The Top 6 Signs of a Bad Sales Manager

It is a very personal list. Because what one person may consider bad sales management is looked upon very favorably by someone else.

There are also contradicting professional opinions on the same management style. Just think about the different views on servant leadership. So, what follows is simply the summary of my observations and interpretations over decades of working as and with Sales Managers.

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD):

A Sales Manager using fear to motivate demonstrates that they have reached the end of their rope. There is no coaching, no ideation, no creativity left, and instilling fear is the last resort: "If you do not close this by the end of the week, you will be fired." There is no need to threaten a good salesperson; they know their job is on the line when they do not meet the quota.

Voicing this threat may seemingly work because the salesperson does close the deal in time.

In the long run, though, this approach is detrimental. Robert Wilson offers an excellent description of what happens: "… the most powerful motivator of all is fear. Fear is a primal instinct that served us as cave dwellers, as well as today. It keeps us alive because if we survive a bad experience, we never forget how to avoid it in the future. … Fear can be too powerful to use as a motivator because it can also paralyze - the classic deer in the headlights syndrome. … You can tell an employee he or she must sell more, but unless you show them how, fear will cause flight or worse: paralysis."

Communication is a funny thing:

Communication is a funny thing. How many times have I said something to my kids, my spouse, the people I work with, … and it was crystal clear to me what I meant. Only to find that it was understood very differently or not at all. Something in my choice of words, style, intonation, or communication method was such that my intent was lost.

A bad Sales Manager will say: "I sent the email about the change to all staff, and now everyone knows." John Kotter offers an accurate description of what happens next: "(1) The total amount of communication going to an employee in three months: 2.3 million words or numbers. (2) Typical communication about the change over a period of three months (the equivalent of one 30-minute speech, an hour-long meeting, one 600-word article in the company's internal newsletter, and one 2,000-word memo) = 13,400 words or numbers. (3) 13,400/2,300,000 = .0058, which means the change vision has captured only 0.58 percent of the communication market share." This is seen as a lack of communication.

Consequently, there can never be enough. Only a bad Sales Manager will think they are done communicating.

Assigning an impossible task:

More precisely, assigning a task as a Sales Manager that you have no idea how to complete. To be clear, a senior executive deals with many functional experts that know their area much better. So, when a Sales Manager turns to a Controller and asks for a P&L by product line, they have a general idea of how to divide different costs across product lines. The details are then up to the expertise of the Controller.

Over the years, I have seen so many bad Sales Managers who ask their staff to provide analysis they have no idea how to accomplish. And worse, the available data is incomplete or just bad, leaving the analysis useless; and then the Manager does not even know how to interpret and put the results to good use (this leads to another great topic: Analysis Paralysis).

Unresponsiveness:

With great power comes great responsibility. And there is no greater responsibility than being entrusted with a role that involves managing people. People are a precious asset. Staff reporting to a Sales Manager is looking for a variety of things: a vision to follow, elimination of doubt, reliability, … And also, more tangible, seemingly smaller items like the price for a quotation, the brochure for a conference next week, or approval for special payment terms requested by a customer.

Each question represents a roadblock, and without an answer, a Salesperson is unable to take the next step. As Jared Williams states, even with empowerment, every Sales Manager turns into a gatekeeper at times. And in this role, the Sales Manager needs to be responsive and clear those roadblocks promptly. It is terrible Sales Management to delay or not respond at all, thinking the topic is menial, focusing on managing up, or using too much work as an excuse.

Not walking the talk:

So much has been written about the positive impact of leading by example. I sometimes wonder why there are still Sales Managers out there who do not understand this. Among many others, I have seen arrogance (“As a Manager I am different and entitled to first class.”), lack of authenticity (“I stayed at Motel 6 once, that is walking the talk, right?”), ignorance (“My boss does not visit customers, so I do what he does.”), and over-stating once own contribution (“I am sacrificing myself for this company, but that’s what I have to do as a Manager.”).

My conclusion follows Michael Schrage: “Like it or not, you are always leading by example.” Salespeople will always look at the walk and not listen to the talk. And as food for thought, how about a Sales Manager that is talking the walk. Bill Taylor defines “... to be able to explain, in language that is unique to their field and compelling to their colleagues and customers, why what they do matters and how they expect to win”.

Low Emotional Intelligence:

A bad Sales Manager is often a terrible con artist. They say, “I am truly sorry” or “I feel for you” and their entire non-verbal communication tells the exact opposite. Their facial expression, the sounds they are making, and their body language indicate a lack of empathy. They do not possess the ability to put themselves in the other person’s shoes and to feel what the other person is feeling. Their low emotional intelligence is the inability to manage their own emotions, as well as the feelings of others. 

I like Terry Schmitz's description and conclusion: "90% of top performers in the workplace have high emotional intelligence! The more people can understand their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions, the more they can understand someone else's. When we become better listeners, we become better people."

Talk to us and find out how we can support you if you choose to engage a fractional or interim Sales Manager.

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Robert Wilson – The Most Powerful Motivator

John Kotter – Think You're Communicating Enough? Think Again

Jared Williams – Do You Manage Like a Gatekeeper or a Gardener?

Michael Schrage – Like It or Not, You Are Always Leading by Example

Bill Taylor – The Best Leaders “Talk the Walk”

Terry Schmitz – Empathy – The Cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence

Photo by Anne Gosewehr