Is It Time To Be Tough With Your Sales Team?

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Do you have to be a human put-down machine to get things done? No! It's the take-charge, no-nonsense managers - who demand respect and get the best from their people, no matter the cost to the human ego - who ultimately have a positive effect on the staff. These managers might be hated or disliked by some of their people, but that's sometimes the price of success.
     Many managers are faced with the dilemma of deciding when it is time their employees know who is boss. Here are three scenarios, with recommendations.
     Behind Budget: "I never yell, but I do raise the volume," says Jeff Parke, general manager of KCAL/KOLA in Riverside, CA. "I keep it factual and without personal slights. I've also taken advantage of visual aids. If the staff is way behind budget month after month, I might use a graph that shows their current path to failure. Then, I will have a second graph ready that shows their most recent trend of success and will pose the rhetorical question, "What will it take to get us back on this path?" A warning - about what will happen if a trend of improvement doesn"t occur FAST - follows this."
Your Numbers Just Came Out And They Suck: Here's where you need a 'leader' (not manager) who will lay out a step-by-step plan to get back on top and not scoff as we so often hear, "It's just another Arbitron fluke." Take responsibility, and your staff will follow.
   Merging Cultures: This is where a great manager insulates his or her team from worrying about things over which they have no control and focuses the team on nothing but work. During a merger, the leader can't be afraid to lay down the law and force employees to do things a certain way. In some cases, the 'tyrant' management system works best with employees who are insecure and unsure about themselves.