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 1. The best sales managers have the will to manage, to set standards for those who work for them, be critical and sit in judgment. Since most sales managers were sales people before being promoted, often in the same organization, setting standards, being critical and sitting in judgment of their peers can be difficult. 

2. The best sales managers are highly motivated. They believe in the product or service that they sell and they believe in the company that employs them. This belief creates personal motivation which the sales manager communicates to his/her sales people and they then communicate it to the customers. The sales manager�s personal motivation is contagious. An important question is how can a sales manager communicate this personal motivation to the sales people? 

3. The best sales managers are agents of change, they manage change and can change or at least alter sales people's behavior. In the 21st century global markets change at a blistering speed; new products, new competition, new technology. At the vortex of this change in any company is the sales organization and its leader, the sales manager. Some manager's just complain about change, but the best managers accept it, adapt to it and take whatever action is now necessary. 

4. The best sales managers can execute and implement their plans. Vision without execution is hallucination. The not so good sales managers have chronic inertia. A proper strategy is critical but the ability to take action and execute that strategy is essential for success. 

5. The best sales managers can successfully manage both rookies and veterans, people younger and older than themselves.

6. The best sales managers are friendly with the sales people who report to them but not friends. It proves difficult to manage friends but being friendly helps the sales manager motivate the sales force. 

7. The best sales managers either train weak performers or terminate them; they do not accept and perpetuate mediocre results. 

8. The best sales managers can not only communicate effectively to their external customers but to their internal customers, the sales people. 

 All too often the best sales person is promoted to sales manager without any management training. In many of these instances we lose a good sales person and gain a weak sales manager. To prevent such expensive mistakes send the newly promoted sales manager to an Executive Education class or buy her/him a management book. I would suggest the Sales Management Courses at the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business Graduate School Of Business. I would suggest you select one of two sales management books: "Sales Management Demystified" or "Sales Management, The McGraw-Hill Executive MBA Series".

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