This is the most important relationship that you are going to have in your career!  Don’t flinch because of the title, managing this relationship is the key to your success.  Invest the time to make it work for you while making sure that you take the time to “guide” it correctly!

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I am a believer in this topic.  Managing your manager is the way to success.  I was a sales rep, and a sales manager, a vice president of Marketing (that managed sales managers), and know this topic from a variety of angles!

There should be no negative implications for a topic like this.  We attempt to manage time, territories, expenses, production, and performance outcomes as a natural course in our jobs.  I would hope that understanding how to “manage” your sales manager would be just as important.

“Managing” your sales manager involves important issues such as training, performance evaluations, potential merit increases, territory allocations, participation in sales calls, and the allocation of valuable resources such as prospect distribution, house accounts, and major accounts.

This is not anything nefarious, yet is respectfully making sure that you get the attention and resources that you need, and in some cases the space you need to do your job to the fullest.  It also would be designed to give you resources you need in a competitive atmosphere to be the premier sales professional in your unit.

As a Black sales professional, you are quite visible.  You need to be calculated in your performance, and how you frame that performance.  Your manager should be active with you as well as an observer in your performance and work activities.

Relationships Count

The most important relationship you have at your job is the one you have with your manager.  Your ability to ask questions, seek assistance, and suggest improvements should be natural.  Likewise, your ability to get feedback, accept criticism, and be generally evaluated should be a given.

This relationship is a give and take.  He or she is still the boss, and you have expectations of each other.  You need to work at this relationship if you are not the premier performer.  The premier performer has his/her results to support the relationship.  Until you get to that status, you need the manager a little more.

‘Fair Game’ Tactics

Here are some ways to effectively manage your sales manager:

Communicate Upward – Keep your sales manager knowledgeable of your activities, and the status of major clients and prospects.  Your managers should always be kept abreast.  Sales managers communicate upward to their managers regarding major prospects and clients, sales projections, and goal attainment.  The last things they want are surprises.  By communicating these things frequently, it will keep them from making projections and claims that cannot be met.

Request Assistance and Sales Manager Presence – Request your sales manager’s help for profile and difficult prospect/clients.  Remember, you will be in the boat by yourself to get the attention or negative attention depending on the results.  Sharing the attention when you win is better than ending up with the sole negative attention “spotlight” if you blow it.  You can more easily manage your sales manager if you make him or her look good.  Have the sales manager attend calls that you need help on, but also calls that put you in a good light.   You can choose calls that display the strength of your relationships, showcase your strong technical abilities, and calls that reveal your technical sales ability.

Be The Expert on You – Your manager can have as many as 12 direct reports, and the responsibility for getting results from them, and a particular territory.  He cannot possibly know you, your accomplishments, and your strengths, the way you want.  It is easier for the focus to be on your weaknesses.  You must be the expert on you!  Know the following:

• Your goals vs. current production
• Your upcoming prospects and their status
• Know your ratios (prospected to quoted, quoted to sold, etc See Black Sales Journal 2/28/2011 – How Many Prospects Do I Really Need? for some specifics)
• Know as best you can your status versus the other sales professionals

Know Your Sales Manager – Knowing as much as you can know about your manager without being invasive is good business.  It will help you understand the motivations and better be able to answer questions and complete tasks.  Know where your manager went to school and the composition of his/her family.  Know his/her previous jobs, and what motivations are present.  A sales manager who was formerly a financial person may have a focus on the numbers and metrics, and you should know this.  The more you know, the better off you are.  Know the background and feel comfortable discussing it with him/her.  You will notice that the manager will be flattered.  Information from Linked-In, or your company’s website can help you here.  You may even use Google for this purpose.

Volunteer with a Purpose – Every manager needs some help, and you should be prepared to give some assistance and learn in the process when it benefits you.  I certainly am not suggesting that you be ‘oily’ and kiss “you know what”, yet when you can add something you should step-up.  Those that don’t step-up will probably get the items they would not have chosen.

Always be Prepared – Repeat after me “I will never go into a meeting with my sales manager and be unprepared!”  This is important.  When you go in to any meeting with this most important relationship you have at that company, you should go in with a solid agenda.  No rambling and no scrambling but a meeting with a purpose that you requested and are in control of. Have your questions written down, and stick to your appointment time.  Your manager will realize your efficiency and effectiveness.

Always Perform

Here is where you start to make the distinction between you and your counterparts.  To be most effective at this, you need to consistently produce sales results.  It is a given that you need to be in good standing, yet it always helps to be exceeding goals and be a sales leader.

If you do this, you will be “shining” the light on yourself.  This type of self-promotion is totally ‘legal’.  Make sure your managers sees what is necessary and knows your value.  This is something that you can do without seeming like a “weasel”.

‘Manage” this relationship wisely.  It can make a difference in your compensation and your future.

We appreciate your comments. You can reach me at Michael.parker@blacksalesjournal.com.

The most important aspect of a sales job is getting paid.  In the end it is about that paper! I am not talking about the money type of paper; I am talking about the written remuneration or compensation plan.  That is the most important paper out there.  Getting paid is important; as it is one way to keep score, yet it is also the way we eat and keep our families happy.

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The objective of this post is to give those who need to know a basis to understand the basic remuneration systems in an easy, no nonsense way.  What is more important is that you learn your company’s system and “work the hell” out of it.

Remember, it is your right to work the system, yet also, it is good policy on your part to keep your activities in the spirit of the system as well.  Working the system is not cheating, and if you are within the spirit of the system, and you will still get your reward.

An important note for all remuneration/compensation stakeholders is that whenever commissions are involved, care must be taken to realize the volatility that can exist.  Sometimes this uncertainty is beneficial (higher earnings), and sometimes it can be detrimental.  In the end, as I said, it’s about the paper, but also the confidence you have in the company’s products and your own abilities.

7 Major Types of Compensation Methods

Companies have the right to do whatever is legal and makes sales happen.  They can put together a variety of different types of plans that stimulate gross sales, retain sales professionals, promote particular products, develops territories, etc.  There are significant numbers of Black sales professionals in each of these type of arrangements with many prospering.  Your ability to take downside risk will determine how you feel about these.

Having been involved in the design and approval of compensation plans from a company standpoint, much thought goes into them, as once they are out there, they you are stuck with them for the prescribed term.

Here are examples of the most popular and widely used plans:

Salary – You have a simple formula to operate under, yet no incentive to excel other than a performance review.  Salary is safe and secure with no upside.

Straight Commission – No base salary, no upside limit, and the downside can be “$0 dollars”.  The risk is with you, yet if you excel, and you must to work under this system, the “force” is with you.

Draw Against Commission - In this one, you have some subsistence in the form of a ‘draw’ providing an advance of commissions with an agreement to pay it back if you do not ‘earn’ it.  The employer is essentially loaning you money against your commission income.  You get the benefit of some subsistence but still have the risk of an downside and the benefit of an upside.

Salary Plus Bonus – A pay system sought after by many professionals as it provides a solid floor, while providing significant upside earnings paid periodically, often quarterly as a bonus.  Often using the components of a straight commission system to help determine the bonus amount.

Base Plus Commission – Similar to above, this is a popular method, tried and proven.  Fixed base salary with commissions paid on the system quarterly or more often.  Commissions are usually based on percentages of dollars sold.

Variable Commission – These are straight commission schemes that have percentages that vary with product, size of the sale, attainment of goals, etc.  Much depends on what the company is trying to promote.

Residual Commission – Commissions that are paid based on customer longevity once initiated.  Aggregate residual commissions can form a solid ‘base’ which provides a good income, and some stability.

There may be other methods of compensation, but usually it is based on some variation of one of these arrangements.  In almost all cases the compensation plan is in writing, and available to all sales professionals for study.  Don’t forget to study this item and even have discussion with some of the more experienced sales professionals in your sales unit.  You will want to know the nuances of this plan that makes for higher earnings.

How Much Guts Do You Have?

Obviously these different arrangements involve different risks.  Hands down the straight commission set-up involves the most risk and highest instability.  It is sales compensation in its purest sense.  You sell and you get paid! I never worked nor managed in a system like this, and recognize that many of you do.

There are combinations of these elements that make for remuneration systems that need the ability to emphasize particular objectives.

Example 1. A salary + bonus system that wants to reward customer longevity attaches a component which uses residual commissions to strengthen the bonus.

Example 2. A variable commission changes your percentage on sales of a certain product based on reaching a certain level of sales.  Let’s say you receive 8% commission on the first $100,000 of sales of widgets, which increases to 12% for all sales thereafter.  Once you reach the 100,000, you are rewarded with more from your great work.

Yes, It’s About that Paper!

I would make the suggestion that you get your organization’s sales compensation plan in front of you and study it.  Do the brief interview with your sales comrades to determine how to maximize it.

There are times that the organization’s objectives, and the compensation or remuneration plan are not in concert.  Rewarding the sales of products that are not profitable, or are in low supply are examples.

Know the plan and formulate your objectives and you can work efficiently and effectively by maximizing your efforts and your income.

Be effective! Your comments are welcome. You can meet me at michael.parker@blacksalesjournal.com.