The sales manager stormed into the Vice President of Sales'
office sharply at ten o'clock in the morning, and demanded a raise right
then and there.
"Whoa, big fella," protested the Sales VP, "you already make three times more than any of your reps out there."
"Yeah, maybe so, but you don't know what I have to put up with," the sales manager blustered. "Look for yourself." The sales manager went out into the hall and grabbed and inside sales rep on his way to the photocopier. "Run over to my office and see if I'm there," he ordered.
Five minutes later the inside sales rep returned, sweaty and out of breath. "You're not there, sir," he reported.
"Oh, I see what you mean," conceded the Vice President of Sales scratching his head. "I would have phoned."
Moral of the story. If you are a professional sales person and a road warrior; stay on the road. The mediocrity and the petty politics at head office are contagious and will bog down your career if you get too close. Stay on the road, interact with customers, stay externally focused on their needs and you will be just fine. Whatever you do, never let anyone convince you to take a middle management position in sales. It's like you're a dime being squeezed in a vice. On one side of the vice are your sales reps and on the other side is the VP of sales, your boss. You can no longer take the actions you used to as a sales rep and you don't have the ability to make the big decisions because that's the VP's job. And both sides think that by squeezing you harder in that vice, eventually they'll be able to turn your dime into a dollar to meet all their needs and expectations.
Oh and that ninety cents? That difference between you the dime and the dollar's worth of expectations? When you factor in all the hours of overtime and taxes, that ninety cents is approximately your take home pay per hour. Anyone interested?
"Whoa, big fella," protested the Sales VP, "you already make three times more than any of your reps out there."
"Yeah, maybe so, but you don't know what I have to put up with," the sales manager blustered. "Look for yourself." The sales manager went out into the hall and grabbed and inside sales rep on his way to the photocopier. "Run over to my office and see if I'm there," he ordered.
Five minutes later the inside sales rep returned, sweaty and out of breath. "You're not there, sir," he reported.
"Oh, I see what you mean," conceded the Vice President of Sales scratching his head. "I would have phoned."
Moral of the story. If you are a professional sales person and a road warrior; stay on the road. The mediocrity and the petty politics at head office are contagious and will bog down your career if you get too close. Stay on the road, interact with customers, stay externally focused on their needs and you will be just fine. Whatever you do, never let anyone convince you to take a middle management position in sales. It's like you're a dime being squeezed in a vice. On one side of the vice are your sales reps and on the other side is the VP of sales, your boss. You can no longer take the actions you used to as a sales rep and you don't have the ability to make the big decisions because that's the VP's job. And both sides think that by squeezing you harder in that vice, eventually they'll be able to turn your dime into a dollar to meet all their needs and expectations.
Oh and that ninety cents? That difference between you the dime and the dollar's worth of expectations? When you factor in all the hours of overtime and taxes, that ninety cents is approximately your take home pay per hour. Anyone interested?
"If you find yourself stuck in the middle there is only one way to go, forward."
- Richard Branson
