You have just been promoted to Sales Manager - Now What Do You Do?

It 'a very big day in your life. You have just met the VP of sales and she told you that you have done a phenomenal job as a salesman. The company loves you, your customers love you and I love the vendors. Hey, it's a celebration of love. Woodstock seems! He adds that the company needs a sales manager for the western region and you were the overwhelming choice to assume the position. She officially has the job, and you say: "Yes, thank you. I worked my whole career for this moment." He adds: "You take office the first of the month. An email will go tomorrow. Call me if you need anything." And that's all.

Look at the calendar and March 28. Your smile of satisfaction is gone and panic arises as wonder, what should I do now?

This may not be very satisfying, but you are one of countless thousands of sales managers, who have been placed in the same position. What is next? What should I do? I can really do the job? What do you think the sellers? And on and on and on.

Here's what you do:

1. Relax and enjoy the moment. If this is what you wanted then enjoy and revel in the news. Break open a nice bottle of Pinot Noir and share it with your spouse / partner.

2. The next day after the email went to your dealer, call each of them and say you want to meet each one of them for a day. My guess is that representatives of all to know you so there should be some pretty good vibrations. Even if you are unsure still intend to meet with them.

3. When speaking with representatives of the phone to tell them that your goal in meeting with them is to get to know them better, you want to understand their land and their accounts, you want to know if you have any problems to be addressed, you'd know what their expectations are for a sales manager; you'd like to share with them your philosophy of management and sales, I'd take them and their spouse / partner out to dinner when you're in town, if there is time during the day you want to visit an account.

This is all you need to do during your first visit with these vendors!

I tell you from experience that the most important of these tasks is dinner with the seller and their spouse / partner. As a new sales manager is required to "connect" with the seller to see that you can trust. What you want to become is a mixture of manager / director / mentor / master task / confidant. There is no better in the psyche of a seller with a spouse. I do not mean this in a manipulative way. In my opinion, the sellers are more islands in the world of sales. The vendors come home at night and talk to their spouse / partner about the joys, disappointments and frustrations of sales. In essence, the seller and its partners are a team. They live together in sales.

And if that statement is true and I think then, as a new sales manager, so you must connect with your spouse as you do with the seller. Discover an extraordinary amount of information fun of TEAM and their children if they have any. By virtue of a few hours of your time for a nice dinner and a bottle of wine $ 75 you become a member of this family, albeit far. The partner will respect you, appreciate you and the seller will have "connected" with the most important element in the life of the seller.

Why $ 75 for a bottle of wine. Please do not go cheap on the wine or dinner. Your mission is to connect, not scimp. If your boss has a hard time with this then you eat the cost. Can you in fees along the way.

In future articles I offer some tips to first sit down with a salesperson.

Thanks, and have closed the business fun! ......