50 Dumb and Costly Mistakes Tele-Sales Managers Make
Here is a list of fifty dumb and costly mistakes tele-sales managers can sometimes (or often) make.
They are dumb because they can be easily avoided. They are costly because they impact the integrity and profitability of a tele-sales department.
- Not being an active part of the interviewing process; leaving it to HR
- Not conducting at least three telephone interviews with candidates to determine their ability to communicate over the phone
- Providing minimal sales and /or product training
- Thinking ‘baptism by fire’ (putting reps on the phone right away) is a clever way to determine who will ‘cut it’ and who will not.
- Believing that tele-sales (telemarketing, inside sales) is purely a “numbers” game.
- Obsessing over activity (dial counts).
- Failing to understand that tele-sales is a ‘results’ game too!
- Not providing continuous training to develop skills and/or knowledge.
- Not monitoring calls (and call quality) on a regular basis.
- Not rolling up your sleeves and actively providing feedback to your reps on a 1:1 basis
- Playing favorites
- Lack of consistency in management behavior
- Not having a well-defined, step-by-step ‘get well plan’ for underachievers
- Having a well-defined ‘get well’ but not implementing it well, consistently or at all
- Keeping under performers far too long because you are worried about ‘letting them go…’
- Changing the compensation plan throughout the year
- Capping commissions when some reps perform too well or land a big sale
- Setting absolutely ridiculous sales objectives that no one will ever achieve (but you know your boss will admire)
- Taking credit for achievements that others have achieved
- Ignoring individual achievements
- Not celebrating group achievements
- Not creating a motivating environment (contests, decorations, activities…)
- Thinking that having an “…open door policy” is enough to help develop, coach and motivate your reps
- Failing to keep your word … on anything … big or small
- Not being tough enough when being tough is necessary for group or self-improvement
- Failing to have clearly defined standards/expectations for the calling process
- Micro managing … everything
- Sneaky behavior – reading e-mails and listening to voice mails (both business and personal)
- Providing critical feedback …only
- Not communicating regularly or effectively
- Focusing only on what’s NOT been done versus what’s BEEN accomplished
- Using ‘but’ too often (“…that was a good call, but …”; “…you had an excellent month, but…”, “…that was a great sale, but…”)
- Publicly embarrassing an employee
- Not having a sales strategy or plan
- Having a sales strategy or plan but not following or implementing it
- Preaching that “our people are #1” but not practicing the philosophy
- Create compensation programs that are confusing and convoluted and grotesquely interpretative
- Giving top reps the best leads (to increase the odds of closure)
- Giving new reps or low performing reps crumby leads
- Getting some of your reps to do YOUR job (orienting , training, coaching)
- Getting some of your reps to do YOUR job and not compensating and/or recognizing their assistance
- Overwhelming your reps with ridiculous tracking reports … that are never reviewed anyway
- Judging individual sales behavior based on an aberration rather than a trend
- Holding off on commission till the end of the quarter … or end of the year
- Promising marketing and sales support material
- Spying (monitoring e-mails and voice mails)
- Arbitrarily take accounts away from your reps or reorganizing territories
- Pointing fingers of blame
- Not listening despite the logic or relevance
- Not saying you’re sorry … acknowledging you made a mistake
Summary
No one is perfect and some of these mistakes are unavoidable due to circumstances. However, by minimizing what you can, you will create a more effective, more positive and more profitable work environment.
50 Dumb and Costly Mistakes Tele-Sales Managers Make,