In the mortgage industry, many branch managers are also the top loan originator in the office. Handling both tasks is often a juggling act, and sometimes the manager does not realize that one or more of the balls have fallen.
A survey of sales managers from various fields conducted by Towers Watson said the difference between successful and unsuccessful sales managers is a function of how they allocate their time. Specifically, high-performing sales managers devote less time to administrative activities and avoid non-sales activities.
According to the survey of 1,500 sales managers and professionals at U.S. companies, high-performing sales managers spend 14% more time, or 100 extra hours per year on selling activities compared with low-performing sales managers. Conversely, they spend 6% less time (39 hours) on management activities and 11% less time (61 hours) on non-selling related activities.
Furthermore, the survey found that these successful sales managers also spend more time pursuing new or existing client contacts. The bulk of successful managers' sales time is spent with current customers, either selling new applications or solutions, or personally managing renewals, or with new, nonqualified business leads. On average, successful sales managers spend 104 extra hours each year with these contacts, compared to other sales managers.
The survey also found that high-performing sales managers are almost three times more likely to spread their attention evenly across members of their sales team rather than devoting most of their time to a select few team members.
“This does not mean that sales managers spend their time with each team member similarly. Instead, managers will spend time with lower-performing sales reps to provide extra coaching and guidance, while spending more time with better-performing members on other activities such as co-selling or performance reinforcement,” said Craig Ulrich, Towers Watson's U. S. East Division leader, sales effectiveness and rewards practice.
