By the Seat of Your Pants

I just received an examination copy of a new book by Tom Gegax. Who is Tom Gegax? you ask. He has been there, grown that, from five vantage points–an executive at one of the world’s largest corporations; a start-up entrepreneur; a CEO leading sixteen hundred employees; a business consultant; and a member of numerous boards. By the time Tom sold his company in July, 2000 to a multinational firm, it had mushroomed from a concept sketched on a restaurant napkin to a market leader in its ten-state region with $200 million in revenue.

What does Tom have to add to the many management books you can find on Amazon? Richard Schulze, Founder and Chairman of Best Buy, in his foreword, said: “Tom is a consummate team player, dedicated to what I value most in a leader–respect and consideration for everyone in the organization. He knows you win with motivated people supported by efficient business practices. That creates a culture of caring, accountability, and continuous process improvement.”

Here is what Gegax has to say about Sales Managers and performance goals for salespeople:

Spend a bundle on a sales manager.
Many a CEO studies sub-par sales figures, scratches his head, and wonders, What am I missing? A field general, that’s what. A creative sales manager sniffs out the right slice of the market, trains and inspires rookies and veterans, and herds volatile personalities. Volatile? Salespeople tend to be mavericks. They’re more impulsive than cube dwellers. On top of that, physically and digitally pounding the pavement armed only with traditional, unenlightened sales techniques can exact one heck of an emotional toll. Unfortunately, the way many sales departments operate is negatively self-reinforcing–alot of leaders simply promote their best salesperson to sales manager. Good luck with that. There may be some overlap in expertise–people skills, for instance, and all the aspects of sales success. But management is a different animal. If your sales wiz doesn’t have noteworthy leadership experience, his supervising stint may be a short one.

Set performance goals.
Settle on reachable, yet challenging, goals. Sit down together and analyze current sales, historical cycles, and the rep’s track record. Benchmark her versus her peers. Make sure she walks away with goals she can call her own. There’s not a lot of life in numbers handed down from on high. Be patient with newbies–but not too patient. Build an exit strategy into your agreement (“If you fail to reach 70 percent of goal after four months, we’ll shake hands and go our separate ways”). That helps you cut your losses early and prevents uncomfortable terminations.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. For a copy of Tom’s book, you can find it in your local bookstore or on amazon.com