What are some things that sales managers should NEVER do?

A great question! Managers should never ask their people to do something, but themselves do something else. A key part of leadership is setting a personal example of the kinds of behaviors you expect.

Too often, instead, it becomes "do as I say, not as I do." If you want to maximize performance, morale, etc, leaders must set the example--every day.

Awesome question Mary. In addition to the suggestions from Bob and David, I would add:

1. Avoid saying anything like, "Do whatever it takes to close the deal." This pushes reps to make unnecessary concessions, to take shortcuts and to use manipulative tactics.

2. Answer every problem a sales rep has. It is easy to provide a solution when a rep asks a question, but it is MUCH more effective to say, "Tell me what you think you should do?" Avoid the temptation to give a solution just because it's faster and quicker because thei only makes the rep more dependant on you.

Cheers!

Hi Mary

The best sales managers are those who consistently inspire greatness in their people. They never stop providing solid coaching and feedback with a tone that says "I believe in you and I'm in your corner." They never stop balancing high expectations with great insight and clear direction.

Sales managers should never step in and do; they are there to instruct, to spar, to prepare their people for every eventuality they might face.

Don F Perkins
mindmulch.net

Dear Mary...from my experience, 2 "Nevers"
1- Forget what the great Diego Maradona saw as his greatest challenge when he became a team manager after his glorious play days: "Accepting that I was not playing in the field any more".
Many sales managers forget that they are not sales persons any more and rush to the quick fix of "Let me handle this". There goes the team !
2 - Not training themselves to be effective coaches when on joint field calls. Joint calls to customers are the best opportunities to develop effective sales people...many sales managers see them as opportunities to "shine" themselves and show everyone what great closers they are. There goes the team...again

Best wishes foe a successful and healthy 2011 to all.

Mary,
Great question!

I will try and give you a dual perspective answer - from the sales side, as well as the manager side.

From the Sales Rep Perspective-
Unrealistic Sales Expectations - Sales Managers should never set unrealistic quotas or sales goals just to try and get the reps to try harder or "stretch". All this does is make it so that the reps will give up, or look at it for what it is, and discredit the manager and or executive team.

Steal Accounts - This goes without saying, but happens more often than you can imagine. As a sales manager, if you are also responsible for sales, never, ever, ever take over an account or take an account away from a rep, and make it your own. (unless there is a solid, documented and agreed upon reason).

Change Compensation Plans "On the Fly" - Messing with a reps commission is a big taboo. Doing it without notice is unacceptable (unless it is for the better). If you decide to lower commission or bonus rates, you should give fair notice, and make the reasons very clear. If it seems petty, or comes across that the reps "were making too much money", your credibility and that of the executive team will take a significant hit.

From The Sales Manager Perspective -
Share Confidential Information - If you have a rep, or reps that are struggling, don't share the gory details with the guys that are doing well. I had a mentor that told me that you have to treat your team like you would kids on recess at school. Reps (successful ones anyway) are by nature, highly competitive, and may take advantage of situations of weakness, even internal weakness.

Take Control Of Every Joint Sales Call - You are there to help, not take ownership. Use joint calls as a way to see how a rep does, and jump in where appropriate. If you feel the need to run every call - maybe you should go back to being a sales rep, and not a manager.

Be 2 Faced - Don't have one face for the reps, and one for corporate. You will get caught, and it will bite you on the back side....

Again, great question!

This is sounding like a terrific book...

I agree with all of the above... and will add:
1. Not listening to their teams. So often sale managers direct their teams rather than lead their teams. Listening to the people who know and work directly with the client everyday is the best way to ensure you are adding value and can out pace the competition.

2. Using accountability as a weapon rather than a tool. I call this "tick-mark-management" vs. productive management. Managers should use accountability to reward and/or coach depending on the level of development of their associates. Accountability can be a valuable tool to ensure as a manager you recognize and reward, and you identify opportunities to coach and mentor others to improve.

Great question and the answers above are all very good, here's a couple more
1.Support them, cover their back, by this I mean don't allow your salespeople to think you won't back them up if they get into a jam, support them even when they don't get the sale.
2. Don't try to be super supervisor and be the one who goes with the salesperson on every important sales call just so you can close the deal yourself out of fear they can't. You can go with them to support them but let them close the sale.
3. Don't talk about other salespeople negatively around other salespeople, nothing will turn salespeople off than them thinking you as the supervisor are trash talking about them with others.