Managing a sales staff can be challenging due to the nature of the business. Sales people are generally extroverted and assertive, so it’s a good bet if you are a sales manager, you’ll have your hands full. Keeping upper management informed while supporting your staff is no easy job, but you can have success if you remember key duties.

The first key duty is maintaining a team spirit. As a sales manager, you are going to be dealing with people who sell for a living. Most professional sales people have big egos, but are also highly social and able to establish rapport with customers quickly. To maintain control and a sense of teamwork, you will have to show individual attention to each of your sales people every day. The weaker sales people need the reassurance and support, and the high-performing sales people need to know they are acknowledged. It is important to point out when someone is performing well, and ask them to show others how to do the same. Commission -sharing agreements are also important. If two sales reps work the same deal together, a split commission is only fair, but also reinforces the need for team members to work together.

The second duty for the sales manager is to act as an advocate for his sales staff, while acting as an authority figure on behalf of upper management. This is an important balancing act. Upper management needs to know what is going on with their sales staff: Are they happy with commission structures? Is the benefits package well received? These are things the business owner expects to learn about from his sales manager. Likewise, the sales staff needs the sales manager to push for better compensation, get leave time approved, and be a go-between when disputes arise.

Of course the most important duty of the sales manager is to assist his or her sales staff in being as productive as possible. Success is the clearest evidence of competence and helps resolve any frictions between the business owners and the frontline sales people.

To summarize, be an advocate for your sales people and also the eyes and ears of upper management. Build a team instead of pitting sales people against each other, and of course, keep your focus on sales and profitability. It’s a simple formula on paper, but can be very challenging to carry out.