When asked the key to being a successful manager, the late Billy Martin, former manager of the New York Yankees, replied:  “Of the 25 players on your roster, one-third love you, one-third hate you, and the other third are on the fence.  The key to success is to keep the one-third on the fence away from the one-third who hate you.”

The keys to being a successful sales manager are not much different.  Like baseball teams, most sales forces break down into three groups: Ten percent of your salespeople are fantastic, they’re your top producers; 10 percent are awful, they’re your no-producers; and the other 80 percent are totally average.  The difference between the successful and unsuccessful sales manager is how he or she deals with all three groups.

THE TOP GROUP

The best thing you, as a sales manager, can do for the top 10 percent is: leave them alone!  They don’t need you to push them.  They’re self-motivated; that’s what makes them top producers.  The best way to manage these people is; walk up to them once a week and say, “You’re doing a great job!  Anything I can do for you?”  If the answer is no, say, “OK, see you next week.”

Too many managers need to touch and control everything.  They worry that if they’re not constantly involved with a salesperson, they won’t get credit for that person’s success.  Don’t worry about who gets credit.  When that top producer succeeds, the credit you deserve will show up on your paycheck.  More managers have ruined top producers because they couldn’t bring themselves to leave them alone and let them do what they do best: sell!

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep track of your top producers.  You must be on the lookout for signs of falling production.  No matter how much they like being left alone, when a top producer stops being a top producer, they give up that privilege.  I have no problem treating someone like a superstar as long as they continue performing like a superstar.

THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

Now, for the second group: the 10 percent who are not producing.  Get rid of them!  They’re killing your sales force and you don’t have time to perform miracles.  Sure, every sales executive reading this article can tell me a story of the one they saved.  But how about the 99% who weren’t saved, and how many potentially good ones did you lose because you were devoting inordinate amounts of time to people who weren’t going to improve?

Sales managers have many responsibilities.  Your time is not infinite.  There’s no time to be a savior.  The odds of turning around a non-producer are way too slim.  Besides, that level of production should be easy to replace.

THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK

It’s the middle group, the 80 percent who are average, who need your help and attention.  These are people who can go either way.  Imagine how much your sales would increase if all you did was get 10 percent of that middle 80 percent to move toward the top group!  Remember, all the time you waste trying to be a savior is time you could have used helping someone in this group who has a better shot at improving.

One thing you might consider to get the middle 80 percent moving upward: Give them a chance to interact more frequently with the top 10 percent.  The middle 80 percent never get to talk to the top 10 percent because the top 10 percent are never around.  They’re busy: that’s why they’re the top 10 percent!

Amazingly, the bottom 10 percent have much more interaction with the middle group because they’re always hanging around with nothing to do.  That’s what makes them the bottom 10 percent.  And what do you think they’re telling your middle (and most impressionable) group?  They’re telling them what a lousy company it is, what a lousy product or service it is, what a lousy manager you are and, first chance they get, they’re leaving (like anyone else would want them).

Give your top producers new responsibilities and challenges that will put them in contact with the middle group.  Set them up as Role Models.  Have them speak at your sales meetings about how they got to where they are and what it is they do to be successful.  Let them mentor and train younger, inexperienced salespeople.  Your top producers love and need new challenges.  It keeps the job from getting routine and boring.  And the last thing you need is a bored top producer.  Then you’ll really have problems.