The Worst Type of Bad Sales Manager

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The Worst Kind of Sales Manager

Which is your worst type of sales manager?

The bad and inept sales manager is the typical sales reps biggest problem – not product, or marketing or even competition. The fact is the great sales manager knows when to stay out of the way, and how to help when asked. The bad sales manager seems to have a talent for the opposite – interfering when things are going well and running for the hills as soon as their own contribution can be measured.

Selling and Managers are like oil and water in my book – they don’t mix very well. Some types of Managers we can live with, but others are a complete No-No. Deciding which is the worst type of sales manager depends on the individual perspective of course, but here’s my own view.

Can I suggest there are 5 types:

* Administrator – makes sure all the paper’s filled in.
* Messenger – just a conduit between the real boss and real sales guy.
* Facilitator – negotiates with the rest of the organisation but can’t add value to the sale.
* Interferer – wishes he was still a salesman and can’t resist taking over.
* Amateur – usually a support guy, now promoted, has read the book but missed the message.

For the professional sales guys they’re all a pain in the ass, but pride of place as the worst type of sales manager goes to the amateur in my book. S/he doesn’t know which direction the world goes around but insists on navigating, regardless.

It’s been my unfortunate experience to work for several of these over the years. It’s always been obvious they were hanging on to a job, without the qualifications to do it. Scared out their skin they’ll get found out, they insisted on micro managing everything when they’d been better off sitting back and doing nothing.

Ultimately such a situation ends in tears – for the manager. Sales guys will do whatever they need to win deals, irrespective of what the manager says. That’s the way they make their living. Managers have only one choice – keep employing the rebel or replace with a new one. The manager always ends up losing, one way or another.

I’m reminded of an idiot called Warren. He, and his boss, persuaded me to hire on as VP. Sales of a Mickey Mouse outfit in New York. On my very first day he started to tell me the exact words I should use in talking to a particular rep. Within a few weeks I walked, and Warren got fired.

He was an Amateur Manager (CEO in his case). We both lost out, but it was my choice.

He was genuinely the worst type of sales manager.