On several occasions lately we have been asked to provide a management skills improvement program for pre-sales managers. This begs the question, why are people asking?

It is common to find pre-sales managers who have been promoted from within the SE ranks. There is a right reason and a wrong reason for doing this.

The wrong reason is because the SE is due for a promotion. All kinds of problems can arise from promoting a person who doesn’t know how to manage - they will be prone to be ineffective managers. We have had experience where weak pre-sales managers try to remain buddies with their buddies, so it becomes problematic for them to implement the necessary procedures, policies, and measurement to facilitate changes in pre-sales process.

The right reason to promote a manager-wanna-be is because they have demonstrated a clear ability to manage in the true sense of the word. A reasonable checklist of managerial abilities includes:
- Communicating the “big picture”
- SMART goal setting
- Cultivating initiative, responsibility, accountability, and commitment
- Development of business strategy
- Using measurement as a motivator
- Implementing reward / consequence systems
- Varying management style as the situation warrants
- Making use of structured risk/reward decision making technique
- Assessing behavior, aptitude, and attitude
- Coaching and mentoring
- Recruiting
- Time and priority management
- Conflict management
- Relationship building with sales reps, sales management, and other staff

If you are a manager, do you see the need for improving your managerial skills? If you are an executive, does your manager-wanna-be have what it takes to “manage”? Can your manager manage? If you perceive a need for managerial improvement, we recommend the American Management Association (amanet.org) who offers excellent management effectiveness courses.