If you’ve just stepped into your first gig in sales management, then I have one piece of advice for you.

GET HELP!

And get it fast.

If you landed this job, then odds are you were a very productive sales rep in your own right. Which means you’re used to doing things a certain way. You’re used to doing whatever it was you needed to do to close the deal, and you’re used to doing it on your own. To quote Sinatra, “I did it my way”.

Sales management is very, very different. Of course, there’s the bureaucratic part of things (which will take some getting used to, too), but more importantly there’s the actual managing part of it. The leading, the coaching.

There are probably people on your team who are better at sales then you ever were, and they may resent you. There are probably people on your team who aren’t nearly as good as you were, and you may want to fire them. Your first order of business is to get everyone over both of those sets of emotions. And it isn’t easy.

The good news is, you’re not a lone wolf anymore. You’re allowed to (even encouraged to) get help. So do so. Ask for coaching. Find a mentor. Read books on leadership.  Stay humble.  Be courageous.

There are lots of resources available out there. Reach out to people on LinkedIn. Heck, leave a comment here on my blog, and I’ll be happy to give what advice I can.