Managing a sales team isn't an easy task.
You are not just responsible for yourself and your own production any more.
You're in charge of a number of individuals, each with their own motivations, and fears, their own personalities, their own reasons for coming to work.
You have to manage and lead this group.
Along with making sure your sales quota and target is hit.
Oh and at the same time you have to manage your boss as well.
Work on developing your skills as well as the teams.
Add to this rather volatile mix the fact that there will be spats, fights, jealousy, competition, and misunderstandings between the members of your team that YOU have to fix, and you can see that it's not easy being a team leader.
Here are some ways to keep your sanity intact and help your team get their collective and individual acts together.
Set Goals the challenge When goal setting with your team, don't limit yourself to things that anyone can read off a book.
Attendance records, metrics, and meeting quotas are things that anyone can parrot.
It makes you sound like a broken record if all you can talk about are numbers and meeting deadlines.
Go beyond the usual goals that just about any other sales manager will set.
This takes a bit of savvy and creativity; establish short and long term goals, and make sure that you show your team what's in it for them if those goals are met.
This is extremely important! It's not about telling them that you want them to meet a goal; it's letting them know how they will benefit from meeting a goal.
Once they get it into their heads that they get something from the deal, they'll work harder towards its achievement.
Know Everyone Personally The biggest mistake some sales managers make is attempting to distance themselves from their people.
The ladies and gentlemen on your team are people too, and you have to treat them as such.
Keeping your distance makes them think that you don't care about them, and worse, might just look at them as numbers to be tallied along with the usual company metrics.
Once a person feels like just another decimal, their morale and work performance dips.
Know everyone on your team personally; inquire about their lives outside of work.
Know their families, their hobbies, their interests.
Once you get into their heads, you'll have a better grasp of what makes them tick.
If they know you see them as people, they'll respond to your requests and needs better.
Always Be Aware of Morale and Group Dynamics This is where sensitivity is key.
Always keep an eye on the teams morale.
If it drops, you have to do something to pick it up ASAP.
Equally important to morale, however, is staying aware of individual interactions within the team.
Your team is composed of people, and if the people in your team dislike each other or get on each others nerves then it will affect how the team runs.
You have to be capable of fixing such snarls when they arise, as well.
In cases where diplomacy can't solve a problem between two people in your team, then at least take them aside and let them know that you're aware of the problem, and get a firm commitment from them to at keep things professional and civil as long as they are at work.
Then go to work and use your coaching skills to help them appreciate the differences they have.
Balance Motivation and Reprisal While keeping your people motivated is one thing, you have to balance it out with the other side of the coin - punishment, reprisal, or the threat of it.
If you appear to be too concerned about morale, sometimes it leads to being thought of as a push over.
Let your team know that you will do right by them, but they in turn should not take liberties with your trust.
Establish the things that they can not do, and let them know the consequences for crossing the line.
Take no opposition on this; you're there to take care of your people, not to be taken advantage of.
Ultimately, let both your benefits and your disciplinary actions be guided by fairness.