Errors novice sales managers

In modern Russia, sales remain, perhaps, the most disparate. Most often, there are young people of various professions who, after receiving an education, became disillusioned with their choice and realized that it’s not their vocation to spend all day on the blueprints or help students gnaw the granite of science. Therefore, people working in sales, most often have minimal knowledge about how the market is arranged, and their competence will largely depend on the learning process of the employer.

During the first employment as a sales manager at a B2B company (the B2C market is arranged differently), all managers make the same mistakes. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the main nuances of sales, in order to avoid gross and frequent mistakes of newbies and make your life easier.

1. High expectations. It seems to you that if the old employees have high sales figures, then you will definitely overtake them in the very first month.
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2. Quick disappointment. In the first month it becomes clear that B2B sales have a long cycle, and it will not be possible to sell services for a large amount right away.



3. Excessive gullibility. A novice manager believes everything that a potential customer says, and has not yet begun to read "between the lines." For example, if a company says that they are satisfied with everything, but the sale does not move to a new stage, most likely there are factors that confuse the customer, and he is considering other options. Also, if the customer says “thank you very much, we will contact you if necessary”, in 90% of cases this is not the case. Nobody will call you and will not write. This applies, of course, when the company first talked about a specific need, and then abruptly went underground.




4. Inability to identify a decision maker. This problem is closely related to the previous one, since very often sales managers have to communicate not directly with the customer, but through an intermediary, such as a secretary. The assistant manager can say, sincerely looking you in the eyes, that they have no need, but in fact the manager seemed to have insufficient experience or level of competence, and he asked his assistant not to disturb him with requests from your company. And you will not have the opportunity to supplement your portfolio with projects that are important for a particular customer.



5. Lack of communication with the customer after the transaction. Many novice sales managers calm down immediately after the company has made the first order. However, the needs have not yet been fully identified, the company has not yet become loyal, and at this stage it is especially important to continue the communication in order to understand how satisfied the customer is, whether everything has arranged him. This way, you can make sure that your customer received the product / service he was expecting.



So what should be done to avoid such errors?

1. Do not put yourself high slats. If you want to plan your work, then during the first months the plan should be expressed not in the amount of sales, but in the amount of work done (companies found, calls made, answers received, etc.).



2. Adjust personal goals in time. If you see that objectively companies in this segment refuse to 30% of cases, you should not seek to immediately reduce the percentage of failures.



3. Always think not about what you said, but why. Try to ask additional questions to see the whole picture.



4. Try to communicate with the manager , or try to communicate with several employees of the company. Thus, you will develop a more detailed picture of the situation.



5. Never forget about your customers. Remember that determining how satisfied a customer is is your immediate responsibility.

And most importantly, never forget that sales managers are such indispensable people who help meet the needs with its decision, which means move the market forward and make someone very happy 