It’s been a month and I’ve got no sales. Do I sack the sales manager?

The short answer to this question is a resounding NO! Not unless you enjoy paying your lawyers to dispute unfair dismissal cases.

A sales manager, or more appropriately, ‘sales leader’ is a key leadership role in any sales driven organisation. That means sacking your sales leader, more often than not, also means bleeding intellectual property (IP) to your key competitors. Moreover, an emotionally charged ex-sales leader may even take some of your sales team and clients with them. Ouch!

Chopping and changing leadership always creates instability and uncertainly amongst the rest of the team. You will also find developing forward momentum difficult to achieve when you are rehiring for the same position, periodically. The cost associated with doing so is also prohibitive for most businesses. So rather than hiring and firing on an ad-hoc basis – your precious money, time, and energy is far better spent put towards developing the right sales leader and creating a foundation of support to enable them to grow with the business over the long-term.

New sales leader
This person will need at least six to 12 months to fit into the culture and develop the change required to create and sustain their success. Don’t expect miracles overnight. Seldom is real change made swiftly, nor do results come easily when you really need them. Take your time finding a proven sales leader and once hired, give them the opportunity to adapt and build confidence in their role. This may require some lower sales months in the initial phase that you will need to budget for in advance.

Existing sales leader
A proven method to stimulate an underperforming sales leader (you see potential in) is to provide them with as much support as possible. Not just a pat on the back and the odd bit of encouragement. I mean, planning and collaborating regularly and making sure the communication lines are always open. In the end, it’s always about the team, and if the sales leader is struggling, usually so too is the business. Wiping your hands of your sales leader and leaving them to their own devices when times are tough is ill advised.

Some may respond: “Well that’s what I pay them to do! If she doesn’t make the numbers, I will find someone who can!” That’s the old school carrot and stick leadership approach, it doesn’t work anymore, and neither does yelling and screaming at staff members to inspire them to action.

Some of the most powerful relationships I know of in business, are when the CEO and sales leader are totally aligned and working towards the same goals. When this type of synergy and confidence is formed – one or two poor sales months then forms part of a grander plan.

In the end prevention is always better than cure, so before you hire a sales leader ensure you follow a thorough recruitment process. Don’t rush it. Listen to your gut and makes sure you engage a proven leader that fits the culture and adds value to your long-term strategy.

Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales trainingand sales development specialist.

He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.

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