So you’ve finally been promoted to sales management. Congratulations! All the lessons you’ve learned during your time as a high performing pharmaceutical sales rep should serve you well. But they won’t be enough to guarantee success in your new job, which will involve a number of challenges you never had to face during your time as a front line sales rep.

Noted pharmaceutical sales expert Jane Williams (www.principlepublications.com) suggests that a top priority for all new sales managers should be to establish specific expectations and goals for the team members while also defining exactly what type of assistance and guidance the team can expect to receive from their manager. She cautions, however, that this does not mean treating every team member the same way.

“The biggest mistake new pharmaceutical managers make,” Williams says, “is failing to properly evaluate the sales team’s strengths and weaknesses prior to developing and implementing a firm plan of action for the team’s sales improvement and increased goal attainment.”

Another important concern for new managers, says the bestselling author of Insider’s Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales (Principle Publications, 2004), is to understand the key difference between being “friendly” and trying to be “friends” with team members.

“Successful managers navigate the line by being both friendly and professional,” Williams says. “The successful sales manager positions himself or herself into a supportive role that encourages and empowers the sales team while clearly defining everyone’s role. This allows the sales team the freedom to perform to the best of their ability comfortably with the new manager while understanding that the manager is in charge.”

New sales managers typically hit the ground with specific goals in mind and a flexible management plan provided by the company, ready for implementation. Nevertheless, individual sales managers always leave their unique stamp on the territory they manage. Williams offers five key tips to improve your chances of success in the new position:

1. Lead by example. Express all of the good personality traits, work ethic, and salesmanship that you expect from your team.

2. Treat everyone as individuals. Get to know each sales representative’s strengths and weaknesses so that you can encourage and inspire performance excellence on an individual basis. This is very important because individuals with different personalities will require different levels and types of assistance and encouragement.

3. Credit where it’s due. Give proper credit and respect to veteran pharmaceutical sales representatives because they are the backbone of the sales force and the smart manager will not only allow them to do their jobs within company guidelines, but will also utilize them as the valuable resource they are for assistance with new sales representatives training, evaluation, and assessment.

4. Never attempt to rule by intimidation. The reason is that, while you may see what appears to be compliance and improvement, this type of management is inferior and nets temporary gains and long-term losses. Intimidation practically ensures that your sales team will ultimately under-perform.

5. Be accessible. Use positive reinforcement to encourage good behavior. Offer real assistance. Pharmaceutical selling can be a difficult job, especially for the new sales representatives. It is highly motivating for the new sales representatives to see examples of high quality sales presentations and selling success in the territory and not just in sales training classes. The sales team as a group and as individuals should feel comfortable speaking with their sales managers about challenges as well as successes in the field.