The great sales manager is always vigilant in looking for as well as creating situations, especially in the beginning of an assignment, where they can deliver a masterful-praising.

Masterful goal-setting not only creates a roadmap for success for the salesperson, it provides you as the sales manager a 250 word document chock full of potential masterful praisings.

When they perform any of the steps on that plan, whether it be nearly or exactly correct, deliver the masterful-praising on the spot. Make a specific call to them with no other objective but to deliver the praising if you need to.

During your weekly calls or meetings with them, pull out the masterful goal-setting document and ask questions of them on each section of the masterful goals – look for situations where you can deliver a masterful praising.

An example would be:

Say there is a new account on the masterful goals document that plays a large part in the salesperson accomplishing their masterful goal for the quarter. Getting an appointment at this difficult to access office is very challenging.

You know the salesperson has gone on multiple calls to secure the appointment, but to no avail. You have been monitoring the progress of this process during your weekly calls. You insist them to press on despite the roadblocks, because it will be worth it. In your talks with them you “motivate them by the comp plan” to tell them that if they landed this account it would be worth X dollars for them, as well as enable them to hit and maybe even blow out their masterful goal.

Finally, after two months of trying, the salesperson makes the right connection, builds rapport with the right people and secures the appointment.

NOW is your time to swoop in. Even though the account has not been sold yet, this is a perfect opportunity for you to deliver a masterful praising.

This is the foremost key to becoming a top-performing sales manager. As soon as you intercept them doing something correct, immediately praise them.

It doesn’t matter if it’s exactly correct or nearly correct. If it is a step towards making the sale, then it is praise-worthy.

Post a comment below and tell me on how and when you deliver your masterful praisings to your salespeople.