Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

A few weeks after my manager telling me I was their favorite rep, they called me at 7pm on Good Friday of Easter weekend. They said if I didn’t sign an order I forecasted by Wednesday of the upcoming week, I would lose my job. 

With three kids, and a mortgage, I was shook, though not completely surprised. 

The saying goes, people don’t quit a job, they quit a boss. In sales especially, bipolar experiences like the above are not uncommon. I’ve had the lucky experience of having over 20 sales managers in my over a decade of sales experience. I’ve had amazing managers that made me better and managers that were bad. 

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was from Ryan Hawk’s award-winning book, Welcome to Management, where he recommends keeping a list of the likes and dislikes of your managers. The purpose is to prepare me if I want to go into management and to help me be a better employee. 

Here is my list compiled on iPhone over more than a decade of being individual contributor sales… (Never having directly managed myself). 

Dislikes:

  • Ordering me to do things and not allowing me to make my own decisions. 
  • Using buzzwords and company language rather than original ideas. 
  • Spending all time in internal meetings rather than with clients. 
  • Leaving early. 
  • Forgetting to celebrate sales successes publicly. 
  • Putting me down in front of others or giving negative feedback publicly. 
  • Not responding to emails or confirming receipt. 
  • Getting upset for when I function outside the company hierarchy. 
  • After sales call, telling you all the things you did wrong rather than probing, what did we learn?
  • Acting like their previous experience is the “end all” and that they can’t learn something new. 
  • Asking after a grueling sales day filled with rejection, “Did you guys sell anything today?”.
  • Acting like everything is going well when I’m actually not performing well and putting my job at risk. 
  • Treating every all reps the same. Every rep is different. How does everyone need to be treated?
  • Coming to customer meetings without adding unique value. Did they meet the boss? Did they look at the deck before-hand to discover blind spots? 
  • When the manager doesn’t push back and employees get whatever they want ending up in unfair treatment. 
  • Celebrating personal success as a manager rather than acknowledging the team that did it for them? 
  • Not having an agenda for team meetings and calls. 
  • Not asking for feedback on how the team meetings are going. What could be improved?
  • Giving little notice on required admin tasks. 
  • Giving threats to job without specifics on improvement. 
  • Micro-managing rather than giving vision. 
  • Not giving constructive feedback after meetings on pricing strategy, slide decks, client communication. Feedback shows ownership. 

Likes 

  • Giving credit for genuinely, good ideas. 
  • Including me in the interview process for new candidates. 
  • Allowing me to do trainings. 
  • Introducing me to other pillars in the organization outside of sales. 
  • Showing up early and staying late. 
  • Loudly celebrating sales. 
  • Organizing team get-togethers and creating community. 
  • When a manager not only asks where I want to go but also communicates with me where he wants to go in his career. 
  • When the manager works to make the industry better and doesn’t speak company-line or buzzwords. 
  • Does what they say they are going to do even on small things. Weekly recap emails on activity, Sales callouts, or wins by the team. 
  • Thanking the team when they succeed. 
  • Creating enthusiasm and energy on conference calls and team calls. Applause, excitement and energy that is authentic around a clear vision. 
  • Communicates vision rather than tactics… Stays away from simple statements that end conversations like: “the only thing that matters is revenue” or “always be closing”. 
  • Strong pipeline review calls going through sales cloud notes in front of peers. Creating a feedback environment that is non-judgmental and in a learning posture and for coaching. 
  • Takes care of internal approvals and conversations so I can focus on selling the customer. Doesn’t expect me to do all the admin work. 
  • Quickly identifies weaknesses in your close plan for customers. Am I engaged with all parts of the business or have the right reasoning to expect a close? 

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