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Welcome back to part two of SG Partners Insights. Last week, we dived into the seven questions to ask your sales managers at least once a week. In part two, we dive into the five key monthly questions you should ask your sales managers.
What is next for your sales manager?
With these questions, sales managers will understand what actions they need to take each week to be able to provide satisfactory answers to you during your meeting the following week.
The wording of these questions intentionally leaves the door open to many types of answers.
Sales managers who are well-prepared for the meeting should be able to respond accurately to broader issues.
A vague answer is often an indication of a problem.
For example, the question about the status of the sales pipeline, a vague answer can mean the deliberate omission of problematic elements, or it may reveal a lack of competence.
A sales manager who can interpret the pipeline will meet it with precision, following with a plan of concrete actions, not with excuses.
5 questions to ask your sales managers at least once a month:
Are we still confident of achieving our sales goals?
Has there been enough sales activity during the month for us to reach our goals?
Do we have enough A sales players to reach our targets?
Can you tell me some of the best selling lessons that your salespeople have given you over the past few weeks?
Are there things that we have not seen in past months, that we will see this month?
Next step: identify other trends to be addressed
It is sufficient to analyse the responses to questions posed in the previous weeks. For example, if the weekly conversations during the past months have all focused on the same salesperson who is having difficulty, you should ask your sales manager about it.
Ask the sales manager questions like:
Where are you with the recruitment of a new representative?
How do you expect to perform if the salesperson is not replaced in the coming weeks?
I encourage you to go forward and arrange a monthly meeting with your sales managers. Leave your experience in the comment section below. Stay tuned for the final installment next Friday.
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