So you are a New Sales Manager. CONGRATULATIONS! You've probably been promoted to the role for which you have been aspiring. You delivered some great results as a salesperson but now the game has changed. The package has changed, your ranking in the company increased, the perks all look attractive and you can see a bright future.

Now let's look at your real world. Upon commencing your role as Sales Manager you are confronted by the many challenges posed by a diverse organization. Your peer group, subordinates, superiors, partners, channel partners and customers all want your time. Amidst all this pressure you have to negotiate your way through a mine field of conflicting interests and agendas.

Were you trained for this? Do you have the many skills that you will require to be successful? What about time? Do you have sufficient time to take all this on board and develop the skills you need to be successful, while maintaining the sales results for which you are responsible?

The good news is that you are not alone. Your reality is shared by many, including those who have been in the role for some time. The sales world today is one of increased complexity, more complex sales, higher expectations associated with solution selling and an increase in margin demands. This is difficult for the traditionally skilled, high performance sales manager. Many of the skills and learnings that have been accumulated over the years are based upon text books and scenarios that do not fit the current fast moving world.

Customers have changed significantly also. They have seen a lot of salespeople, they know the sales techniques and strategies and are tired of seeing the same old thing. Recent research from Consalia shows that the Values upon which customers buy, are out of step with the behaviours of our sales forces. This Research has highlighted Four Values that clients seek:

Client Centricity
Proactive Creativity
Tactful Audacity
Authenticity

But these Four Values are not what customers are seeing from salespeople. Instead they see Four Limiting Values:

Ego Centricity
Manipulation
Complacency
Short Sighted

How can sales managers come to grips with the new demands placed on them as well as help their teams demonstrate the Four Values that customers want? Sales Management Coaching can be the solution. Sales Managers who receive coaching not only gain competencies in their own role but also gain the skills to coach their salespeople with maximum effectiveness.

Effective coaching can have a dramatic impact on both the performance and retention of salespeople. Research has shown that effective coaching has the biggest impact on the 'core' population of the sales force. Neither the top 10% nor the bottom 10% of performers improve greatly, but the core improves significantly in terms of both effort and results.

At the top end of the sales force, although effective coaching does not have a big impact on performance it does have a significant positive impact on retention. And these are the people you want in your team.

Chris Tandridge is the CEO of Consalia Asia Pacific.Chris will be in Singapore by the invitation of SIM, to speak on the topic of 'Values - A New Sales Paradigm- What can we do to improve professionalism in selling? on 25 June 2008 at 7.00pm, at the SIM Headquarters on Clementi Road. To register, please contact Ms Joey Tan (SIM) at tel : 62489452 or email : joeytan@sim.edu.sg