Salesperson 101: What’s Holding You Back?

Some great salespeople have never become managers, and some average salespeople move on to become great managers. If you’ve been passed over for a promotion, stay tuned and maybe find out why that is.

I recall working with this great salesperson for a number of years. I've had the pleasure of hiring a bunch of great salespeople. Seeing someone grow from salesperson to sales manager, finance manager and beyond is a great feeling, specifically if you think that maybe you had something to do with it. This specific salesperson that I'm talking about now, however, never got promoted.

Seeing someone grow from salesperson to sales manager, finance manager and beyond is a great feeling.

Every day he would show up for work. Smile at everyone. The life of the showroom, probably the life of the party too. A customer would walk in, and he would make a friend, and as often as not he would sell them a car. Made it look easy, because it was, for him. He led the board almost every month.

Most of the staff around him would be diligently sitting at their desks making calls, and doing their follow up, but he just never seemed to make that many calls. He called the ones he knew were buyers, but sitting at a desk making a ton of calls, just wasn’t his thing. He would hang around service and pick up customers, always be on the hunt and grab as many ups as he could. As management, we were happy that he sold lots of cars. In the slow months, he would struggle a bit but always managed to make a month of it.

Sometimes being natural, or having things come easy, means that you are difficult to train. Let’s face it, you’re already leading the sales board, what more can you learn? How do you tell a salesperson that is selling a ton of cars that they aren’t doing their job? That they could do better. It's tough.

Sometimes being a natural means that you are difficult to train.

I would watch the regular cycle of this salesperson and see it repeated again and again in others. Run around like a crazy person dealing with customers, getting deliveries ready then suddenly nothing. The pipeline is empty. Standing there was nothing to do until the momentum built up again. What happened? Well, while that salesperson was chasing all the deals he made, he didn't call any of his older leads and clients, because well, he was busy. And he didn't have a plan!

Sadly, this salesperson watched as their sales staff got promoted ahead of him. Eventually, his ego would get the better of him and he would quit because he figured he was being treated unfairly. How could he not get an opportunity as a manager when he was regularly leading the board? How could he end up reporting to coworkers he used to regularly beat on the sales board every month?

Here’s the thing. He could have been a much better salesperson, and maybe even made a great manager if he understood that being organized and having a plan is the most important aspect of any successful salesperson’s workday. Your workday basically breaks down into two categories. Your work plan, and your workflow. Your work plan being the things you do every day, or every week that are planned, the structure. Your workflow being the things that come at you daily that you need to react to. Sales calls, walk-ins, and emails.

Being a manager is about structure.

Being completely reactive in your day can work for you as a salesperson if you’re talented. It can even work for you if your role is strict as a closer. But being a manager is about structure. The proactive things you do every day. Have meetings with your staff. Inspecting salespeople’s activity and follow up. Managing training sessions, customer satisfaction metrics, CRM activity, file management, lot management, hiring, staffing and a list of activities that can only be managed proactively.

Understanding that your role breaks down into two distinct categories can be the key to survival if you're struggling, and to success and promotion if you’re not. Category one is the daily workflow. The things you cannot control that you need to react to at the moment. Calls. Walk-ins. New Leads. But category two is what will push you higher. Your daily work plan. The tasks you must complete as part of your day will maintain structure. Prevent things from falling through the cracks. Calling old leads, previous customers, past deliveries for customer satisfaction and referrals, sending out email blasts, even regular posts on social media platforms are all part of a daily disciplined work plan that will keep you busy, that will keep your sales pipeline full!

The lesson here is that you need to be a good salesperson to be a good manager, but being a great salesperson doesn't make you a good candidate to be a sales manager unless you’re organized, and have a work ethic. That means having a daily work plan and the discipline to complete it, every single day. Good luck and good selling!