SALES MANAGEMENT IN THE 2 1ST CENTURY

Using Leadership Skills to Build Sales Teams at FirstEnergy

Anthony Lockhart, director, central region sales of FirstEnergy, shares his opinions about how to build an

Sales leadership in a rapidly changing environment is the challenge of the new millennium. The challenge i
team, developing the team, setting clear goals and expectations for the team, establishing a solid work ethic for
the team's accomplishments. A major role of leadership in building a strong sales team is a commitment to a
identifies individuals with excellent relationship building skills and a strong desire to sell. Once the team is in pl
encouragement to team members and assure them that they are headed in the right direction. The growth a
members comes by helping them find ways to achieve results more effectively and by empowering team membe
defined limits. This can be accomplished by maintaining an environment that welcomes new ideas and new ways
sales leader can create focus and increase the likelihood of achieving the team's objectives by clearly delineatin
expectations. Finally, a sales leader in the new millennium can create a solid work ethic by assuming a do a
attitude. Plan your day, get an early start, make the extra effort, insist on honesty and integrity, and give recogniti

ANTICIPATION AND SEEKING FEEDBACK The business press is full of examples of leadership
avoided by anticipation of a potential problem. Consider the case of Frontier Corporation, a telecomm
Rochester, New York, whose goal is to be as familiar to businesses and con sumers as AT&T, MCI, and Sp
fifth largest telecommunications company in the United States decided to revamp its misguided sales
salespeople against the total revenue they generated in a new account over a 3-month period. With pro
at Frontier might have foreseen that this system provided reps with little reason to fur ther customer re
month. The new plan rewards reps for increasing business in a 1-year period and provides them ro
revenue in the account each month after that period. Salespeople have embraced the new system becau
sell additional products to a current customer than it is to open a new account" they did not percei
open and supportive, and they believed they had little opportunity to make important decisions. Mor
this company held positive perceptions toward their sales managers and toward aspects of their
management. Obviously, either a change in managerial behavior toward the discontented entry-level sale
case, or the company's recruitment and selection methods should have been changed. Either way, be
actions to the situation, rather than responding within a narrowly defined range of behaviors, would b
leadership.

The Frontier case illustrates how even the best-run companies can benefit from better anticipation of
crises. It is unfair to expect unerring clairvoyance of sales managers, but it is reasonable to expect tha
to extend their vision into the future. One way they can do this is to seek feedback from custo
important sources regularly. Feedback can be gathered regularly through field visits, salesforce audit
of routine call reports submitted by salespeople. The idea of sales managers spending more time in the
accompanied by salespeople, is increasingly being advocated.
 One option is for the sales manager to actually spend time in the field in the role of the salesperso
actual sales responsibilities; others visit the field as temporary salespeople. While in the sales role,
support, customer service, availability of required information, job stress, work load factors, and oth
example, the national sales manager at Century Maintenance Supply spends half her time making sales c

DIAGNOSTIC SKILLS Effective leaders must. be able to determine the specific nature of the pr
addressed. Although this sounds simple, it is often difficult to distinguish between the real problem an
of the problem. Earlier it was noted that sales managers have relied too heavily on reward and co
salesforces. A primary reason for this is a recurring tendency to attack easily identified symptom
problems that need resolution. Reward and coercive power are also ex pedient ways to exercise control, a
likes to react without deliberation when faced with a problem.
For example, a sales manager may react to sluggish sales volume results by au tomatically assuming the
follows from this hasty conclusion is a heavy dose of newly structured rewards, or just the opposit
Perhaps motivation is not the underlying problem; perhaps other determinants of performance are actua
But a lack of diagnostic skills (discussed further in Module 11) has led the sales manager to at tack th
of the problem, rather than fully examine the root cause of the problem. As we all know from our e
cold, treating the symptoms will not solve the problem permanently.

SELECTION AND MATCHING As already mentioned, no specific inventory of skills exists for effecti
a range of behaviors that should be matched to a particular situation. For example, aspersions have bee
power in sales management, but its use may be entirely appropriate x` in some situations. In the case o
insubordination is creating morale problems for the remainder of the salesforce, for example, a "shap
may be the best response.
The importance of selecting appropriate leadership responses to match the situation is highlighted i
salespeople's concerns as they move through career stages. A study of one company's salespeople f
to be unhappy with their sales managers and the aspects of the sales jobs over which the manager had

For example, a sales manager may react to sluggish sales volume results by au tomatically assuming
the problem is motivation. What follows from this hasty con clusion is a heavy dose of newly
structured rewards, or just the opposite, a strong shot of coercion. Perhaps motivation is not the
underlying problem; perhaps other determinants of performance are actually the source of the
problem. But a lack of diagnostic skills has led the sales manager to at tack the easiest target, the
symptom of the problem, rather than fully examine the root cause of the problem. As we all know
from our experiences with the common cold, treating the symptoms will not solve the problem
permanently.

SELECTION AND MATCHING

As already mentioned, no specific inventory of skills exists for effective leadership. Rather, there is a
range of behaviors that should be matched to a particular situation. For example, aspersions have
been cast on the use of coercive power in sales management, but its use may be entirely
appropriatex` n some situations. In the case of a problem employee whose insubordination is cre -
ating morale problems for the remainder of the salesforce, for example, a "shape up or ship out"
ultimatum may be the best response.
The importance of selecting appropriate leadership responses to match the situation is highlighted
in the research dealing with salespeople's concerns as they move through career stages. A study
of one company's salespeople found entry-level salespeople to be unhappy with their sales
managers and the aspects of the sales jobs over which the manager had considerable control Y 0
For example, they did not perceive their sales managers to be open and supportive, and they
believed they had little opportunity to make important decisions. More experienced sales people in
this company held positive perceptions toward their sales managers and toward aspects of their jobs
heavily influenced by management. Obviously, either a change in managerial behavior toward the
discontented entry-level salespeople was called for in this case, or the company's recruitment and
selection methods should have been changed. Either way, being able to match managerial actions to
the situation, rather than responding within a narrowly defined range of behaviors, would be a big
advantage to effective leadership.