Interpersonal Business

This fundamental separates “the haves” from the “have-nots.” Have we lost the value of the handshake and face value relationships in American Business? Excuses of any kind are a manipulative approach to poor performance. As managers, we must state very clear expectations. And yes, we must hold others fully accountable!

Sales forecasts based on quality information are essential to management in order to present effective and consistent expectations. Develop objectives, periodically review these objectives with your sales people, and recognize your star performers. Forecasts also provide a foundation for making a change due to lack of performance; there should be no surprises when the time comes!

Delegation is management’s only long-term hope for survival. The only great risk to management is in not effectively granting responsibility to others. What are the qualities of pride and doing a job well? We must have the confidence and ability to hold all of our staff accountable. Expect those around you to take on a challenge and they will rarely disappoint you.

At some point, a manufacturer’s expectations for growth will exceed even the super human efforts of your top producing sales person. Management should encourage the sales person’s options of hiring office help, service assistants, or bringing on a customer service associate to handle a portion of their accounts. While territory divisions and line packages are ultimately the responsibility of management, a single executive decision to divide a territory should only be made as a last resort.