Not too long ago, a relative of mine who was an outstanding salesperson for a national retail company was offered a promotion to become sales manager. He turned down the job at first because he enjoyed the independence of being an outside salesperson.

The pressure to take the job increased until he agreed to accept the position. He hated it at first, especially the administrative duties, and admits that he thought every salesperson who reported to him should sell exactly the way he did.

He had never hired anyone before, and it became an ordeal to add a new sales position since he had no previous managerial experience. He had become successful just by learning on the job.

Sound familiar? You probably know someone who has had similar problems. So, what characteristics make a successful sales manager?

In this month's issue (p. 33) , we take a look at being a sales manager for an industrial distributorship and get tips from some experts in the field. One finding that stood out is that the most important aspect of being a sales manager is to act as a coach and mentor to the salespeople who report to you. Studies show that most salespeople need and want their managers to be coaches and provide feedback to them to improve performance. Statistics from a study done by Tom Reilly, the author of our Strictly for Sales column, show that more than half of all salespeople want better coaching.

Every salesperson needs to be evaluated. Just as sales managers complain that their salespeople don't spend enough time with their customers, managers don't spend enough time with their people.

Often, managers are bogged down with administrative details and paperwork, and say they don't have as much time to spend on the road as they would like. If that's the case, the manager also has a time management problem, says Chuck Connors, a sales expert and president of a hose and accessories distributorship.

An excellent sales manager today is one who motivates his salespeople and provides feedback and suggestions on ways to improve performance, which will lead to increasing sales. Above all else, he needs to be a coach who can provide his salespeople with the tools they need to succeed.

jkeough@reedbusiness.com