How Did You Become a Sales Manager?

Dyana Herrig is a branch manager with AmeriCU Credit Union.

“We sell financial services. In my region, which covers a county, we have three branches and I have 30 employees. I was an assistant manager for our branch, and then I became branch manager in November 1999, and with that job came the sales aspect of the credit union.

Every day I’m still learning about sales and sales management. One of my biggest challenges has been setting up a good sales-tracking program, to track what each individual’s goals are versus his or her production. But we have been able over the last couple of years to put a tracking program in place to support the sales process. Then we have to know when to use incentives and to understand what is expected of each person and what is ‘above and beyond’ performance.

Initially, we are order takers. Our members come to us for a meeting, then the meeting turns into a sales process. We ask for business when we realize there are services we can provide that will benefit the member. For example, someone comes in for an auto loan and we see that they have a home mortgage. We have an opportunity to tell them about our home equity loans that provide benefits such as better rates and no fees. We are looking to see what is best for that member. We don’t call it sales, but rather a service. But really we are doing an upsell, as long as it benefits the member.”

Charles (Tony) Bridge is regional sales manager with World Savings.

“We are a bank, and I manage the mortgage origination department. I manage 15 sales reps who sell loans, retail and wholesale, directly to the public or to businesses. I also manage three managers.

I don’t know how I became a manager. I guess I was just lucky. I just worked my way up through the company; I was never the top salesperson. I don’t think the top salespeople necessarily make the best managers. Maybe it was just honesty and integrity and working my way up.

I have been in my present position about two years, and I have been in management approximately six years. Initially, the biggest surprise was finding out that managers actually work. There is a perception that they are on the golf course most of the time.

When you are a sales manager you have to do things differently. You have to handle your own fires; then you have to handle the fires of everybody who reports to you, the fires that the salespeople and their accounts create. That is the biggest challenge. On top of daily activity reports, I spend most of my time on personnel development and on handling the fires.

It took me about six months to really figure out the job and get a good grasp on the decisions – to get comfortable with the decisions I have to make. But I don’t know that you should ever feel comfortable. You should never feel complacent about your abilities. You should always try to improve.”

John Bafile is the national sales manager for Educational Directories Unlimited.

“We sell Weblinks to graduate schools and listings for universities, big and small.

I was a sales rep, and I was promoted to manager about six months ago for making my numbers. I also looked for training and lessons in sales management before I became a manager.

I still sell. I didn’t give up my territory. Staying in selling helps me manage, because I am still on the firing line. I can say, ‘Been there, done that, and I’m still doing it.’ I have seven reps on my team, and we sell worldwide.

The big change in management is that I have to wear more hats. These include motivation, training and development. I feel comfortable in my position now. But the challenge is finding the time to deal with seven other individuals while still performing personally. The ball stops here. If the numbers don’t happen, it’s my responsibility and I have to find solutions.

I try to schedule training for my reps during our regular sales meetings. The subjects run the gamut. For example, next week we will train on product launches for new products that they have not sold before. Then we will get into developing proposals. Then we will do a session on how to search for the elephants and how to bring the elephants down.”

Clint Geffert is a national account division manager for Respironics.

“We sell respiratory equipment. We have another division that sells to hospitals, and my division sells to home-care providers. Domestically, we have 110 sales reps in the division, and I have overall management responsibility for them.

I guess I became a manager two years ago because I was successful as a sales rep and was fortunate enough to move up through the organization. The biggest changes are that I travel much more, and I have many more responsibilities. I still do some sales, but unfortunately it is a limited amount.

On average I am on the road 95 percent of the time, Monday through Friday. It is very uncommon that I am home during the week. I am calling on reps across the country, and I also visit with our largest accounts.

My paperwork burdens are not bad. Coaching and mentoring are the biggest challenges. In our organization the experience level varies quite a bit. Some reps have extensive experience, and some are new to the field. So you have to know their backgrounds and find a comfort level in working with them. The younger ones need much more help.”

Fred Benson is the international advertising director for Stars & Stripes.

“I have worked for several major newspaper organizations, and Ibecame a manager quite a while ago. At Stars & Stripes, we sell advertising to major U.S. and international corporations and retailers. We have about 32 people on our sales team.

How do you become a sales manager? I think you continue to do your sales job, you share how you are successful with other people, you become a mentor, and with a little luck your boss recognizes that you are taking a leadership role and moves you up the ladder.

Self-development is also important. Taking classes on how to be a supervisor or a mentor or a trainer is very helpful. I took all those steps. I made sure I was at the top of my game, I took sales training, and I shared what I learned with others. We are in media sales, so I took classes in how to sell competitively against other media.

Managers need to be well rounded and able to multitask. Managing is not just selling with a management title. You are working with people on personnel issues, developing them as salespeople, while also working with accounts. You should try to get the broadest base of experience, from handling mom-and-pop accounts to major national accounts.

And whenever you are working with individuals, there will always be surprises. That is the nature of the job.”