The Role of a Sales Manager is to Drive Gross Commission Income

The Role of a Sales Manager is to Drive Gross Commission Income

It’s straightforward: recruit, retain, and coach.

A company owner recently asked me if  I had a job description for a sales manager. “Yes,” I replied. “It’s two words. Drive GCI (Gross Commission Income).” It’s as simple as that. The specifics of the job description are three activities: Recruit, Retain, and Coach. If you’re excellent in these three activities, you will Drive GCI and have a successful company. I’ve found this to be true whether you have a productivity business model or a recruiting business model. Let’s look at the specific ingredients in each of the three activities.

Recruit

You will Drive GCI if you have a full house of happy, productive sales associates. Unfortunately, some will retire, quit the business, or feel the grass is greener someplace else. You must recruit to refill these slots as well as to grow the company (and GCI). Recruiting must be a focused, daily activity.

Recruiting is a simple three-step process.

1. Build a database of the people you want to have in your organization. There are three types: Rising stars. Associates in the business 1 to 3 years and showing promise. Rookies. Top producers and veteran associates. These are easy to identify with their production. Establish a vision for the kind of new people you want and hire to that vision. Get to know them and get them to know you. It is difficult to recruit someone who doesn’t know you.
2. Set up Live-Flow (face-to-face and voice-to-voice) and Auto-Flow (mailings, text, email, and social media) interactions. Set activity goals (number of contacts per week/month).
3. Live Interviews. Resist the temptation to present your case. Instead, ask questions and identify their goals and challenges. Then, offer a solution to help them get from the life they have to the life about which they dream. Again, set activity goals (number of interviews per week).

Retain

You won’t be driving GCI if your office/company is a revolving door with as many leaving as are coming. Retention is key to driving GCI. Retention is mainly about culture. Have you created a culture of attraction? Are your people happy and productive? If so, your current associates will stay, and others will want to join you.

A great way to retain is to recruit from within. In other words, to retain associates, do the same three steps mentioned above in recruiting.

1. Database. Now your database is your people (as well as their families).
2. Live-Flow and Auto-Flow are now with your people. Get to know them.
3. Live interviews are now with your associates. Do you know their goals and challenges? Look for ways to help them get from the lives they have to the lives about which they dream. They will love you for caring!

Your greatest business assets are your people. They walk out the door every day, and you better have a reason for them to come back to work the next day. Recruit them every day. Never take them for granted.

Coach

Increase GCI by increasing productivity. Be a coach, not a manager. Associates love having a coach. The key to effective coaching is to focus on activities rather than production. When associates do productive activities, their production takes care of itself. In our Ninja Selling classes, we teach the Ninja Nine. These are nine activities that will lead to increased production. These activities become habits.

Five are daily habits, and four are weekly habits. 

5 Daily Habits (first thing in the morning):

1. Gratitude, affirmations, and positive reading.
2. Time block your day and your week. Stay on your agenda—don’t open email first.
3. Write two personal notes.
4. Focus on your Hot List (people who want to buy or sell within 90 days).
5. Focus on your Warm List (people who want to buy or sell within one year).

4 Weekly Habits (time block 2 to 4 hours in the morning for these four habits)

1. Customer service calls (call all sellers, buyers, and referrals weekly)
2. Schedule two live real estate reviews
3. Conduct 50 live interviews (Ninjas don’t prospect. They interview.)
4. Update your database and look for property matches.

Drive GCI by recruiting, retaining, and coaching. If it’s this simple, what holds most managers back? Distractions. Stay focused on these three activities, and you will build a successful organization.

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