Management Tips No. 32 Leaders and Managers There are many definitions about managing and leading. I particularly like the ideas of John Kotter and he defines management as the means of creating shape and sense of large organisations. Without management there would be chaos and nothing would be done. Leadership is about change. Its about doing things differently and ensuring that the challenges of the future are taken on and that organisations change their focus to suit business needs and market direction as required. Leadership would seem to be the more high profile of the two but there can be little leadership with any long term follow through unless there are managers who can make sense of the new environment and ensure that the organisation can function effectively. Whatever your task, management or leader, you have to understand the imperatives of your business needs and harness the power of your people because they are going to be the means by which leadership and management will ultimately be successful. © Tom Beasor 2001

Sales Tips No. 84 Change of ownership Sales managers like to change the territories of their sales staff so that people dont get complacent and enjoy a fresh challenge from time to time. Ive seen sellers go native after working with the same customers for too long and then forgetting whose side theyre on when it comes to running the business. When you do change territories its vital that you exchange all of the relevant information. Hopefully this will be in a very formalised manner and will be on a computer database. There will be a whole lot more information in the sellers head: impressions, local knowledge, tips and ideas that are not easy to quantify on a database. This is what you need to capture and thats why the handover process needs to be thorough, well planned and above all friendly. If a seller has put a great deal of energy into a patch over a period of time they may be resentful about moving on and if they are then theyll not want to share material and may take a perverse joy in watching their successor do worse than them. This is what a good sales manager needs to organise. Its the life blood of the selling business. © Tom Beasor 2001

Negotiation Tips No. 103 Hurry slowly Negotiations can be pretty exciting affairs. Theres money on the table, risk to be managed and a crowd of people trying their best to achieve a tough result. Its no wonder, then, that when people begin the process they go too quickly and make a rather premature start. Negotiation takes place between people so when youre in the room get to know them. Spend some time in being polite and loosening the tension. We teach people to be friends rather than enemies and remember its a double benefit. The more you find out the better (information can be power) and at the same time youll find that people start to relax and feel that youre maybe someone that theyll be able to do business with. Dont rush straight into the business agenda. Spend time on the social side and break the ice. Thats the opening phase of the negotiation and only when its properly completed should you think about moving on. © Tom Beasor 2001