5 Things Your Sales Manager Hates More Than Anything

In sales, you are bound to make mistakes. Nobody is perfect, and good sales managers understand that. However, there are some egregious things that salespeople do that will make sales managers want to gouge out their eyes with a pen.

Whether you want to learn how to avoid these things so you can have a better relationship with your sales manager or if you’re trying to get on your sales manager’s bad side, check out these five things your sales manager hates more than anything.

1. Lack of Persistence

Salespeople oftentimes fail to follow up with a prospect or customer for myriad reasons, but this inability to move past a prospect’s “no”, to get creative and try again from another angle, really gets a sales manager’s goat. You’re not going to get a sale after first contact. Sure, it can happen, but it is a fluke. You have to work that prospect as best as you can, for as long as it takes, to get through the sale. For instance, if you were really into something, you would be persistent in your attempt to achieve your goals. The same goes for sales.

If you find yourself up against the odds, don’t give up. Try to figure out another solution that will satisfy the prospect and earn the sale. This will impress your sales manager because it shows that you have the determination to exhaust all your options before moving on (an art unto itself). Your persistence will pay off in spades, but you have to have the tenacity to go all the way. (Try using a full sales CRM, like Spiro, that does the data entry for you, allowing you more time to persistently reach more prospects!)

2. Habitual Tardiness

Let’s face it, you can’t escape time. As the hands tick away, that precious time is money that could be being made, and sales managers are keenly aware of the time that their sales team has to work with. That being said, sales managers (as well as prospects and customers alike) don’t like it when you’re tardy. If you find yourself continually being late to sales and/or prospect meetings, you’re only establishing yourself as untrustworthy.

As a salesperson, you have to be punctual to show your prospects and customers that their time is important to you. This builds trust. Back at the office, it’s disrespectful to your sales manager and the rest of the team if you keep rolling in late to meetings. The bottom line is: don’t be late. If you’re thinking that’s easier said than done, set alarms and reminders for yourself. Leave 30 minutes earlier than you normally would. Whatever helps you stay punctual, use it to change your habitual tardiness.

3. Poor Presentations

This one is huge because presentations can make or break your sale. While not everyone is a graphic designer or content producer, most sales managers are not going to knock the design of your presentation. However, it is highly recommended that you get a professional to help design your presentation (and if you get the sale, it will have been well-worth any money you’d have to spend on creating the presentation).

A well-designed sales presentation will immediately capture your audience’s attention and keep them engaged throughout the presentation itself. Be sure to include all the relevant data you can muster, as your sales manager will want certain points made in the presentation that are designed to reel the prospect in. Sales presentations need to be amazing in the sense that they provide the pertinent information and are done with some style. Nobody wants to simply stare at a pie chart with some percentages next to it. If you’re having difficulty with your sales presentation, check in with your sales manager. They can provide solid feedback and direction if you need it. Now get out there and win over those prospects with your amazing sales presentations.

4. Bad Attitudes

Nobody likes a bad attitude in the workplace, but sales managers abhor a bad attitude, because as the sales team represents the company, and if there’s a bad attitude among the ranks, sales managers are quick to snuff it out. A bad attitude constitutes cockiness, braggadocio, bullying remarks, and general animosity towards the company, the team, prospects, and/or customers. There is simply no place for any bad attitudes when it comes to sales. Aside from the aforementioned qualities, this also includes a defeatist attitude, self-sabotaging behavior, and a lazy approach to your work. You want to avoid these bad attitudes because they will get you canned faster than you can say “sales”.

5. Lack of Accountability

This one is huge because sales managers have to manage an entire team and cannot be held accountable for everyone on the team’s mistakes. Salespeople are as human as anyone else and they will make mistakes. However, the true test is whether they claim responsibility for their mistakes the same way they would claim a victorious sale.

Integrity is not something that people tend to associate with salespeople, so it’s important to be transparent with both prospects and customers so that they can be reassured that you’ll be accountable if anything is wrong, and this is exactly how sales are conducted in the 21st century. A trustworthy salesperson may be thought of as a dime-a-dozen, but if you accept responsibility for your mistakes (as well as on behalf of the company), your level of respect will increase dramatically.