Companies are always looking for top sales performers and when they find them often promote them to the position of sales manager. They think the person who was the most successful will know how to mentor a team, budget and forecast, hire the right people, administer a department and troubleshoot internal and external issues, automatically.

The sales manager is also the first to be called to the carpet when sales figures, revenue and the payroll are under scrutiny, a precarious situation at best. Management and executives can benefit their company by truly understanding the difficulties of this complex role.

The job description, however rarely matches the expectation. The manager is given the mandate as the leader and nurterer of the sales team. This includes fair distribution of leads and opportunities, directing the support desks, assessing and correcting performances of sales personnel, as well as reporting wins and losses, not to mention conflict resolution. Special assignments and promotions are always cropping up requiring a great deal of time and focus and these have to be orchestrated.

The true expectation is growth in sales by any means possible and that includes the Sales Manager's performance statistics, the latter being a fact that many companies fail to highlight at the start, regardless of the demands discussed earlier.

Continuing to be a high achiever in sales will be a daunting task. One can of course, cherry pick the best or most high profile opportunities for oneself leading to initial success however claims of unfairness within the sales team will arise and could well cause a loss of personnel.a disruptive situation since most sales people will for the most part, canvass their former accounts, reducing revenue even if those accounts are retained.

A great manager therefore cannot give the attention to landing their own accounts consistently and fulfil all the administrative, development and corporate tasks at the same time. If this does not happen however, the management will be unhappy as the common view is that the sales manager is not only ineffective as a manager but also cannot substantiate their own salary with cold hard revenue figures.

Solutions for the Sales Manager

1. Do what you do best and train for the rest.

 If the skill set is in sales, continuing to achieve new business will buy some time to train for human resource, project, budgeting and leadership management. Many companies will pay for additional training especially for valued employees.

2. Be creative and develop programs.

This could be a promotion, lead generation or training program and does not have to be overly complex, costly or especially time consuming. If the company does not have a customer newsletter, develop one and be the main contributor. Promote different training sessions for the sales team and include yourself in a few Your management will take notice and it only increases your value.

3. Use the talent pool.

After pinpointing special skill sets or knowledge in your staff, delegate an assignment to them to contribute to a promotion, an article, or training program. Inside Sales and Sales support staff for the most part are internet and computer savvy. Developing a video or powerpoint presentation can be easily delegated to them and by acknowledging their skill, their loyalty and value to you will rise.

Some senior sales people have special experiences and technical knowledge. Enlist them in a program or presentation to provide content. Best however to keep it to one, since their main task is to gain accounts.

4. Build a good peer network but don't be "yes man".

Many issues arise within a company, whether operational or technical, all affecting the sales department. It often falls to the sales manager to troubleshoot a particular customer situation. Good relationships with other peers such as the Accounting, Operations and IT managers as well as next level management is the key to getting things done quickly and arriving at a viable solution. Ensure that you are known as person with good ethics, providing thoughtful yet diplomatic answers so that will at least give you respect.

5. Pay attention to lead generation.

 In every sales department, one of the hot topics is lack of viable or hot leads. Leadership on this issue is the test of any good sales manager. The best source of prospects is internal inquiries handled by other departments as well as associate or group companies in other locations. Let it be known that your department is keen on feedback and ensure that it is acted on promptly. Letting the source of the lead know what actions have been taken and thanking them goes a long way in getting more leads.

Sales management is one of the most challenging jobs around, combining expertise in the chosen industry, highly developed business management skills, with the ability to negotiate with internal and external clients successfully.

A good sales manager even with a proven track record is truly a work in progress.

Having worked in sales departments for over 20 years as inside sales, account executive, marketing manager and trade manager, I've had the opportunity to observe many sales managers and how they operate. From the person that just continues doing their own sales, especially since they have access to the hottest opportunities to the one that has administration skills but few people skills , I have not found many that get this job right, although one or two came close.   My own opinion is that most sales managers could use all the self improvement help they could get.