One of the most difficult challenges a distribution sales manager faces is leading a company through an economic downturn. Upper management hounds them to turn in better monthly sales results; salespeople complain that customers simply aren’t in a buying mood. Managers with the knack to keep employee morale high and motivate salespeople when business is bad are worth every penny they earn. These special people likely have the five traits discussed in our story about sales managers called “When good isn’t good enough."

The five traits, identified by distributor salespeople, educators and experts in selling and sales management, are the ability to be a good communicator, planner, leader, cheerleader and teacher. I invite you to read the story to see how your (or your manager’s) skill sets compare to the type of sales manager we’ve described. Then, if you’re interested in reading more about what it takes to lead a sales team during tough times, visit us on the Web at www.progressivedistributor.com.

We’ve assembled additional stories to help you brush up on your leadership skills. For example, in his piece entitled “Game face,” John Carroll describes why it’s important for sales managers to fully understand the impact that negative events can have on a sales team.

“You’re judged by how you handle the toughest challenges,” Carroll writes. “The sales manager who seemingly takes things in stride during the most challenging times does the most good for the sales team and everyone with whom he or she comes in contact.”

Other stories in the “Online Exclusives” section of our Web site will help prepare you for leadership under pressure. They include “Learn to lead through tough times” and “Generate momentum to increase sales and promote business growth.”

Most distributors and manufacturers I’ve spoken to recently believe business will begin to pick up early in 2003. Until then, smart managers will pull out all the stops to make sure they’ve done all they can to keep their staffs motivated and sharp.

This editorial appeared in the November/December 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor magazine. Copyright 2002.