Sales Management 101:  Are you active, visible, available?

Glen’s prior experience was as a senior territory manager with a Tier One manufacturer based in a large office complex in Mississauga, Ontario. He came highly recommended as the new account manager to aggressively drive sales in the national retail markets across Canada. His California-based manager did not expect overnight successes and was pleased with the activities that Glen outlined in his weekly reports.   

Unbeknown to his manager, Glen was struggling. He had never before worked in a home office and was untrained in managing the inherent distractions.   Soon, he started his day at 9:30 a.m. and had difficulty in focusing when his kids returned home from school at 3 p.m.  Being 3 hours ahead, he resented the after-hours conference calls with head office. 

For six months Glen’s manager had very little knowledge of how Glen was spending his time.  Glen was a professional and his manager was hands-off… that was until sales didn’t happen.   

Very few sales professionals excel in a home-office environment.  Many USA based sales managers cannot afford the time to be active, visible and available to their Canadian team.

Are you confident in how your Canadian sales rep is managing his time?