What should I do if I don’t want to be a supervisor?

The difficulty of recruiting sales personnel is a common problem faced by many sales companies today, and the recruitment of sales supervisors is even more difficult. Because the recruitment of sales managers is different from that of front-line sales staff, it is understandably difficult to recruit a sales manager who has both sales ability and the ability to lead a team, and who also has the same values ??as the company. I often say that good sales managers never change jobs. Why? They have already been recommended by headhunters or acquaintances, so good sales managers don’t need to submit their own resumes. Since it’s so hard to find a sales leader, is it okay to promote one from within? The answer is of course yes!

I remember there was a slogan in the building of Midea College, which still left a deep impression on me. It was called: A general must start from his soldiers, and a prime minister must start from the state department. It probably means that the director must start from the army. The selection and appointment must come from the front line, otherwise just like Zhao Kuo, they will only talk on paper and delay major events. Therefore, sales managers are generally selected from front-line sales staff.

But, Teacher Li, what should we do if our family’s top salesperson doesn’t want to be a supervisor? This is a question I was asked recently, and it has indeed confused many people for a long time.

Regarding this issue, let’s first talk about team and personal relationships. I'm reading "The Road Less Traveled" by Dr. Scott Pike recently. I'll just say a few words. When I read this book fifteen years ago, there were only four books. Now there are eight books. I read it on WeChat. I've read it, I've probably read it about the fifth one now, I can't remember which one it was in. Dr. Scott Pike mentioned an issue about the relationship between teams and individuals. I personally think it's really classic. Here it is. Quote. If a team becomes stronger, each person in the team will be weakened, especially the individual personality and free will. On the contrary, if everyone emphasizes their own personal will and personality, then the strength of the team will be weakened. weaken. From this perspective, everyone in a team can exert their potential and do things according to their own ideas. In theory, it is just like what Peter Drucker said: "We hire the brains of our employees." Okay, but this is really just a theory. If the degree of freedom is too high, the team identity will be lost, so! Team management is really a difficult topic. Everything is a matter of degree. It really takes a certain level of skill to grasp this degree.

Let’s get back to the business. It’s a normal assumption that an outstanding top salesperson doesn’t want to be a supervisor. The key depends on the attitude of the company’s senior management towards this matter. Maybe they feel that being a manager makes more money than doing sales, maybe they feel that they are not suitable and unwilling to manage people, or maybe they feel that maintaining the status quo is good (this is a dangerous idea, If you don't advance, you will retreat)... No matter what the reason is, as the competent department, you can communicate and guide him, but you must not force him.

I think this is a problem with the identity of the company, because employees in this company only want to make money and satisfy their own personal interests, and do not think about the needs of the organization at all, and are unwilling to take on more responsibility. At this time, why can't we say that this employee is too selfish and not enterprising? We can't just give employees a hat. We should reflect more. Is there something wrong with our sales personnel training system and process?

1. Cultivate employees' love for the company

A very important reason why Pinguan is unwilling to be a supervisor is that employees have insufficient confidence or belief in the company. Regardless of whether the company is in good times or bad, if the company can firmly engrave its mission, vision, and values ??into the bones of its employees and inspire employees' sense of mission, then every employee can be filled with a sense of responsibility and be willing to take on more responsibility.

For a business, it is not enough to simply motivate salespeople with money. Everyone has heard of Herzberg's two-factor theory. Money is just a health factor, and the sense of accomplishment and challenge of the work itself are the motivating factors. Therefore, our company must not only focus on performance, but also focus on cultural construction. We must grasp both sides and be strong with both hands.

2. Make a sense of ritual in talent training

Regarding human nature, some people say that human nature is good and some people say that human nature is evil. We will not discuss this topic today. I have not yet developed the skills to do so. Ways to clarify this issue. However, it is an indisputable fact that human nature is lazy.

The laziness in action is obvious. They indulge their desires in eating, drinking and having fun, and finally live a life of walking zombies. We can catch a handful of such people around us. Ideological laziness wears a mask and is not easy to detect. In the book "Thinking, Fast and Slow", Daniel Kahneman talks about the first system for making decisions based on intuition and the third system for rational thinking. System 2, and most of the time we use System 1 to make decisions.

This first system is the intuitive sensory system. So here comes the problem. We are not willing to change our current living conditions. This is called the comfort zone. I am doing a good job in sales, but I don’t want to be a sales director. I still need to relearn how to be a supervisor and how to lead people. What if my income is affected by my failure? From the comfort zone to the challenge zone, it is full of unknowns and uncertainties. Although the second system tells you that only change can grow, the first system tells you, why bother? This is human thinking, this is human nature.

Therefore, companies must find ways to provide guidance and have a sense of ritual in talent training so that every salesperson has a clear career plan and career path. The world is always changing, and if you don’t take a step forward, you may face the fate of being eliminated. Implement a sense of ritual in talent training, allowing outstanding salespeople to see the value and shining points of sales managers, and allowing employees to dare to take a step forward and dare to try and make mistakes. Only in this way can they truly be moved, and only after they are moved can they take action. .

3. The evaluation dimensions of sales supervisors must be comprehensive

I have also encountered situations where companies promoted a very good sales leader into a bad supervisor. The sales supervisor The selection depends not only on whether he is willing, but also on whether he is competent. Not every outstanding player is suitable to be a football coach. (Hey! Why did I write about football? It’s a sin!) The evaluation of sales managers needs to look at the following dimensions: Personal sales ability, the best starts from the ranks! Team management ability is really difficult, but management ability can be developed slowly! The key also depends on whether he highly agrees with the company's corporate cultural values. Corporate cultural values ??are gradually diluted from top to bottom, and the higher the level of grassroots values, the less likely they are to identify with them! It also depends on his willingness, because sales and management work are different attributes of work content. Sales work is more likely to give people a sense of immediate accomplishment, while managers are more of a behind-the-scenes hero, achieving themselves by achieving their subordinates. When selecting a sales manager, in addition to looking at his performance and listening to his campaign report, we also conduct a public opinion survey to see if he has a mass base. This is what we call personal charisma.

As for the matter of "the sales leader is unwilling to be a supervisor", only by sorting out the system and process can we find the root of the problem. As for the current person, I think there are three steps: 1. Determine whether he is a truly suitable candidate, and conduct a poll in addition to evaluation; 2. Talk to him to find out his true thoughts and career plans; 3. , If it really doesn't work, you can only give up on him and find someone else.