Sales Management Epiphany...had it yet?
Posted on Thu, Oct 14, 2010
Bill Eckstrom, the president and founder of EcSELL Institute kicked off the Sales Leadership and Coaching Strategies Summit with a powerful statement.
"Unless you accept 100% accountability for the performance of your sales reps and realize that it is your leadership, coaching, and management acumen that determines their success, you will never maximize your success." 
Research proves that Sales Managers are the essential component to driving results and meeting goals. Here are some facts:
- Firms in the top quartile in respect to training investments have higher median Total Stockholder Return (TSR) in the subsequent year than firms in the other three training quartiles.
- Organizations in the top half for training expenditure in one year have a mean TSR in the following year of 36.9%, while organization in the bottom half have a mean TSR of only 19.8%.
- Firms that spend more than average on training have TSRs that are 45% higher than market average, and 86% higher than firm that spend less on than average.
- The model estimates that each dollar invested in training leads to a $33.57 benefit to them.
So why aren't you doing more for yourself?
Excuses.... time, too busy, have to get everyone on board before I do anything.. BAH!
Your impact is staggering. A poor performing sales rep can cost a company $1-2 million in lost sales. A poor performing SALES MANAGER can cost a company $10-20 MILLION!
Our established members, met with the same time constraints as other sales executives, no longer accept these excuses. When you actualize the epiphany you will make the time, you will protect the time, and you will provide the necessary resources to enhance the time, because the ROI is too significant to ignore.
Responding to this epiphany may require a cultural shift for your sales department that could necessitate a span of time, but it is one that can be accelerated with a defined vision, authentic commitment, and a purposeful plan.
Initially, don’t wait to have everyone on board. There may be those who don’t get it, but do your best to educate your management team as to why you are committing resources to their development. Allow your colleagues the same insights you had at the moment of your epiphany, so they may have the same opportunity for discovery. Remember that your team will best support what they help create, but be sure to articulate that doing nothing is not an option. Don’t slow the momentum of those who do get it or are searching to get it.
The epiphany can occur and reoccur at any point if we place ourselves on the path of discovery and improvement. It is my goal that, in response to this epiphany, as sales leaders we arepersistently utilizing frontline research and collaborative expertise to benefit our sales teams, better guaranteeing professional growth and gains relative to the complex needs of the sales management community.
Watch this 3 minute video titled "Are You Ready?" for even more powerful statistics on the impact of sales management! It will change the way you view the importance of your role....
What do you think the most important role of a Sales Manager? What is the #1 thing every Sales Manager must do great?
EcSELL Institute www.ecsellinstitute.com
