Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

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  Sid Herron10/06/08 Report as spam
  1

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I agree with the comment as far as it goes. However, it is a rare (and lucky) organization whose salespeople all meet that level of professionalism. And even in that organization, if it exists, the right sales manager can add considerable value by (1) providing overall direction for the sales team, and then (2) keeping the BS off the troops so they can worry about doing their jobs. BTW, this second item, in my experience, is a trait that's common to all effective managers, sales and otherwise.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine10/06/08 Report as spam
  2

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  QUOTE: keeping the BS off the troops so they can worry about doing their jobs.
  
  Oh, man, ain't that the truth!

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  lady410/07/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  sidherron is absolutely right. Whether we like it or not, there is a significant amount of BS that goes on in most companies. If you are not subjected to that much BS, thank the manager above you.

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  malcolm.peak10/07/08 Report as spam
  4

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Sales Managers who just report on activities are a waste of space (and money) but those with experience who motivate and drive the team while providing support, advice, guidance and a sounding board for team members (and who can also bear some of the sales load) are invaluable.

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  efoxall10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Most organisations think a good sales person makes a good manager, this is not the case. I beleive they are needed but shoudl have analysts to suppoort the admin part of role so they can focus on the customer and the people.

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  gwilton10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I also agree with sidherron that a good sales manager can keep the BS from running downhill, but I believe the opposite is equally true.
  
  A good sales manager is (or should be) a buffer between the employees and senior management-- both of which generate their share of "bovine scatology."
  
  By allowing both ends of the employment spectrum to do their respective jobs, the effective sales manager looks after the day-to-day operation, monitors progress towards the goal, and makes those oh-so-necessary gentle corrections to stay on target.
  
  Any mid-level manager who feels micromanagement is a necessary attribute for the job should aim instead for self-employment.

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  arrow-98710/07/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Revenue accountability is critical, the sales manager
  and the CEO need to jointly carry this burden and all of
  the rest of the organization better be aware that they
  best support these two people in driving revenue. This
  topic keeps popping up due to the elitist sales guys
  that think they can make it happen themselves and
  every one should bow at their feet. (Also the jealous
  office works say the same thing without having a clue
  to what they are saying). Sales reps need to one thing
  and that is sell, not spend their time with the internal
  burdens, they need to carry the customers burdens
  into the organizations to get support for the deal to
  close. A great sales rep will leverage the sales manager
  to block and tackle the other people so they can get
  the deal done and be the customers advocate.
  
  Think of it as soldiers in the field, you need guys doing
  their job (sales person) getting air support (sales
  manager) and real intelligence (marketing) to
  understand the theater of operation.
  
  You need a well trained team to win, the sales
  manager is a critical part of the team just like everyone
  else. Lets get over this debate - just look at the results
  of successful organization as the basis for decision not
  half baked assumptions/theories.
  
  Just remember sales people need to be selling all the
  time, managers need to help them or fire them.

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  Tibor Shanto10/07/08 Report as spam
  8

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I tend to agree that true professionals should be able to manage themselves, but as already stated, these are few and far between.
  
  Looking at the question differently, what is the role of the sales manager; I think it is to manage the sales process, not to manage the sales person. The breakdown happens when there is not formally defined sales process, managing becomes a subjective exercise rather than an objective process. That leaves the managers to manage the person, which leads to multi-flow BS.
  
  Since most managers are promoted adequate reps, generally promoted as a reward rather than capability, the cycle of managing people subjectively rather than managing an objective process to meet stated goals.

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  venzulo10/07/08 Report as spam
  9

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I've found that managers become obsolete when they lose touch with the sale and become reporters. If a manager has her/his own quota and/or their compensation is closely tied to the group sales goal, they're more vested in the process, they know exactly what BS needs to be cut out, who to fire etc. Then again, I feel the same way about the rest of the company too

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  deesymin10/07/08 Report as spam
  10

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Absolutely not, If the Sales Folks are structured in nature. Sales is a Science as well as an art. If the Sales Person knows his numbers well and is motivated enough to carry the target.
  
  Unfortunately, even the best of Sales People get into rut and just don't do anything. So, it is good to have a sales manager to constantly motivate the sales folk.

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  deanmutter10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  In a prefect world where Unicorns bring you cool beverages and sales orders magically appear on a daily basis, a sales manager is an unnecessary layer.
  
  However, in the real world they ARE needed. A CEO does not have the time, or skills in many cases, to hire the RIGHT sales people and then tell them what to do. Someone needs to focus on product, G&A, Technical areas and sales. The Sales manager is the GO TO person for sales.
  
  Not all sales people are the same. They learn and understand things at different times, speeds, levels etc. A good sales manager helps them to be productive...whatever their skill level. We all would like a staff of "10's" selling for us. But in the real world there are a lot of 5, 6, and 7's. A good sales manager will help them become 6's, 7's and 8's etc.
  
  Plus when the CEO wants fast answers on how business is going....it is easier to ask one person; The Sales Manager, rather than chase down a bunch of sales people.
  
  Successful organizations have somebody watching the money coming in. Call them what you like...at the end of the day, they are sales managers.

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  ollyl@...10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Absolutely! Every successful sporting team has a leader and/or a leadership group. In any group of people the bell shaped statistical curve applies. We have 60% around the mean (average) 20% above and 20% below.
  
  Without leadership it is fanciful to think the group will perform better on its own.
  
  Bad leadership courts disaster, good leadership creates a future for everybody.

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  Cape Cod B10/07/08 Report as spam
  13

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Before I answer that question I recall 15-20 years ago an author predicted the demise of the sales rep. Roles have changed for the sales rep and for the sales manager.
  
  Given that most sales people become pros with the proper processes, tools and methodologies, they need a sales manager who knows when to jump in and coach.
  
  If you'll forgive a sports analogy, the players (sales reps) are pro's, the have a game plan (sales process) the players have equipment (sales tools CRM etc) the players train daily (sales training) the team has a coach or manager on the sidelines who executes the stratgey the sales team needs the same coach. Not to micro manage but to assist when the process or the tools arem't getting close to the win. BTW: the team includes all of those support folks in the back room - customer service, marketing and engineering.

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  nameeth@...10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Its boils down to the target set for the sales manager, if their a billablity(productive hours) that every sales person needs to book their hours then sales manager should also be a sales person with a target billable hours they need to book.
  
  Sales manager should also sale like others but part of his responsiblities should be to coordinate and report to CFO/CEO when required(for a global organisation which require reporting at different levels)... - N

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  Kittitian10/07/08 Report as spam
  15

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  There is a case for the role in one of the following situations.
  
  a) the captain - who leads from the front,or
  b) the mediator - who helps to motivate and co-ordinate the team, or
  c)the facilitator who deals with administration, internal poilitics and operational manangement
  
  In my experience the SM function should supplement sales results and capability, not just the head count

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  outofthebox110/07/08 Report as spam
  16

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I have had two good sales managers in ... 23 years of selling. I was a sales manager for a couple of years and am happy to report that all of my folks, 20 years later are still in sales and at the top of their fields. Good ones are invaluable and bad ones ... well they cost companies a lot of money. Truly good sales people need someone to solve problems for them, make certain that support is exactly that and a manager to go to bat to keep them competitive, then just get out of the way. At 26 years old I was an Officer of a major corporation ... and I was so disheartened by the politics and the lack of honesty I walked away and have never ever accepted a management position again, including an offer that had a $60K signing bonus. Pay attention upper management and walk around the bull pen some if you want the truth.

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  Shalini.Srivastava@...10/07/08 Report as spam
  17

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I think there is no need of Sales Manager if we consider only the context stated in the article that they are expected to perform the role of reporting sales data to higher ups. A good sales Manager can needs to move away from being a sales manager to becoming a coach and a people manager. If he manages people well, guides them and coaches them , then he would actually be directly getting better sales from his sales reps than earlier. majority of the sales manager perceive their job as "doing numbers" which is why THOSE sales managers are not needed.

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  Shaheryar Khan10/07/08 Report as spam
  18

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I my opinion, you always need check and balance on your subordinates. If you give sales persons too much liberty then you cannot achieve your desire results. Now days in this competitive market sales people need to be motivated on daily basis, and that is the job of the manager. Its managers work to lead the team and motivate them and achieve the organization goals as well as personal goals.

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  sawayahabib@...10/07/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I m with all who expressed positively about the impact of a good sales manger on the sales force..
  
  A professional sales person is a vital entity for the company and an added value.. I agrre that the professional sales person needs less supervision and can generate and closes sales on his own.. but what about joining forces in alignment with the organization strategy, planning and budgeting, training, motivating, team building, developing sales culture, setting sales criteria, rewarding and penalizing, setting goals and helping in achieving, forecasting sales forces needs and hiring the good ones ... in my opinion keeping the money generating machine without a captain is suicide.

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  mohamedbtc10/07/08 Report as spam
  20

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  A very vital role in the sales team is the manager. he will guide the already active people from his back experience and enhance their capabilities and will punish the lazy for his negligence.

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  jeremy blake10/08/08 Report as spam
  21

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I would like them to be frequently useful by:
  1. Supporting the salespeople in the understanding of the customer's business, and an amazing knowledge of the customers staff or customers who will be using the product or service you are providing.
  2. Selling - helping salespeople to sell
  3. Administration - take this away from them

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  Peter Dilger10/08/08 Report as spam
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  5 reasons sales managers should manage not sell

  Sales managers should not be given their own target their job is to manage not to sell
  Which accounts does the sales manager take? - if he/she has successful accounts they will be criticised by the sales force for taking all of the good accounts.
  If they are below target for the month they abandon managing and focus on meeting target
  What do you do if they fail to meet target? ??? ignore it and the sales force say well they failed so can I or you discipline them for not making sales and they abandon their management responsibilities and focus on selling
  It generally means the best sales person is promoted to sales manager to act as a role model - that???s modelling selling not managing the team
  Who is managing when they are out of the office selling?
  In all other areas of the business a manager manages - focusing on all of the planning, organisational, motivational, etc functions - that is a full time job in one of the most important functions within the business ??? why should it be different in sales?

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  kevingarapo10/08/08 Report as spam
  23

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Yes there are, but they have to have clearly laid down goals and a good understanding of the human resource management aspect as with respect to sales people. Misinformed managers can be catastrophic to the business.

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  jnslotnick10/08/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Lot's of excellent comments about the role/need of a sales manager but let's focus on manager vs leader for a minute. The Sales Manager owns the sales and businesses processes and buffers/filters communication up and down. A Leader must do that effectively plus motivate and support his/her salespeople and provide strength to the group during tough times.
  Anyone who can work a spreadsheet and send e-mail can be a manager (i.e. "a tool") but it takes vision, trust, respect and solid interpersonal skills to be a leader.
  Managers are a dime a dozen, true leaders are rare and valuable in any role.

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  Scott Foster10/08/08 Report as spam
  25

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I believe it is a case by case basis. I have know many SM's that weren't necessary. They did more harm than good. (These tended to be the ones that were promoted just because they were good sales reps) The good and valuable ones are the ones that when they get involved, the sales reps sell more than they would have otherwise. These ones are absolutley necessary and extremely valuable.

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  Mike29610/08/08 Report as spam
  26

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Incompetent sales managers are not only unnecessary, they are frequently a positive hinderance. Competent sales managers are invaluable but also rather rare. The role of the sales manager is provide the help and support the people in the sales team need in order to maximise their effectiveness. The sales managers' success is dependent on the success of his or her team, so great coaching and motivating is essential, as is the ability to protect the team from the demands of other areas of the business that want to take up their time with often wholly unnecessary tasks and activities.

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  Peter Dilger10/08/08 Report as spam
  27

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  a few thoughts for Jeremy
  would like them to be frequently useful by:
  1. Supporting the salespeople in the understanding of the customer's business, and an amazing knowledge of the customers staff or customers who will be using the product or service you are providing. - (It is the sales persons responsibility to know their own customers - how can a sales manager with let???s say 5 sales people all with 50 accounts have a more detailed knowledge than the person selling to the customer?)
  2. Helping salespeople to sell ??? it depends what you mean by helping them to sell ??? yes train you to sell, yes mentor and coach ??? I have seen too many companies where the sales manager insists on accompanying sales people to major sales this shows an underlying problem of lack of skill or lack of trust or both combined very often with inflated ego from the sales manager ??? I need to help on the large accounts??? the measure of leadership is not the quality of the head but the tone of the body??? Max Dupree
  3. Administration - take this away from them ???filling in visit reports or customer data can only be done by the person making the sale ie the salesperson ??? however keeping good data should be viewed in a positive not a negative light ??? completing the administration should be accompanied by analysing the information ??? do they take all of your product range ??? have members of the DMU changed ??? do they buy in cycles ??? competitive information etc ??? the sales managers job IS NOT to complete the administration but to ensure that procedures are effective and efficient

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  emilyco10/08/08 Report as spam
  28

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I work in a sales center where our managers do just that; they just do reports for higher ups.
  Few even have sales backgrounds. I believe from talking to a lot of my coworkers that a sales manager should be someone who encourages and make sure a sales person has everything they need to be successful. I believe ther should be sales managers but to be for that purpose alone.

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  coreybwong10/08/08 Report as spam
  29

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  anyone who thinks a group of sales people managing themselves will result in a successful sales "team" has their head buried in the sand

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  Nana Yaw10/08/08 Report as spam
  30

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  if we agree that coaching and mentoring is an important part development process for employees and sales professionals are no exception, then sales managers are necessary. once you have a number of sales professionals all of them cannot attend the management meetings, strategic meetings etc. let's not forget that even in societies where they preach equality, they still have leaders. we cannot do away with sales managers. at least, the coordinating function will still be appreciated.

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  number1cats10/08/08 Report as spam
  31

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  There is a difference between a manager and a leader. You manage things, you lead people.
  
  All things being equal, if you have a sales force that needs to be "managed".....fire all of them, including the sales manager.. If you have a sales force that responds to "leadership", get out of their way and watch what happens.

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  Barbara Beggs10/08/08 Report as spam
  32

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  When I was a sales manager ( and my people thought I was a pretty good one) my #1 job was to get the roadblocks out of my teams path. way. That meant everything from fighting for technology upgrades to customer serivce support to interfacing with marketing efforts to giving them cover fire with operations people and accounting. The sales manager trains, coaches and/or works with the training department to get the right training company hired and coordinates with them. Another part of being the sales manager is developing bench strength by communicating company values and ethics. And the big question: if not the sales manager, then who is going to do this stuff?

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  Hemistyle10/08/08 Report as spam
  33

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Sales Managers are usually poor performers because companies usually grab the best sales person from the team and make them the new Sales Manager. They think they deserve it and the company thinks they can teach the team how they do it.
  
  WRONG.
  
  Being a Sales Manager requires different skills to becoming a great sales person. How many great sports people try to be good coaches and suck. Same principle. You want to reward your top sales people, pay them bigger bonuses. They want to be Managers explain the skills they need and suggest training or trial them to ensure they can lead.
  
  Great Sales Managers increase the bottom line by lifting overall sales for each individual in the team, they ensure there is strategic thinking and maintain the integrity of sales so short term gains for the company don't come at the expense of long term gains.
  
  My two cents for what it is worth.

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  venzulo10/08/08 Report as spam
  34

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Does any of this sound familiar?
  Regulation vs De-regulation?
  De-regulate and the place goes to hell in a handbasket. Over-regulate and you have lack of efficiency and over-spending.
  I'm willing to bet those of you who are against managers are very good salespeople, and more importantly, responsible for your own actions; which I am. Those of you for managers probably have management experience, and see the fact that someone has to steer the ship lest it sink; I also agree.
  I think it all comes down to the size of the company. A company should not even consider a sales manager until they are so big the CEO/founder/whomever, can no longer manage the revenue/sales peeps efficently. When and if this does happen, I agree it should not be the top salesperson unless;
  A. They absolutely have the qualities and proven experience.
  B. There will be no, or very little dip in their own sales numbers, either by handing them off or maintaining some "corporate" accounts or some mixture of the 2.
  C They passionately want the job.
  Your top salesperson is usually your most competitive person, ie. not a good coach. I had to admit that to myself a couple years ago.
  
  I believe in de-regulation until regulation (management) is completely neccessary, and even when it is, whomever is involved needs to have their compensation tied to the success of the group.

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  MotivationDoc10/08/08 Report as spam
  35

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Sadly there are many poor Sales Managers; however there are many excellent ones.
  
  Of course Sales Managers are necessary. How can any team operate efficiently without a motivational leader. Any sports team, no matter how good the players are; needs an excellent manager/coach on the 'sidelines' making a positive contribution to each players performance. So as it should be with any sales team.
  
  Alan Fairweather - The Motivation Doctor

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  My Mistery10/08/08 Report as spam
  36

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  ???Leadership???, this is what I look for in a ???Sales Manager???. A ???leader??? is a rare individual that can lead people to achieve great results. A ???leader??? is a rare individual who can find and hire great sales people who will positively respond to good??? leadership???. A great ???leader??? is always someone you can learn something from put it to use and remember it. I only remember one such individual in my history of selling.

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  daryush10/08/08 Report as spam
  37

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  i think they are not necessary since the company hire professional sales people. let me share my experience. my company have many product segment with different brands. each part has its sales people of two to eight people without sales manager. because sales manager can not manage all these brands at the same time. on the other hand decision making distributed between sales people and they handle it perfectly for routine works. other than that they should refer to MD to solve a special problem.
  in this case sales manager as we had previously can just impede sales people for doing their routine jobs as they have to wait in the queue for while for a simple decision should be made by sales manager.

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  j.gies@...10/10/08 Report as spam
  38

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  It depends
  
  Are they a new sales team? Are the sales people new to the profession? If so they probably need a sales manager. If they are expereinced, disciplined and professional the managers job is to keep the crap from rolling down hill; thereby allowing the sales team to sell.
  
  In both cases I think the manager has a role.

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  billjudge10/10/08 Report as spam
  39

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  I was the person who's comment was referenced and in reading through the comments - a lot of good info here. I think I may even stand corrected a bit. Tibor Shanot hit the nail squarely on the head. If the person manages the sales activity but not the sales person, I can see worth (for the most part) in the position. Great forum, and a lot of good statements.

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  AmyOlson10/15/08 Report as spam
  40

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Let's be honest, the function and responsibility of a Manager in any area varies depending upon who they are managing and the level of self-directed results their direct reports should be able to accomplish in a given day/week/month/year.
  
  In my opinion all business to business, outside sales reps not only should be highly self directed, they have to be. Their commission plan should be designed so that they don't need to be terminated if they are failing, they will quit due to lack of sales and therefore income.
  
  Where the Sales Manager adds value is in providing the experience, resources and tools to support their efforts and meet their goals. If the Manager cannot do that, they need to be terminated. (Since the base is generally higher and they may not self terminate.)
  
  Further, reporting the sales figures/trends etc. are critical to providing executive management the data they require to make great decisions on behalf of the organization, and is hardly a wasteful activity.
  
  While these reporting duties may not increase sales directly, they indirectly provide the data required to better determine best targets, routes etc. to increase sales.
  
  It's understandable that they best Sales Reps see no need for a manager due to their core skills, abilities, interests and likely well developed ego etc. I'd hire any one of these individuals who demonstrate true success and abilities and I would EARN their respect by being a valued resource they can utilize to achieve their sales goals and increase their income.

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  kurtchr10/16/08 Report as spam
  41

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Can you imagine a sports team without a coach? A platoon without a leader?

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  peteronnby11/14/08 Report as spam
  42

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  The main reason for the general understanding of bad Sales Managers are due to the fact that they are skilled sales repr who got promoted to sales manager. The skills required to be a sales manager are very different compared to a sales repr, i.e. leadership skills are not that relevant working as a sales repr but very important for a sales manager.
  
  Hire good sales managers by first identifying the purpose of the role and areas of responsibilities of a sales manager followed then by defining required skills and behaviour. Then you will be able find and hire a good sales manager!
  
  / Peter

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  Brendonovic07/08/09 Report as spam
  43

  RE: Are Sales Managers Truly Necessary?

  Great comment from Malcolm. A good sales manager should lead by example. Be in first, leave last, help out where possible, take the crap and negativity and turn it in to positives and not be afraid to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in to selling.
  
  This article states that the CEO hires the sales people, in essence then the CEO becomes the sales manager. They are the mentor, they are the leader, they set targets, they motivate. - If all sales people miss their taregts, then ho is accountable? And more importantly, could it have been avoided by proper management?
  
  I think most CEOs would agree they have enough to do