pan>)--Corporate Americas highest-performing sales managers spend more time on
selling activities compared with their lower-performing colleagues.
However, a new survey by global professional services company Towers
Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) suggests the difference between successful and
unsuccessful sales manager is more a function of how they allocate their
selling time among various activities and audiences. Additionally,
high-performing sales managers tend to devote less time to
administrative activities and avoid non-sales activities.
“Leverage Sales
Managers to Create Superior Performance”
At a time when most U.S. companies are focusing on strategies and
tactics to drive revenue and profitable growth, having strong, effective
sales managers who can lead a sales force is critical, said Joe
Clarkson, North America Practice Leader, Sales Effectiveness and Rewards
at Towers Watson. Our research shows there are important differences in
how high-performing sales managers spend their time compared to other
managers that organizations can learn from to improve their sales
manager effectiveness.
According to the survey of 1,500 sales managers and professionals at
U.S. companies, high-performing sales managers spend 14% more time 100
extra hours per year on selling activities compared with
low-performing sales managers. Conversely, they spend 6% less time (39
hours) on management activities and 11% less time (61 hours) on
non-selling related activities. High-performing sales managers also
allocate more of their selling time on activities such as closing sales
and servicing accounts compared to other sales managers.
A more significant difference between successful sales managers and
their colleagues is a function of with whom they spend their time.
According to the survey, the bulk of successful managers sales time is
spent with current customers, either selling new applications or
solutions, or personally managing renewals, or with new, nonqualified
business leads. On average, successful sales managers spend 104 extra
hours each year with these contacts, compared to other sales managers.
The survey also found that high-performing sales managers are almost
three times more likely to spread their attention evenly across members
of their sales team rather than devoting most of their time to a select
few team members.
This does not mean that sales managers spend their time with each team
member similarly. Instead, managers will spend time with
lower-performing sales reps to provide extra coaching and guidance,
while spending more time with better-performing members on other
activities such as co-selling or performance reinforcement, said Craig
Ulrich, Towers Watsons U. S. East Division Leader, Sales Effectiveness
and Rewards Practice.
Sales professionals were also asked to provide insight into
characteristics that make sales managers effective. About one half (51%)
who interact with their manager several times a day reported that their
manager is effective compared to only 24% who interact with their
manager once a day. Additionally, more than three in four sales
professionals who believe their immediate manager acts with honesty and
fairness, and provides clear work goals for the team, said their manager
is effective.
Ultimately, sales managers succeed because they are leaders. The
best-performing managers are externally focused rather than internally
focused. They tend to look at the big picture and think strategically,
rather than focus on the short term. At the same time, they can
essentially make or break the sales force because they are the
intermediaries between an organizations senior leadership and frontline
salespeople who interact with customers and prospects on a daily basis.
Their impact cannot be overestimated, concluded Ulrich.
More information about the Towers Watson survey, Leverage Sales
Managers to Create Superior Performance, is available at http://www.towerswatson.com/research/5832
About Towers Watson
Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional
services company that helps organizations improve performance through
effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers
solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards,
and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates
around the world and is located on the web at towerswatson.com.

Information Source: Business Wire