In a recent survey that was conducted by the Sales Health Alliance, micromanagement in sales was the number one Mental Health trigger salespeople face.
50% of salespeople listed “micromanagement” in their top three mental health triggers that impact their Mental Health in sales the most.
Micromanagement is all too common in sales and happens primarily because neither the rep nor the manager have been given the Mental Health, EQ and resiliency training they need to communicate effectively while under stress.
When communication breaks down and either the rep or manager lose perspective – it’s GAME OVER. The “vertical couple” will have a difficult time working together and usually results in missed sales targets.
Sales EQ, Resilience & Mental Health Training
In this video – Jeff Riseley, the Founder of the Sales Health Alliance – outlines various scenarios in sales that lead to micromanagement. He also explains why Mental Health, resilience and EQ training will helps resolve many of these issues and top micromanagement from occurring.
About The Author
Jeff Riseley is currently the Founder of the Sales Health Alliance and Mental Health Advocate. With over a decade of sales experience – Jeff understands the importance of Mental Health in achieving peak sales performance.
Jeff combines his sales (Sales Knowledge Institute) and Mental Health expertise to improve sales performance through a mix of sales mentorship and mental health best practices. His strategies have helped sales teams improve their sales process, while helping them become more motivated, resilient and better equipped to tackle stressful events within sales.
He is currently delivering these strategies through on-site workshops, coaching and speaking engagements. To explore working with Jeff contact him at [email protected]
Micromanagement in Sales Transcript
Welcome fellow salespeople… sales leaders and Mental Health advocates…
I wanted to record a quick video to help show people why Micromanagement in sales is actually a result of failing to provide reps and managers with proper Mental Health training…
And how we can resolve this issue effectively…
In a recent survey I did that had over 160 responses from salespeople…where I showed them a list of 16 potential sales mental health triggers….
Things like getting rejected… buyers ghosting… and starting back at zero every month
And I asked them to select the TOP 3 triggers that impacted their Mental Health the most.
The survey data showed…
The number one thing that impacts sales rep mental health the most is micro-management by leadership with 50% of salespeople listing it in their top 3…
Most of us would define micromanagement in many of these ways….
The first step to understanding and resolving Micromanagement is to treat the relationship between Manager and Rep like a vertical couple…
This is a term that was coined by the famous psychologist Daniel Goleman – who discovered that this bond is the single most important bond you can form in the workplace
Studies have found that the strength of the bod between manager and employee is the prime predictor of daily productivity and length of time someone spends at their job.
Gallup estimates US companies lose $360 billion dollars from employees who have poor relationships with their boss.
Stop Micromanagement in Sales
In order for the this vertical couple to function effectively.
Both the manager and sales rep share the same perspective and effectively communicate with each other.
When they do this… they have the best chance at working together to achieve their sales target.
What this means is… If we want both members of the vertical couple to be performing at a high level…
If we want them to be happy and mentally healthy…
While being able to effectively communicate with each other… we want both of them operating in the present.
When we lose perspective and become too focused on something that happened in the past… we start to get sad and depressed.
Alternatively we can also lose perspective when we become too focused on the future… uncertainty and worry starts to build up and we become anxious and stressed.
In either situation the manager or sales rep’s performance will suffer.
Mental Health in Sales Scenarios
The Couple works best when they are both operating in the present.
They are both communicating effectively and focused on what they need to do in that moment. What they need to do in order to make meaningful progress towards their sales target.
This is the ideal state but rarely does this vertical couple function this way in sales – so lets look at some scenarios.
One scenario that could happen is the manager starts to get anxious.
Maybe they start to get worried about the teams performance…
And how missing target this month will cost them their next promotion…
In this scenario the Manager has lost perspective and is operating in the future.
And typically they will respond by micromanaging their team…
They’ll lose trust in them.
Become a control freak.
And set unrealistic daily KPIs.
All in response to their own anxiety.
As a result this will obviously create tension in how this vertical couple communicates.
See video for more scenarios about micromovement in sales.
