3 STEPS TO A NEW MANAGEMENT STYLE MANAGEMENT-BY-SELLING THROUGH
SELLING-BY-MANAGEMENT
by Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling

If I were asked to list all the different titles of the theories and practices of Management Styles that have been in vogue for the last 25 years, it would take pages and ages of copy to summarize them. There is one Management Style I haven't heard or read about during this time. I call it "Management-By-Selling through Selling-By-Management."

When the subject of Management's involvement in Sales is brought up, there is often a negative attitude by those in Business Management that works to the disadvantage of both Management and the Business. It is not unusual to hear someone at the management level state, "I'm not in Sales, I'm in Management! Being "in sales" is anathema to them.

Many years ago, in a 1984 Wall Street Journal interview, Donald Regan, then Secretary of the Treasury, made this comment on his relationship with Sales, "What the hell is this salesman bit? I was a salesman for two years, period!" He went on to add that other than those two years in Sales his 35 years with Merrill Lynch had been in such non-selling positions as Marketing, Administration and Trading.

Whether or not those in Management, such as Mr. Regan, wish to admit it or realize it, they are in Sales! They are in Sales because almost all of Management's actions will eventually have some effect on their organization's sales. One of businesses' biggest problems, today, is that many of the decisions made by Management, although fiscally or organizationally correct, are detrimental to the sales of the products or services they offer. It would seem that if decisions are detrimental to sales, they would also be detrimental to the purpose of the business which I have always been led to understand is to make sales.

Another negative attitude heard from both sides of the sales picture concerns the effectiveness of salespeople. Management is not satisfied with sales; the client is not satisfied with the salesperson. I have a hard time blaming salespeople for not doing their job as management or the customer would like. Most of the time the sales staff's shortcomings are because management has not given them the "tools" to work with. Sometimes it's the lack of availability of a product, sometimes it's advertising, sometimes it's staffing, sometimes wages etc. Very often it's not having the proper printed information when the customer needs it. Printing cost money and that's a "controllable expense."

When the sales staff has problems making sales, management has problems -- but does management realize this? Because Management's decisions indirectly affect the firms sales it is important for management to understand what tools the sales staff needs and why and how they use the tools. If "Sales Training," is offered, Management will often agree to its importance and make the arrangements for their sales staff to attend while they remain back in their offices.

That's the problem. What's the solution?

The solution is through "Management-by Selling through Selling by Management." It can be accomplished in three ways:

1. To successfully inaugurate it is done by taking the attitude that "Selling" is not a 4-letter word spelled with 7 letters. It is the 10 letter word, PROFESSION, spelled with 7 letters.
2. Understand how many management decisions, those not directly related to sales or selling, may affect the firm's sales. If these decisions cause the firm's sales to fall off, there may be very little left to manage!
3. Realize there is a sales area where they are directly involved in sales. It is called "Internal Selling" -- offering their and their firm's policies, procedures, proficiency, changes, attitudes, and suggestions to their investors, advisors, associates, staff, and suppliers. That's a lot of selling by people who have never been trained to sell.

Internal Selling is not an unidirectional activity. It is a two-way street. The other direction occurs when the staff wants to sell their ideas, attitudes, and competency to, first, their management and supervisors and then to their assistants and associates.

Long before a finished idea, policy, procedure,product or service gets offered to the others, there are hundreds of ideas, information, services and products offered internally for consideration. Few are accepted. Did a "good one" get away because of poor selling techniques? Did it take four times too long because the "sales presentation" didn't have the answers needed in order for the idea or product to be accepted easily? When that happens, everyone's time and effort is wasted, and wasted time and effort can be equated to lost profits.

Unfortunately, we all have been both the victim and the villain of poor Internal Selling at some time. The negative effects that both management and staff indirectly have on a firm's sales and profits can often be traced to a lack of good Internal Selling skills.

Just how easily both management and staff make it for the other to buy will determine just how profitable the business will be. Both management and staff need to learn the effective selling techniques usually reserved for those "in-sales" and then how to apply these techniques to their Internal Selling.

Everyone can put to use the "Management-by-Selling through Selling-by-Management"approach. It is for the employer and the employee. The owner of a business has an investment and a risk in that business; everyone who works in the business has an investment and a risk in the business.

Using "Management-by-Selling through Selling-by-Management" will help all the other styles of management that people use be successful!

This article was written to help you and your business. If you believe some of these articles will be helpful to your business, please e-mail me your comments on how you will apply them. ajz

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Copyright © 2000-2007 Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling, Portland, OR. All rights reserved.

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