Sales Management
What is a Sales Manager?
Sales managers are responsible for keeping their sales teams producing. Managing a sales team isn't easy, but it can be extremely satisfying for the right person.
Before You Become a Sales Manager
Is sales manager the career choice for you? Your potential challenges vary depending on whether you're now a salesperson or a manager in another field.
6 Effective Sales Management Techniques
Managing salespeople is not exactly easy. Here are a few strategies you can deploy to keep your sales team producing happily.
Time Management Tips for Sales Managers
Sales managers work long, long hours and yet frequently complain that they are always behind on their work. The issue might not be too much work but rather the wrong kind.
Transitioning Into Sales Management
Are you thinking about applying for that sales manager job your company just posted? Maybe they've even offered you the position. Before you jump on it, you need to consider a few complications.
New Sales Compensation Plans
Putting together a new sales compensation plan isn't easy, either for you or for your sales team. After all, your livelihood and theirs is on the line.
Giving Sales Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are always tricky, and sales performance reviews can be some of the most difficult.
4 Ideas for Sales Management Success
Are you having a hard time getting your sales team to perform up to requirements? Salespeople are notoriously hard to manage, so you may need to reach into a different box of tricks in order to motivate them.
How to Interview Salespeople
When you're hiring a new salesperson, a little due diligence on your part can help you to secure a highly-skilled team member. The candidate's answers to your interview questions are important, but they're only one possible source of information.
Good Sales Compensation Programs
Every sales team needs a good sales compensation program to guide and motivate them in their efforts. A bad sales compensation plan, on the other hand, is likely to motivate them to start looking for another job.
5 Steps to Implement a Sales Strategy Change
Getting a sales team on board with a new sales strategy isn't easy. Here's a five-step plan to win a true buy-in from your salespeople.
Sales Coaching
Coaching her sales team is a major component of the sales manager's job. A good sales coach can guide her salespeople to fix their own weaknesses and become better at their job.
56 Questions for Sales Candidates
Interviews are an opportunity to see how well a sales candidate can sell under pressure. Having a solid list of questions to ask your prospective salesperson will help you understand how he ticks.
Hiring a salesperson who isn't going to succeed is a waste of your time and theirs. Every manager will make a hiring mistake sooner or later, but by paying close attention during each stage of the process you can minimize these mistakes.
4 Common Sales Management Obstacles
Many executives fail to understand the nature of a sales manager's role. Without meaning to, they place roadblocks that make the sales management job much tougher than it needs to be.
Building a Sales Team
If you face the task of building a sales team for your employer, you have a golden opportunity to bring on a group of solid salespeople. But before you start hiring, you should be aware of a few potential issues.
Motivating a Sales Team
Salespeople are most likely to be motivated by two things: money and recognition. The average salesperson is highly competitive, so having their triumphs recognized in front of their peers is really satisfying. And a nice cash bonus will always be welcome!
Six Strategies for Productive Sales Meetings
Sales meetings are not a salesperson's favorite part of the job. And many sales managers also consider sales meetings a necessary evil. Yet a well-planned and conducted sales meeting can have an amazingly positive effect on the sales team.
6 Tips for Managing a Virtual Sales Team
A good virtual sales team is full of happy salespeople who make a lot of money for their company. A bad virtual sales team is a disaster both for the salespeople and the manager who's responsible for them.
Are You Creating a Toxic Sales Team?
Some ideas look great on paper, but just don't work out under real world conditions. Sales management is full of examples that make the Titanic look like a rousing success by comparison.
Tying Sales Compensation to Sales Quotas
Getting your sales team to meet – and exceed – their quotas can be as simple as setting up the proper reward structure.
Increase Your Sales Team's Productivity
As a sales manager, it's your job to keep your team producing. In fact, status quo isn't enough... most sales managers need their sales teams to do ever better, in order to keep their own bosses happy.
7 Benefits of a Good CRM
CRM programs have been around for a long time, but many sales teams have been slow to adopt them. Maybe it's time to consider a few of the benefits.
Is a Virtual Office Right for My Business?
The virtual office has become an increasingly popular strategy for businesses of all sizes. But is it right for you?
Quick Tip: An Unexpected Benefit to the Virtual Office
If your sales team is widely distributed, you may be overlooking a possible benefit.