Once a Salesperson…

You’re going out on calls. You’re ready, even eager. And then it happens. Your sales manager shows up at your car door and shouts, “Let me come along. I can land this fish for you.” Not again. When will this nightmare end?

They just can’t let go. Once a salesperson, always a salesperson. Recently appointed sales managers still repeatedly contact prospects and customers – on the telephone, by email and sometimes in person. What’s a sales rep to do?

It depends. In some circumstances, the new managers’ participation can be helpful. More often it’s disruptive and harmful to both reps and managers. When salespeople feel the boss is taking over their duties and responsibilities, it tends to undermine their self-confidence. They wonder if the sales manager lacks faith in their competence to perform on their own. It can hurt the manager even more. If nothing else, it takes precious time away from the work leaders are paid to fulfill – to train and evaluate subordinates, create and refine new initiatives, recruit and assess new personnel, experiment with imaginative selling strategies, do precall planning, etc.

To get to the root of the problem, the sales rep’s first concern is to determine the reason for the boss’s interference. Sometimes stepping up can be as hard as stepping down. New sales managers may suffer from an insecurity hang-up that is by no means uncommon – a compulsion to cling to their old job, an inability to cut loose. This is just one reason some sales managers, who perhaps shouldn’t be selling, persist in doubling as reps.

“If you are trying to sell and your boss is doing the same, it can be good or bad,” concedes Daryl Logullo, president and chief sales executive for Strategic Impact of Boca Raton, FL. “You could be either rowing together or both paddling on the same side of the canoe.”

Lugullo’s aide, Beth Ballard, who is also a rep, agrees. “If you’re not rowing in tandem,” she says, “get your oars synchronized as quickly as possible. Don’t allow your frustration to simmer and grow.”

It is likely a positive scenario, Logullo points out, “if your manager is helping to cultivate prospects and teaching you skills you can then adapt in your own prospecting efforts. After all, part of a manager’s job is to delegate leads to reps who can then close the business, so that in time they too will be qualified to train, motivate and supervise.

“But if you and your manager are both going after the same prospects, it could be harmful, because you are apt to be perceived as competing against one another. Selling is tough enough when competing against other reps. The last thing you need is a colleague who is fighting you for the business. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common scenario in many fiercely competitive industries.”

If, as a rep, you feel your status is being undermined and your self-confidence shaken because your manager persists in overriding your coverage, can something be done about it? Absolutely. Here are three case examples from Strategic Impact’s files where disgruntled salespeople took positive action to deal with the problem.

Case I – The Insecure Manager

When a sales supervisor opted for early retirement, a high-performing salesperson was promoted to replace him. The new manager, insecure in his new job and convinced one rep couldn’t match his competence, stepped in to negotiate and close on his own – functions the rep previously handled himself. The frustrated rep turned to Logullo for advice. His counsel was brisk and to the point: “Confide your feelings to your manager. Let him know how this undermines your self-confidence and hampers your performance. He’s a smart and caring person. He’ll be sympathetic to your concerns.” The advice paid off. The manager quickly got the message and responded.

Case II – The Insecure Rep

In this situation the sales manager frequently stepped in to take over because the rep was insecure and unsure of himself in certain areas of product savvy. Realizing he was a tech lightweight, the salesman drew up a menu of courses designed to supplement his expertise. It took time to qualify himself to the point where he could operate independently. However, as he gradually upgraded his qualifications, the problem disappeared within months.

Case III – Spell It Out

The saleswoman rightly regarded herself as highly qualified. When transferred to another division, she found herself repeatedly embarrassed and hog-tied by a manager who persisted in doing her job. She decided it was time to set things straight. She approached the manager with previous sales ratings and commendations in hand. Then she firmly requested a written job description spelling out her duties, authority and responsibilities. When her new boss asked her why, she told him. Problem solved.

If you’ve ever found yourself in any of these predicaments, time is a critical factor. In small firms executives necessarily do double duty as manager and salesperson. As a vice president, Strategic Impact’s Ballard wears both hats. “A good sales leader fills many roles – supervisor, meeting planner, contest coordinator, talent scout, coach, trainer and, not uncommonly, shrink. But only under exceptional circumstances, salesperson,” she emphasizes.

Leaders who play the role of rep when they should be managing abuse their time, Ballard adds. If your boss is guilty of this, get the message across – as tactfully as possible, she suggests. “You may be performing a service of value to both of you.”

Let managers know that “when they are doing your job, you’re not learning the skills to help you perform self-sufficiently,” Logullo adds. “If a manager jumps in prematurely to make – or save – a sale, the implication is that the rep is not to be trusted to do the job. An old proverb goes, ‘Close the deal for me and you’ve made one sale; teach me how to close and you’ve made a career.’”