Whots on first? [rxcellaxT

sALES MANAGERS are rare. Many sales man- I ''agers only manage the paperwork; they do not manage their charge, their team, or themselves.

Many are the salespersons who get promoted, because they manage the company process better than their peers. This is a start, but just. In most organizations, the sales manager does the detail work the general manager doesn't want to do which makes them an aide-de-camp to the GM and keeps them from leading their team.

Win First

The sales manager's charge as a leader is to win. The (victim) mentality of many is "My team is weak, so I'll do my best, but...." This mentality misses the point. In business we are paid to win-period. Educators have the luxury does not see you in a sales environment, they will not believe (in) you, that you understand them, or that you can sell. They will see (and feel) you as a BS artist who knows how to kiss up better than the rest and nothing more. Salespeople don't resent your position-most don't want it-but they do resent you telling them to "sell more" when they never see you selling and helping them sell.

We must stay in the "we" mode with our team. It is about the team, not about us. The victory in sales is a team victory. Coming from a sales environment ourselves, it will be a challenge to share the wealth. Sales can appear to be an individual sport-I closed this guy, / need to get the order, but it cannot be l grew the team's sales. It has to be the team grew the team's sales. Great sales managers build a team that the individual seller feels proud to be a part of. Sales managers who take individual credit kill sales teams.

Me First

Our team is watching everything we do. How can we ask/demand they become better when we are not working on our game? Are we reading? Do we show up early? Do we leave late? Do we sell with our team? Do we want to win with all our heart and soul and, most importantly actions? If not, our team knows and their efforts will reflect this knowledge. No sales team will run through a burning building for a sales manager who is content.

of patiently teaching Johnny Slow or Suzy Unmotivated slowly. Business leaders do not. This is not to say that we don't nurture and educate our team as we go, but ourjob is to win and, in most cases, rapidly.

All teams are a reflection of their leader. If our team is weak, we are a weak leader. If we allow the lazy or unmotivated to stay on our team, we are alazy and unmotivated leader. All else is whining and excuse making.

One of the most important skills/jobs of a sales manager is the ability to attract and hire great salespeople. Just as salespeople must upgrade their account base (prospect), sales managers must upgrade their team.

Team First

Most sales managers get it wrong. Their title is made up of two words-sales and manager. Most take management's side when they should see themselves as the leader of their sales team. Instead of "You guys need to...," sales mangers must say, "We need to...."

The number one (leadership) thing sales managers can do for their team is to sell alongside them. If your team

Working on Me First means working on me first, not "all the glory for me first." Sales managers who put themselves before their team will turn around some day to find no one following. A leader without followers is nothing

How can we say, Win First, Team First, Me First? Doesn't one of them have to be the real first? This is applying linear thought to a multi-faceted challenge. To be great leaders, we must be able to manage multiple, ongoing and parallel strategies.

Much like the Trinity in Christianity, these strategies are one in the same and can not be separated. Managers who try to simplify their jobs by emphasizing one of the firsts over the others will fall short. Those who embrace the multi-facetness of sales management will stand out from the crowd and will succeed.

James Olsen

Graeber's Lumber & Millwork, Fairless Hills, Pa., closed July 8 after 60 years.

ProBuild will open a 25,000-sq. ft. store in Hanover, Pa.-its third location in the Piftsburgh area.

Marvin's Building Materials & Home Centers, Leeds, Al., is building a 34,000-sq. ft. store with attached garden center and drive-thru lumberyard in Eufala, Al.-its 27th-for an early October opening.

Tri Core Ace Hardw?IO, Hendersonville, Tn,, has acquired and reopened as its 6th location the 4-year-old Ace store in Mount Juliet, Tn., that declared bankruptcy weeks earlier.

Concord Lumber, Concord, Ma., has completed an extensive renovation of its store, for a new, historic look.

Arrow Ace Hardware has opened its 4th store in Rochester. Mn., #11 for the chain.

Snyder's Ace Hardw?t€, Aston, Pa., expects a Labor Day weekend opening for store *14, in Frazer, Pa.

Suburban Ace Hardware, W. St. Paul, Mn., is liquidating after 56 years.

Temple Terrace Ace Hardware, Tampa, Fl., is rebuilding after a June '19 electrical fire.

Ace Hardw?I€, Largo, Fl., has closed after 36 years.

KC Holdings will open a Ace Hardware with 8,072 sq. ft. inside and a 2,250-sq. ft. garden center outside, in Oakland, Tn., by November.

Owners Ralph and Wanda Peperone hope to develop additional outlets in the Memphis area.

True Value Hardware, Webster City, la., has remodeled and added about 2,500 sq. ft., allowing for 40% more inventory.

Ace Hardware is looking for a franchise operator to open a store in Celina, Tx.

Habitat for Humanity opened new ReStore discount LBM outlets in Norton Shores, Mi. (Clifton Rohrbough, mgr.), and Canandaigua, N.Y., and is relocating its units in Newington, N.H.; Jacksonville, N.C., and Mason City, la., to larger quarters.

Spencer's Hardware Farm & Garden Center, Marion, N.C. was honored as the Small Business of the Year tor 2011by the Marion Business Association.

Curtis Lumber, Clifton Park, N.Y., received the Endurance Award from Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

Anniversaries: Major Lumber Co., Smitnville, Ks., 11sth Blue Ridge Lumber, Blairstown, N.J., 50th