Sales managers have a tough job. Professional salespeople are not always the easiest people to manage, and when sales go wrong, sales managers often take the blame. Unfortunately, this job becomes even harder when sales managers stubbornly believe that these seven foolish, outdated misconceptions are all there is to sales management. By the way, this list comes from an email by management guru Ray Williams. Smart guy. Misconception 1: The primary responsibility of management is to cook the books Why it's a misconception: While numbers are important, they are always history. Treating numbers as the top priority can lead to fluctuating revenue streams, shifting profits across quarters, and in the worst cases, falsifying accounts to make the numbers look good. Why people believe it: Management's pressure on earnings figures stems from a combination of fear and incompetence. Because sales managers don't know how to manage people to achieve results, they jump straight to trying to control the results. The truth: The primary responsibility of management is to manage activities. While a manager cannot (honestly) manage numbers, they can always manage the activities that drive those numbers. If you focus on what the sales team does and measure the effectiveness of each activity, the daily numbers become an almost effortless byproduct. Misconception 2: The manager's job is to know the answers Why it's a misconception: Every time a manager answers an employee's question, they become a thief. The manager robs the person of the opportunity to think and grow. While experience has value, people don't learn much from hard-earned wisdom when it's handed to them, let alone when it's forced upon them. Why people believe it: In many companies, sales managers are promoted from the top salespeople. These individuals naturally assume they were promoted because they "know how to sell," when in reality it was about their personality and selling style. The truth: The manager's job is to ask the right questions. The trick to effective management is to stimulate the thought processes and ideas in employees' minds that will lead to their success. Great managers know how to help employees discover what they need to improve and how to improve it, and what can certainly be enhanced and refined. Misconception 3: Quotas are a tool for employee management Why it's a misconception: Quotas define the minimum performance standards in an organization and for individuals within it. When used as a management tool, the manager places the highest emphasis on the lowest performance. The result is entirely predictable: the entire sales team aims for the minimum standard and rarely exceeds it. Why people believe it: Humans are complex and difficult to understand, with various means of motivation. In contrast, quotas are easy to understand, making them a convenient shortcut when it comes to setting goals to motivate the team to sell. The truth: Quotas are a business measurement tool. Quotas are simply what the organization needs to achieve to meet its objectives. Quotas have nothing to do with what employees want from their employment. They are not motivational, even when managers use them as a stick to beat employees with at the end of each month. Misconception 4: Morale rises when sales increase Why it's a misconception: When sales increase, morale rises. Managers often assume that increasing sales will lead to higher morale, ignoring the fact that low morale can make it harder, even impossible, to increase sales. The result is a classic "chicken and egg" situation where everyone waits for things to improve while becoming less and less inclined to improve them. Why people believe it: When sales are poor, a hopeless atmosphere can easily spread through the organization. People start complaining about the economy, competitors, management, or any external factor they can blame for their failures. The truth: Morale improves when employees believe sales will improve. To build this belief, managers must: 1) articulate a clear long-term goal, 2) have the sales team realistically test whether that goal is achievable, which will benefit each team member, and 3) redefine the goal as a series of practical steps that everyone believes are achievable. Note: This initiative must have the support of senior management, or it will die midway. Misconception 5: Managers should put customers first Why it's a misconception: When managers preach and practice this long-standing axiom, they neglect their employees, the people responsible for building and nurturing customer relationships. Customers quickly learn that by going over the sales rep's head to the manager, they can get what they want, leading to poor morale, high turnover, and customer dissatisfaction. Why people believe it: Countless "customer-centric" books and lectures make it difficult to distinguish between employees who actually work on customers (like salespeople) and those who support the people who work on customers (like sales managers). The truth: Managers must put their employees first. Managers should communicate regularly and comprehensively with their employees and help them when they communicate with customers. Managers should never undermine their employees' authority to handle customer issues. Misconception 6: Top performers define management competence Why it's a misconception: Managers often view their top performers as an indicator of how successful they are as sales managers, even though the individual's success is more likely a reflection of their own drive and ability, whether they were already excellent when hired or developed by the manager, rather than the manager's contribution. Why people believe it: Sales teams are often success-oriented and create 'stars.' While such stars are usually born, not made, it's understandable that sales management is willing to take some credit for recruiting and developing them. The truth: The worst performers define management competence. The worst performer on a sales team shows exactly what the manager will tolerate, because that person is still on the team. Moreover, the worst performer is a drag on the rest of the team, who clearly know they have to work harder to compensate for the manager's willingness to tolerate underperformance. Misconception 7: Most of management is common sense Why it's a misconception: When we view the solution to anything as common sense, we often don't take it seriously, assuming our common sense will see us through. The result is that the same problems plague us month after month, year after year, because managers rely on "common sense" to solve them. Why people believe it: The belief in common sense as a panacea always results in intellectual laziness. It wrongly assumes that people with "common sense" will make the right decisions, while those with real expertise are seen as impractical nerds. The truth: Good management requires a complex and diverse set of skills. To get the best out of employees, managers must understand their people and their interests... 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