accounts
expect special treatment and want your attention.
Getting in front of new accounts that show potential
will enable you to assess from your level
the opportunity, and this could be beneficial
in your future sales planning.
Once all the account and sales team objectives
are in place on your calendar,
you can fill in your schedule with other responsibilities.
It means that for some meetings,
you may be participating via telephone
from your hotel room.
So be it.
It's not a simple process to lay out your schedule,
as there are so many moving parts.
Each salesperson is different
and accounts are a wide range of sales potential.
You can't be everywhere,
but you can't be tied to your desk, either.
Never forget your first objective
is to hit and surpass your revenue goals
and your schedules need to reflect that.
Mapping out your travel plan to work with salespeople,
visit accounts, and stay close to the market,
can be challenging,
but it's a necessity to do
and must be a priority to be an effective manager.