Diary of a Salesperson - III

                             The Role of an 'Area Business Manager'

“If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.”

              

In my last blog, I shared with you all the teachings and lessons that I got in life which helped me excel as a salesman. In this blog I would give you a few tips about becoming a successful ‘Area Business Manager’ or an ABM as we say. In these years of my experience in Pharma Industry I’ve learnt that an ABM is a people’s manager. He plays the vital character of being a ‘Role Model’ in a salesman’s life. He is someone who consistently motivates the salesmen; they seek inspiration from him every single day of their work life.

A successful ABM should keep some major key points in mind -

Know your Team–

It is of utmost importance for a successful manager to know his subordinates personally. When a manager has a personal bond with his team it becomes easier for him to judge their performance, know their strengths and weaknesses. When you know your team members personally you become aware of what role they play in a team’s performance and how can we use their strength to achieve more as a team.

A very important thing that I learnt after becoming a manager was how to profile your team and this experience is still helping me in my career today. When I was delegated the responsibilities of a manager I was very keen about getting to know my team well. So the first thing I did was spent time with my team to know them better. I found out about their assigned jobs, responsibilities, their core strength and how could all of us come together and enhance our performance as a team. This helped me discovering my team mates’ qualities; I found out that someone is strong in distributor management while someone is a master of competition networking and retail management.  As a team manager, it is very essential to gel up well with the team and work with them for the betterment of the team.

Earn respect as a leader –

When you treat your team members as your family and look after their needs and requirements you tend to earn a lot of respect from them, it is important to use your knowledge about the team members efficiently.  The first trait of a successful leader is being a “Good Human Being.” I learnt that small gestures like greeting team members, asking them about their health, their family’s well-being, wishing them on their birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions help you in becoming a better leader. It establishes a personal connection with the team and makes the team members feel like they are an important part of the organization. It is very easy to take part in somebody’s celebrations but it is very essential to be with them and comfort them during their tough times.

Apart from establishing personal relationships it is important to guide team members towards achieving professional goals as well. Being a manager it is important to alert the team and guide them if they are missing out on professional goals.

I firmly believe that one can never be content with the knowledge and experiences he gains in life, there is always an urge to learn more. There is so much more that I learnt as an ABM about handling my team and company. I would share with you how to make your team follow the designed process and a few other tips on becoming a successful ‘Area Business Manager.’