It seems to me that every sales VP attended a secret meeting in Vegas a few years ago and they all came to a consensus as to what was the most important focus area for hitting quotas – the front line sales manager. Overnight, it appears, everyone now agrees that the best way to impact a team of reps is not just a 2-day training program but investing in the one person who works with the reps every day – the sales manager.

Whoever led that secret meeting in Vegas was pretty smart. Because I think they are on to something.

Behavior change happens one on one, not in the classroom. Don’t get me wrong; I am a big fan of the classroom. That is the most efficient place to ignite change and ensure reps begin to adopt a new methodology, skills, etc., but you cannot sustain change without the involvement of the manager.

So if the manager is so critical to the success of their sales team, what is this new sales superhero supposed to do you may ask? Good question. I’m not sure the guru in Vegas covered it but I’m willing to give it a shot. But first it may be more helpful if I focus on what the sales manager is not supposed to do – a subject that will be easy for me to tackle since all I have to do is reflect back on my first year as a sales manager. I was horrible. I really wasn’t a manager at all. I was more like an ex-baseball player who liked to teach by saying, “Hey! Watch me hit the ball!” Or worse yet, just bat for you. “Let me show you how it’s done!” I had zero understanding of how to leverage my success as a sales rep to improve the performance of my team. It turns out that some of the big mistakes I made are still very common among seasoned and green managers alike. See if any of these misconceptions about managing hit home for you and then score where you are on the bad sales manager meter.

Believing you are more important than the rep. The best way to de-motivate your team and ensure they will not embrace your recommendation is to send the message – implied or directly stated – that what is most important to you is hitting YOUR annual bogey. Here’s the problem: reps don’t care about your number. They only care about one thing – their number. Bad sales managers are self-centered, working hard to get everyone on their team to work toward THEIR goal. Brilliant strategy. It fits right in with every rep’s dream – to help his or her sales manager be successful (that was sarcasm).

Confuse managing with coaching. Inexperienced managers often confuse a meeting about performance or providing advice on a deal with sales coaching. The poor manager tries to replace a long term development plan with simple discussions about what’s missing or where the rep needs to be. It’s kind of like one of those signs that flashes how fast you are driving compared to the speed limit. It’s important to get a barometer on how you are performing against the standard but, in sales, that knowledge alone will not address the gap. It’s just a place to start.

Believe that influence is granted because of title. If you have to leverage your position as manager to ensure compliance you are not influencing; you are forcing someone to do something (or lie about it) until they don’t have to fake it anymore. If there is no choice, there is no influence. Position has no bearing on how well a manager can communicate to the rep why it’s in their best interest to change their opinion on a different way to sell or improving productivity levels, etc. The manager may feel better emphatically stating their recommendations or job requirements but it will have little or no impact on what the rep does/believes unless they develop the ability to influence.

You must coach every rep. Lastly, many managers make the mistake of believing that equitable treatment means everyone is offered the same level of coaching support. Seems fair, but it’s a critical error. What is fair is that everyone is extended the same invitation to work on his or her craft, but it is up to the rep to receive the invitation. Should you be expected to prepare a meal for a friend who never responded to your dinner invitation? Often, well meaning managers will invest hours of time in reps that have no desire to change. Developing new skills is hard work and the one thing the rep has to bring to the table is willingness. Without it change is futile.

So how do you measure up?

Very Guilty
Kind of Guilty
Sometimes true, but pretty rare
Sales Manager Super Hero
If you have any other common misconceptions about being a sales manager feel free to drop them in the comments section below!

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2013.