I grew up in a family of seven children – six boys and a girl. Through four decades of raising their family, my parents never bought a dishwasher. “What for? You’ve got seven of them!” my dad would exclaim.
Each night, a different child took his or her turn drying dishes. My mom was on washing duty every night.
“If you want to find out what’s on your kid’s mind, have them grab a towel,” she frequently said.
I thought of this as I read through the results of The Voice of the Sales Rep survey, a joint effort by SalesFuel and Sales & Marketing Management. The survey uncovered a wealth of information by asking sales reps about three dozen questions.
When asked what made the best sales manager they ever had stand out, the reps had an array of answers, but most centered around some aspect of empathy, strong, clear communication, and humble, action-focused leadership.
The Voice of the Sales Rep survey is loaded with insights that can help sales managers be better at their job, which in turn helps reps be better at theirs. It’s great to get so much information from some 830 salespeople.
However, managers would be wise to draw similar insights from their own sales teams. Use one-on-ones and impromptu conversations to ask reps whether they have clarity about their role at the company, whether they feel they receive enough training and support, or what steps could be taken to put them in position to have more success.
If they’re in the office, maybe invite them to accompany you to the break room and throw them a dish towel.
