Mistakes of novice sales managers
In modern Russia, the sales sector remains perhaps the most diverse. Most often there are young people of various professions who, after receiving an education, became disillusioned with their choice and realized that poring over drawings for days on end or helping students nibble on the granite of science is not their vocation at all. Therefore, people working in sales most often have minimal knowledge about how the market works, and their competence will largely depend on the training process with the employer.
At the first employment as a sales manager in a B2B company (the B2C market is structured differently), all managers make the same mistakes. Therefore, it is important to keep abreast of the basic nuances of conducting sales in order to avoid gross and frequent mistakes by newcomers and make your life easier.
1.High expectations. It seems to you that if old employees have high sales figures, then you will definitely overtake them in the first month.
2. Quick disappointment. In the first month, it becomes clear that B2B sales have a long cycle, and it will not be possible to sell services at a large amount right away.
3. Excessive credulity.The novice manager believes everything that the potential customer says, and has not yet begun to read "between the lines." For example, if a company says that they are happy with everything, but the sale does not move to a new stage, there are most likely factors that confuse the customer, and he is considering other options. Also, if the customer says “thank you very much, we will contact you if necessary”, in 90% of cases this is not so. No one will call or write you. This applies, of course, to those cases when the company first spoke about a specific need, and then abruptly went underground.
4. Failure to identify the decision maker.This problem is closely related to the previous one, since very often sales managers have to communicate not directly with the customer, but through an intermediary, such as a secretary. The assistant manager can say, sincerely looking into your eyes, that they don’t have a need, but in fact the manager or your level of competence seemed insufficient, and he asked his assistant not to bother him with requests from your company. And you will not have the opportunity to supplement your portfolio with projects that are important for a particular customer.
5. Lack of communication with the customer after the transaction.Many novice sales managers calm down right after the company made the first order. However, the needs have not yet been fully identified, the company has not yet become loyal, and at this stage it is especially important to continue communicating in order to understand how satisfied the customer is, whether everything suits him. Thus, you can make sure that your customer received the product / service that he expected.
So what should be done to avoid such mistakes?
1. Do not set yourself high bars. If you want to plan your work, then during the first months the plan should not be expressed in the amount of sales, but in the amount of work done (companies found, calls made, answers received, etc.).
2. Adjust your personal goals in time.If you see that, objectively, companies in this segment respond with a refusal in 30% of cases, you should not strive to immediately reduce the failure rate.
3. Always think not about what was answered to you, but why. Try to ask additional questions to see the whole picture.
4. Try to establish communication with the head , or try to communicate with several employees of the company. Thus, you will have a more detailed picture of the situation.
5. Never forget about your customers. Remember that determining how satisfied the customer is is your immediate responsibility.
And most importantly, never forget that sales managers are such irreplaceable people who help meet needs with her decision, which means they move the market forward and make someone very happy
At the first employment as a sales manager in a B2B company (the B2C market is structured differently), all managers make the same mistakes. Therefore, it is important to keep abreast of the basic nuances of conducting sales in order to avoid gross and frequent mistakes by newcomers and make your life easier.
1.High expectations. It seems to you that if old employees have high sales figures, then you will definitely overtake them in the first month.
2. Quick disappointment. In the first month, it becomes clear that B2B sales have a long cycle, and it will not be possible to sell services at a large amount right away.
3. Excessive credulity.The novice manager believes everything that the potential customer says, and has not yet begun to read "between the lines." For example, if a company says that they are happy with everything, but the sale does not move to a new stage, there are most likely factors that confuse the customer, and he is considering other options. Also, if the customer says “thank you very much, we will contact you if necessary”, in 90% of cases this is not so. No one will call or write you. This applies, of course, to those cases when the company first spoke about a specific need, and then abruptly went underground.
4. Failure to identify the decision maker.This problem is closely related to the previous one, since very often sales managers have to communicate not directly with the customer, but through an intermediary, such as a secretary. The assistant manager can say, sincerely looking into your eyes, that they don’t have a need, but in fact the manager or your level of competence seemed insufficient, and he asked his assistant not to bother him with requests from your company. And you will not have the opportunity to supplement your portfolio with projects that are important for a particular customer.
5. Lack of communication with the customer after the transaction.Many novice sales managers calm down right after the company made the first order. However, the needs have not yet been fully identified, the company has not yet become loyal, and at this stage it is especially important to continue communicating in order to understand how satisfied the customer is, whether everything suits him. Thus, you can make sure that your customer received the product / service that he expected.
So what should be done to avoid such mistakes?
1. Do not set yourself high bars. If you want to plan your work, then during the first months the plan should not be expressed in the amount of sales, but in the amount of work done (companies found, calls made, answers received, etc.).
2. Adjust your personal goals in time.If you see that, objectively, companies in this segment respond with a refusal in 30% of cases, you should not strive to immediately reduce the failure rate.
3. Always think not about what was answered to you, but why. Try to ask additional questions to see the whole picture.
4. Try to establish communication with the head , or try to communicate with several employees of the company. Thus, you will have a more detailed picture of the situation.
5. Never forget about your customers. Remember that determining how satisfied the customer is is your immediate responsibility.
And most importantly, never forget that sales managers are such irreplaceable people who help meet needs with her decision, which means they move the market forward and make someone very happy