This blog is a follow-up to my last post, which highlighted the common issues Mike Weinberg, author of Sales Management Simplified, experiences when he works with his clients.

Part Two – Practical Help and a Simple Framework to Get Exceptional Results

1. The 4 Rs of sales talent management: Put the Right People in the Right Roles, Retain Top Producers, Remediate or Replace Underperformers, and Recruit.
2. If I confidentially polled your salespeople, would the majority say the leadership of your company is “for” the salespeople or against them?
3. According to Weinberg, sales managers “invest” (waste) most of their time: They’re slaves to emails, they have a ridiculous number of meetings, they get caught up playing assistant general manager, they focus too much on administrative items and unnecessary reports, and they don’t protect their calendars.
4. Sales managers’ top three activities should be: 1) Conducting monthly one-on-one meetings with individual salespeople, 2) Leading sales team meetings, and 3) Working alongside (observing, coaching, helping) salespeople when they’re with customers and prospects.
5. During monthly 20-minute one-on-one meetings: 1) Compare actual sales results with goals, 2) Quickly review the salesperson’s pipeline of potential deals and sales opportunities, 3) Review sales activity going forward, especially in situations where the salesperson fails the first two tests.
6. Two great sales activity questions to ask: 1) Can you name the new opportunities that are in your pipeline that weren’t here last month? 2) Can you name the existing opportunities that you moved forward in the sales process since last month?
7. Sales team meeting agenda potential items: 1) Give brief personal updates, 2) Review sales results and highlight outstanding performance, 3) Share stories, 4) Conduct product training, 5) Share best practices, 6) Brainstorm deal strategies, 7) Have an executive or other department guest presentation, 8) Conduct a book or blog review, 9) Work on sales skill coaching/training, 10) Give business plan presentations, 11) Have a brief, controlled bitch session, 12) Share some non-sales-related inspiration, and 13) Talk about takeaways.
8. Riding along with your salespeople provides an opportunity to observe them in action.
9. Working in the field presents a priceless opportunity to coach a salesperson before and after sales calls.
10. Windshield time and mealtime provide a rare opportunity to learn more about your salespeople; this will make you a more effective sales manager.
11. Getting out of the office provides you with a firsthand look at what’s taking place in the market.
12. Fieldwork helps you develop important relationships with key customers.
13. When with your salesperson, be present with your salesperson.
14. Don’t do your salesperson’s job.
15. Free up your excellent sales hunters so they can maximize their time hunting.
16. Most sales managers wait too long to address underperformers.

Hopefully you’ve identified a tip or two that you can incorporate into your business. My suggestion would be to get a copy of Sales Management Simplified and use it like an owner’s manual. Pull it out when you have a specific issue with your sales team, and take advantage of Weinberg’s wisdom on the subject. He obviously has seen it all.