A sales manager must be able to make the transition from peer to leader. As a sales representative you may know what to do to be successful, but as a manager, you may not be able to translate specific objectives to the team. Thus, the challenge ensues. The ego-driven, high-producing salesperson must now humble himself and be a willing participant to training. Whether you’re a new manager to an organization or you’re making the transition from sales representative to sales manager, there are certain disciplines that must be observed.

1. Be a visionary. Talk to upper management and assess where they want the department to go. What are the expectations of each individual sales representative who is reporting to you? Are they meeting those expectations? If hiring is in the forecast, polish up on your interviewing skills. Common traits among high producers are aggressiveness, an immediate ability to build rapport, excellent communication skills to the point that they clearly know what a customer is thinking at any given moment, and an unwillingness to accept a “no.”

2. Evaluate yourself. What made you a successful sales representative? Was it your technique, your drive, your creativity, or a combination of all of these? The greatest predictor of future success is past success. The things you did to build your business – along with the disciplines that you set for yourself – can produce the same results. Hold your new team to the same expectations.

3. Get to know your people. Put all personal knowledge and friendships aside. If you know what drives them and have assessed their sales skills, you are in the best position to train them and guide them to the next level. Within the first few weeks of being a sales manager, get out on the road or listen closely by telephone to how your sales representatives handle a sales call. Ultimately, this objective assessment will help them earn respect for you and the ability to see you as a manager, rather than as a peer. The key will be to maintain this level of professionalism.

4. Conduct weekly meetings. Perhaps a weekly meeting wasn’t on your agenda. However, if you are trying to track progress, assign goals and motivate, then a weekly meeting can help you accomplish all of these at one time.

5. Train your people. A simple explanation may get a lot of heads shaking up and down, but will never produce the results you want. The most effective way to train is to hold training sessions at your weekly meeting. Provide salespeople with a written outline, demonstrate the process you would like them to imitate, and then have them role-play the process. This structure affords them the opportunity to practice the steps before an interaction with a customer. This builds confidence. It is also important that you follow up at the next meeting. Ask them: “Based on our last training session on handling objections, what happened when you used it in the field?” If they have had success, then it’s a feather in your cap. If they have stumbled through the process, then you have identified an opportunity to retrain.

6. Be patient with your team. As a sales manager, patience must become one of your most recognized virtues. They may not learn as quickly, or put the sales skills you have outlined into practice as quickly, or get results as quickly as you. It doesn’t mean that they won’t be successful. Just be consistent with them and believe they can do it.

7. Don’t expect results from behind your desk. You must get out in the field. Too often sales managers get caught up in the day-to-day activities in the office rather than spend time in the field with their sales representatives. Expect to spend at least a half day per month with your sales representatives. Incorporate appointments as well as cold calling into that time and track their results.

8. Expect weekly reports. The only way to assess the outcome of your month is to assess sales activity every week. This will not only present the opportunity to tackle any challenges your sales representatives may be up against in closing a sale, but you also will be able to forecast future months’ activity. If you don’t expect weekly reports and are only interested in what happens in a day, then you are setting yourself up for failure.

Sidebar: How to Run a Successful Meeting

2. Set goals. Ask sales representatives what they expect to accomplish within the next week – how many appointments they expect to make and the status of their outstanding jobs. When people operate alone, it’s easy to give themselves excuses. But when they are answering in front of their team, they want to live up to certain expectations.

3. Record minutes. Timelines, customer feedback, total appointments expected over the next week should all be recorded. A verbal response may get forgotten, but a written record cannot be dismissed.

4. Have an agenda. Let them know at least 24 hours in advance what you will be covering in your meeting. This allows them to prepare.

5. Involve the team. One of the greatest challenges I have seen with meetings is that there is no team involvement. The manager sits at the head of the table and addresses the team. What you may not realize is that this does not motivate. If you want to motivate your team, ask them questions and get them involved in the processes you are talking about. Ask your representatives to share their thoughts and ideas. You may be very surprised at what you learn.

6. Establish rules. These rules may be “starting on time and ending on time,” “penalties for those who show up late,” or even something so simple as “having fun.” Rules hold everyone accountable, including you, and make for a productive meeting.

7. Impose a time limit. How many times have you been in a meeting that lasts forever – or at least it seems that way. To hold the attention of your team and for productivity’s sake, set a time limit on your weekly meeting. One hour is usually a fair amount of time. This will push you to keep the agenda moving. If there is a topic that seems to drag, ask those involved to stay after the meeting to discuss it. This will help those not involved to move on with their day.

8. Celebrate successes. Because of the high-pressure situation we find ourselves in, it’s easier to highlight what isn’t working rather than what is working. But these successes will keep your team moving forward. Take the time during the meeting to recognize your sales representatives.

1. Be a visionary. Talk to upper management and assess where they want the department to go. What are the expectations of each individual sales representative who is reporting to you? Are they meeting those expectations? If hiring is in the forecast, polish up on your interviewing skills. Common traits among high producers are aggressiveness, an immediate ability to build rapport, excellent communication skills to the point that they clearly know what a customer is thinking at any given moment, and an unwillingness to accept a “no.”

2. Evaluate yourself. What made you a successful sales representative? Was it your technique, your drive, your creativity, or a combination of all of these? The greatest predictor of future success is past success. The things you did to build your business – along with the disciplines that you set for yourself – can produce the same results. Hold your new team to the same expectations.

3. Get to know your people. Put all personal knowledge and friendships aside. If you know what drives them and have assessed their sales skills, you are in the best position to train them and guide them to the next level. Within the first few weeks of being a sales manager, get out on the road or listen closely by telephone to how your sales representatives handle a sales call. Ultimately, this objective assessment will help them earn respect for you and the ability to see you as a manager, rather than as a peer. The key will be to maintain this level of professionalism.

4. Conduct weekly meetings. Perhaps a weekly meeting wasn’t on your agenda. However, if you are trying to track progress, assign goals and motivate, then a weekly meeting can help you accomplish all of these at one time.

5. Train your people. A simple explanation may get a lot of heads shaking up and down, but will never produce the results you want. The most effective way to train is to hold training sessions at your weekly meeting. Provide salespeople with a written outline, demonstrate the process you would like them to imitate, and then have them role-play the process. This structure affords them the opportunity to practice the steps before an interaction with a customer. This builds confidence. It is also important that you follow up at the next meeting. Ask them: “Based on our last training session on handling objections, what happened when you used it in the field?” If they have had success, then it’s a feather in your cap. If they have stumbled through the process, then you have identified an opportunity to retrain.

6. Be patient with your team. As a sales manager, patience must become one of your most recognized virtues. They may not learn as quickly, or put the sales skills you have outlined into practice as quickly, or get results as quickly as you. It doesn’t mean that they won’t be successful. Just be consistent with them and believe they can do it.

7. Don’t expect results from behind your desk. You must get out in the field. Too often sales managers get caught up in the day-to-day activities in the office rather than spend time in the field with their sales representatives. Expect to spend at least a half day per month with your sales representatives. Incorporate appointments as well as cold calling into that time and track their results.

8. Expect weekly reports. The only way to assess the outcome of your month is to assess sales activity every week. This will not only present the opportunity to tackle any challenges your sales representatives may be up against in closing a sale, but you also will be able to forecast future months’ activity. If you don’t expect weekly reports and are only interested in what happens in a day, then you are setting yourself up for failure.