Developing people. That is the job of sales management. Too often however this job priority is not accomplished effectively because of the crises management mode many managers and sales managers find themselves trapped in.

Sales managers must ensure that their sales representatives get all the individual help they need to do a better job. This means that essentially, the primary responsibility of a sales manager is developing people. It is developing each individual's knowledge, their ability and skills and the personal traits, work habits and attitudes that will enable them to be effective in their job.

"Management Continuity " Is The Answer

Management continuity is having the discipline to go over all the requirements of the job every time you're with the sales representative in-the-field. It's organizing the job description into an in-the-field management tool and making that management tool an on-going, continuous part of leading the sales team.

It is totally unacceptable (as well as poor sales management) to only discuss what the sales representative is doing incorrectly or poorly. If you only stress what the sales representative is doing wrong, the sales representative is positioned where he can do nothing but lose. Yet the majority of the sales people we talk to tell us the only time you in sales management decide to talk to them, is when there is a problem. That is trouble!

An informal review each visit of all the job requirements will not only discover areas of need but will also identify things the sales representative is doing well. Both good and bad must be reviewed each visit. That's management continuity. It's skilled sales management and the professional way to lead and motivate the sales representative.

The in-the-field management tool that provides management continuity on each visit is the Beveridge Training Guide and Checklist. This tool provides the needed measurement of objectives and a vehicle that both sales manager and sales representative will use as the focal point of each and every field visit.

Beveridge Training Guide and Checklist

This management tool is a key to the sales manager-as-coach posture. It provides an even handed method for both the sales manager and the sales representative to assess and determine just how well he/she is doing. The door is then open for coaching the sales representative to a higher level of performance.

To effectively coach, train, and develop the sales representatives, Sales managers must organize their schedule to consistently spend 60% to 80% of their time on in-the-field coaching and training ... this is one-on-one coaching specifically focused on responsibilities, accountabilities, sales strategy and necessary skills.

To facilitate this mandatory posture of in-the-field coaching, a Training Guide and Checklist has been developed. This Training Guide and Checklist summarizes the sales strategy and the job description goals into a working document that is in the possession of the your sales representative at all times.

The Training Guide and Checklist is a tool to measure progress on an on-going basis. It serves as a planning tool and provides a proven format for coaching individual performance when that performance falls below standard. Also, it ensures positive reinforcement each time it is used. It is the tool to help the sales manager increase the sales representative's skills and productivity.

When in-the-field with a sales representative the sales manager will go over all the requirements of the sales representative's job as condensed in the Training Guide and Checklist. This activity will discover areas of need-skill deficiencies, results deficiencies and knowledge deficiencies, as well as recognize areas the sales representative is doing well.

Regular field visits with the sales representative and thorough reviews on each visit are essential if the desired improvement in performance is to come about. When a sales representative realizes that every month (or whatever time frame) their sales manager will visit solely for an informal performance review and skills development session, that sales representative will understand the need to improve skills and change nonproductive behavior.

In a short period of time, the sales representative will become a contributing part to your business. This relentless consistent behavior by the sales manager is the most productive process known today to effect real growth in skills and results within a sales organization.

To ensure the effectiveness of the Training Guide and Checklist the following steps must be taken for the system to function correctly:

• The Training Guide and Checklist must become the central focus of the sales manager's and sales representative's working relationship.
• The sales representative must maintain a copy of the Training Guide and Checklist in a current and complete manner. The sales manager may wish to make a copy of the Training Guide and Checklist before he leaves after an in-the-field visit.
• The completed Training Guide and Checklist is the basis for discussion, coaching and training.
• Any time the sales manager visits the sales representative by appointment and the Training Guide and Checklist is not current and complete, the sales manager should cancel the visit on the spot. This sends a clear signal that using the Training Guide and Checklist is mandatory.
• By using the Training Guide and Checklist to improve the sales representatives' performance, the sales manager becomes predictable, laborious and repetitive in terms of what is discussed during each field visit.
• For every deficiency, coaching continues until improvement to standard is reached.

Further details about this management process can be found in our book titled Sales Management: Why the Best are Better where we detail the tools, skills, systems, and techniques of those who sell professionally successfully, and of those who effectively manage the sales.

To help you in providing this management continuity, we have provided a sample of one below. Through our consulting services over the last thirty years, we have helped many varied businesses design customized versions of this proven tool. To learn how the consulting services of the Beveridge Consulting Group can help your organization meet it's sales goals and objectives, contact Carla Morris at 1-800-BBS-IDEA or via e-mail at carla@Beveridgeinc.com

This article is provided by The Beveridge Consulting Group www.beveridgeinc.com.

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