Managing sales involves use of five key resources:
- Product
- Pricing
- Promotion
- Distribution network
- People.
Of these, the biggest differentiator could be the salesforce. While the remaining resources are generally constant in the short run, salespeople can be inspired to maximize sales out of the potential opportunity in a territory if they are coached well and challenged by SMART Objectives.
Changes in the marketplace constantly keep raising the bar on the level of the competence within the salesforce. The sales manager therefore should simultaneously use the available resources well to achieve results of today, and develop these resources for the results of tomorrow. This is a question of continuously assessing levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes of individuals in a sales team, rather than the team as a whole, and then developing people before the output is expected. Not after. The Sales Manager is the best equipped person to coach his or her team. No one else is in a better position to understand what drives them and what challenges them. Hands-on learning from their manager is the priceless takeaway that senior salespeople always remember. A ‘Manage by Support’ approach is the foundation for sustainable sales excellence.
To translate this into practice, a Mercuri concept called The RAC Framework (Results-Activity-Competence) or the Plumbing Model is extremely useful for a Sales Manager.
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To receive information on the Plumbing Model and RAC Framework, please call us today.
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