The job of sales manager can be one of the most demanding and rewarding positions in a company. You are responsible for keeping your sales team motivated and driven and you ride the highs of their successes and the lows of their disappointments. The sales management performance of your sales team is your number one priority. You need to find ways to help your team maintain a competitive edge.

1. Make sure your sales team is clear about the mission. The mission of the company is the reason that you do business. The mission dictates the who, what, where, when, why and how of your sales teams’ success. For successful sales management performance, you need to make sure that your sales team understands the mission and that they know all sales are mission driven. Each year, as you make your strategic plan, you need to break down the mission and show how each step of the strategic plan fits into that mission.
2. The sales management performance shows in how well your team sells. The role of the sales manager is to provide leadership to the team. As management consultant Peter Drucker says, “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” As a sales manager, it is up to you to help your team to perform at their peak and to set goals for them that are inspired and achievable. You are the coach, the tutor, and the trainer. You need to make your team know that you appreciate all that they do and that you are there when they need you.
3. To ensure sales management performance, you need to be available. A manager who is always behind closed doors or who will not drop what they are doing to meet with a member of the sales team, sends a message that they are not approachable. Not being available when needed also sends the message that the needs of each member of the sales team are not important to the sales manager. Good sales management performance will make the sales team feel that you are engaged with them, understand their needs and issues, and that their success is your success.
4. In good sales management performance, the sales manager is the leader. However, as a leader you provide direction and support. Your team provides the actual sales. Good sales management performance means that you take responsibility but you give the credit to the sales team. If there are problems, they are yours to solve. When you have a team member that is struggling, you are responsible for helping them to turn things around. When they succeed, you give them the credit. You never want to place blame. It is a waste of time and will demoralize your staff. You want to provide support and guidance to allow the problem to be solved.
5. Ongoing training and development is an important part of sales management performance. Encourage your sales team to take advantage of training opportunities. Professional development helps keep your team feeling that you value their effort and keeps them fresh and motivated. In addition, good sales management performance will require input from everyone. At sales meetings, your team should feel that they could openly discuss problems and issues, successes and accomplishments. This not only helps build moral, but it also helps you to improve your performance as a sales manager by always knowing the status of your team.

As a sales manager, your success is completely dependent on the success of you sales team. Your sales management performance will increase as you work with your team to improve their skills. You need to be mission driven, provide strong leadership, always be available, provide training opportunities and take responsibility but give the credit to your team. This leads to good sales management performance.