Hiring the Right Sales Manager, Part 1

When looking to hire a sales manager, promoting from within maynot always be advisable. Keep in mind these distinctions betweensuccessful salespeople and sales managers before making anydecisions:

• The sales manager's job is to motivate, not overwhelm withthe ego characteristic of salespeople.
• Sales managers must be able to postpone, cultivate, andeventually entice the gratification that salespeople thirst forimmediately.
• The aggressive, winning drive of a sales manager is much morecompany-focused than that of the salesperson.
• The sales manager must be able to delegate to get things donethrough others.

Excerpted from Entrepreneur magazine, August2001