8/29/2024-But can your Mgr spin plates?

Your sales manager wants nothing but the best for you, but that means you have to bring your best to your manager. Do your homework, show your work, and keep those communication lines open.

True or false…your sales manager’s main function is to close deals for you.

False. They’re your deals…you go close ’em. (But your manager can and should help if needed.)

Even though your manager may dart around like a headless chicken, you can’t let that prevent you from getting assistance from your Number One advisor.

Sure, you’re supposed to figure stuff out on your own, but there are times when you need help and nobody else can. Don’t be bashful about enlisting your manager for help.

Today, ask your manager to help you solve that one sticky problem that’s been sticking around too long.

Present to your manager a brief and specific summary of the issue and what you’ve been doing to solve it. Don’t forget to bring along suggestions and ideas for different approaches that may work; your manager loves it when your brain is churning!

Your manager can’t read your mind, so be proactive and approach them with the sticky stuff before everything blows up. Nobody likes surprises, least of all your manager.

Your sales manager may not wake up thinking about your problems, but they do wake up thinking about you. (Without you and your problems, your manager is out on the street…or in another job.) It’s up to you to determine which of your problems need to be co-owned with your manager.

First and most importantly, your manager never wants you to lose business alone. If you feel a deal is going south, rope in your manager fast and let them decide which part of the cavalry needs to be engaged.

Last, your manager needs to know what weight you can handle; you need to admit what you can and can’t handle. (…hard for any proud and ambitious seller.) But there’s something very honest and authentic about saying, "I’m not as good as I want to be at ." (Substitute your favorite skill for "objection handling.")

It might be hard to push your pride aside and admit you need help addressing a skill gap, but your manager is partly paid to address such issues. Give her/him a chance to help you grow professionally.

Yeah, your manager got lots going on…but not more than this guy named Erich Brenn, who appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show a thousand years ago.

Some acts are timeless, and Erich’s certainly is all that!

This dizzying and dazzling routine will make you chuckle and wonder why he can’t be your sales manager.