University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Proactive Sales Management
Book

Proactive Sales Management

How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay ahead of the Game

William "Skip" Miller
AMACOM, 2001
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

This book by William "Skip" Miller, a sales veteran and experienced trainer of sales managers, provides a wealth of information and guidance. Experienced sales managers will find it useful and new sales managers will find it indispensable. Miller covers cultural change, goal setting, recruitment, hiring, firing and more. He pays plenty of attention to day-to-day management, albeit in the context of his "ProActive" sales management program. Use this short, expansive manual as a handbook. For example, when you need to recruit, hire or terminate someone, consult the appropriate chapter. The book is easy to read and full of common sense. getAbstract recommends it highly to its target audience: sales managers.

Summary

The New Sales Manager

The sales manager's job is to lead. People often rise to the rank of sales manager from a successful career in sales. But the skills required to sell are very different from the skills required to be a leader and manage a sales force. A few of the differences are:

  • Salespeople have a customer focus; sales managers have a company focus.
  • Salespeople are independent individuals who often love the spotlight; sales managers must work through others and stay in the background.
  • Salespeople are talkers; sales managers are listeners.
  • Salespeople take direction; sales managers give direction.

The sales manager's job is to help the salespeople focus on their jobs. Your most important skills are people skills. Moreover, successful sales managers look to the future, not the past. They view every issue from several perspectives and set quantifiable objectives with the agreement of their salespeople. Most importantly, sales managers must exemplify and transmit a culture of selling, as reflected in their department's values and expectations.

Creating a Sales Culture

Culture is a powerful if intangible force...

About the Author

William "Skip" Miller is president of M3 Learning, a ProActive sales and sales management company, and founder of The Advanced Sales School.

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