We were recently conducting a private sales manager training session, when an unexpected best practice arose. We were discussing the various ways in which sales managers interact with their reps, and one of the managers raised his hand and said, “I tell my reps to call me any time they want, day or night. I make sure they know from their first day on the job that they have access to me24/7 – no matter how big or small the issue might be.”
As you might expect, heads began nodding in agreement and admiration for this sales manager’s complete dedication to his reps. Except for the sales manager sitting right next to him. That sales manager shook his head and then offered to the room, “I NEVER answer the phone when my sales reps call me. If I look down and see that it’s one of them calling, I just put the phone back in my pocket.”
The sales manager from outer space then continued, “My reps call me all the time. And it’s usually nothing important. It most often is something that occurred to them while they were driving down the road or some small issue that popped up somewhere. I just let it ring.”
“Half the time, they don’t even leave a voice mail. They’ll just hang up and go about their business. If they do leave a voice mail, I’ll call and check it. If the message really is urgent and important, I’ll obviously call them back right away. If it’s not, I wait at least an hour to return their call. Usually by the time I call them back, they’ve figured it out for themselves or taken care of it on their own. So they end up learning how to solve their own problems, and they don’t need to call me the next time that issue arises.”
Hmmm. Well, what this rogue sales manager had cleverly described is a phenomenon that we refer to as ‘the culture of dependency.’ The more often sales managers solve problems for their reps, the more often the reps will come back to them with problems. Basically, they learn to depend on their sales manager for things that they could just as easily (and often more efficiently) do for themselves. The situation becomes a self-reinforcing culture of dependency on the manager. If I’m a salesperson, why should I do it myself when my manager will do it for me?
While this might make some sales managers feel important and needed, it also stymies their reps’ professional development. When their managers are always there, they don’t have to solve problems themselves. The sales manager becomes the go-to resource for all problems big and small. They never learn who to call or what to say to resolve a recurring issue – they simply use their sales manager as an on-call customer service department. And how can that be good in the long run?
You never want to let a sales rep fail because you neglected their needs, but you also don’t want them to become dependent on you to solve all their problems. Some remedies are out of their control, but many of them aren’t. So the next time that phone rings, perhaps you should hurry up and let it ring.
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