The most dominate reason for failing, as a sales manager is apparently invisible to most managers.

Most manager's feel it, see it, experience it... they just don't recognize it! They can't see the forest for the trees. By the time you finish this article you will have the reason and the solution to make your business grow.

You may think you already know the reason most managers fail. Just for fun, stop for a moment and come up with what you think is the number one reason (before I share this revelation with you). Please, do not continue until you have the answer that you think is correct.

Now, why do you think I want you to answer the question first? Simple! If you happen to have the wrong answer, then the right answer will have much more impact on you. Kind of like, "AHA!"

OK... have your answer? Then let's continue.

Understanding: Failure as a sales manager is probably created by the same attributes that made someone successful as a salesperson.

As a salesperson you focus on your personal results, not someone else's. To be a successful sales manager, you must take off the salesperson hat and put on the Sales Manager's hat. Your job performance will now be evaluated by the results achieved by someone else.

Some Sales Managers do not instantly recognize this fact. Many good managers were only average as a salesperson. However, their empathy, work ethics, sound judgment, etc. paved the way to promotion. You can be a great manager without being a great salesperson.

Interesting point: Where does the word "Manager" derive from? Man---Ager. Aging of man, or maturing those people under your supervision. No easy task. Especially if the person on the next rung up the organization chart from you, continues to expect you to maintain the same level of personal productivity that you achieved prior to your promotion.

Step One: As a new manager, get things started off on the right foot by making sure that you and your boss (or supervisor) are on the same page. Ask questions to make sure you understand exactly what your boss (or supervisor) expects in the way of results.

Your team's results, directly impact your job security, especially in today's environment. Make sure expectations are realistic. Come to a mutual understanding. That completes Step One.

Here is what traditionally happens next. You invest tremendous time and effort in training someone. Just when you have them producing results, they get another job offer, relocate, or simply quit for personal reasons.

Then the whole staffing process starts over again.

• Running an ad.
• Interviewing on the phone.
• Conducting a one-on-one personal interview.
• Classroom training.
• Field training. (And on the smaller steps in between.)

When you add it up, it's a lot of work. And this brings us to…

The No. 1 Reason why most sales managers' fail.

It's called TRAINING PROCESS FATIGUE.

I relate Training Process Fatigue to the childhood experience of cutting weeds. I hated doing it. Not because I was lazy. I just knew those weeds were going to come back. My distaste for the job was in having to do the same thing over, and over, and over. No real, lasting sense of accomplishment. I hated it... so I avoided the task whenever possible.

The same applies to training sales recruits. You get tired of doing the same training over and over. So you either do a substandard job of it, or simply don't train at all. (Let's face it... it's easy to come up with excuses when we don't want to do something... or at the very least to find something else, less important to do. This helps us overcome the guilt factor.)

You may not have given this much conscious thought up until now but… the perceived futility embedded in your subconscious mind impacts your conscious action (or lack of action).

Training Process Fatigue... This syndrome manifests itself in various ways.

1. You are exhausted.
2. You do not see the value, so you rarely train.
3. You look for ways to avoid training, etc.

It gets a little bit boring doing the same things over repeatedly, with no (or very little) sense of accomplishment.

So why not delegate this work to someone else? Someone that is (possibly) even better at sales training than you are. Someone, who will show complete consistency, every time, without tiring. Sound good? (I'll show you how in a minute.) In the meantime…

How do you prevent TRAINING PROCESS FATIGUE?

Answer: Retain your people with outstanding training.

If your salespeople are successful you stand a great chance of keeping them. Now, when you train, it is to increase your sales force (and productivity) rather than to replace exiting salespeople.

How do you provide outstanding training?

I'm going to give you a couple of quick, helpful tips, but they aren't revolutionary. You probably already understand them, even if you don't use them.
1. Start by taking your training much more serious. Understand that the time and effort you put in to each salesperson, up front, can (if done right) yield long term dividends. Work hard upfront, so you don't have to work hard long term. It's really the easiest way to reach your goals.

2. Have a planned training process, and be thorough. Most managers do just the opposite. They spend just enough time to give the new recruit some basics and then expect them to learn the rest at the "School of hard knocks". (These managers are already worn out.)