The new year will be filled with some very significant challenges. On the other hand, 2010 is likely to present us all with some enormous opportunities as well. So here's hoping that we're all prepared to take advantage of what promises to be a very dynamic marketplace.

As long as we are in the game, there will always be winners and losers, and preparation will always be the deciding factor. Remember, one explanation for good luck is that it is the intersection point of preparation and opportunity. As we reflect on the dramatic end to what has been a wild collegiate football season and the excitement of the Super Bowl continues to build, we are kicking off a new series of articles about improving sales management effectiveness.

Weak link

Why should we be discussing sales management effectiveness? Because for most firms, it is one of their weakest skill sets and it is one of the most important capabilities required to grow your practice. How effective are you at managing sales personnel? How effective is your sales management resource at managing sales activities? Try to answer candidly and honestly. If you are like most firms, your track record at optimizing producer, consultant or account manager talent and new sales production is something less than stellar.

Perhaps you are not convinced yet that this is critically important to your business practice. Then consider this: Most benefits firms will need to grow their top-line revenue by more than 20% just to replace the income they lost over the last 16 months due to normal client attrition, business failures, mergers, competitor takeovers, etc. - plus the impact of clients downsizing their workforces. In order to make up that lost revenue, this means either: a lot of new accounts; successfully selling a number of larger accounts; selling more products to fewer existing clients; or some combination of these things, all in order to just hold even.

Maximize efficiency

What can you possibly do to address the critical need of adding new business? Your firm can get much more effective at the entire sales management function. Effective management of the following functions, among others, is what we will be discussing in the months ahead: recruiting; selection; hiring; new hire orientation; goal setting and sales accountabilities; managing sales activities; conducting effective sales meetings.

More specifically, we will provide commentary and direction for you to consider relative to the development of a recruiting program, an ideal candidate profile and a specific job description.

Have you considered developing career recruiting materials? Ever conducted a recruiting seminar? We will provide some ideas on how to do this effectively. And what are your best sources of new sales hires? We will spend some time on that as well. Remember, there is no sales management problem that cannot be solved by effective recruiting.

Take your pick

Then there is the issue of selection. We will discuss selecting potential hires who have a track record of success. You want to pursue those who are happy in their careers, not seeking other employment.

What other selection tools should be considered? What about experiential interviewing techniques? You should not be asking candidates to answer hypothetical questions. What you want to know is how they handled real-life situations. Remember, sometimes past results really are the best predictor of future performance. Should you consider any of the following: Personality testing services? Pre-hire projects? Home interviews? Verification of past results? Yes, you should. You need to select, not settle, if you are going to build a successful sales culture and organization. The primary responsibility of sales management is to replace itself. So don't hire anyone not of your caliber.

Once you've identified one or more qualified candidates, how do you make a successful career offer? Do you have a standard approach to a job offer interview? Do you have a standard offer letter? How should business development and sales personnel be compensated? Do you currently require a minimum level of new business production to validate or offset your compensation expense? Do you require new hires to execute an employment contract? If so, what does it cover? Do you have a formalized new hire orientation program?

These issues are critically important in the hiring process. The investment that you make in people is the largest single expenditure that your business will make, and it deserves the appropriate time, attention to detail and commitment to excellence that is devoted to delivering superior customer service or the development of your firm's value proposition.

The hard part

Once someone is on board, the real challenging part begins. People need to be managed. Consider this: only 5% of the population is capable of managing itself. And only 2% of the population is capable of managing others. So when we talk about hiring sales people who are "self-starters," they are clearly a very small percentage of the general population.

You will need to be effective at goal setting and holding people accountable for the attainment of your organization's sales goals. Remember, you cannot manage sales results; you can only manage sales activities.

You will need to communicate expectations appropriately and to conduct effective sales meetings as well. By managing the right activities you will achieve the sales results that you expect. Do you have a sales management system? One that you follow every day? How do you organize your work week to optimize results? How do you organize your staff's work week to optimize their results?

I can hear you saying, 'Who has the time to do all those management activities?' My comment to you is: Can you afford not to? If your day is filled with the mundane, tactical tasks of your practice, then you are right; you don't have the time to properly and effectively manage a sales operation.

The key is to manage what's important - not what's urgent. The urgent will always get done, but the important will never get done unless you pay attention to it and manage the right activities. It's all a part of developing a winning high-performance culture and it starts with you and how you devote your time and energy.

As you can see, this promises to be an exciting, thought-provoking series that most assuredly will help you grow and expand your business. Being an effective sales manager will always be needed in entrepreneurial ventures, and our goal will be to provide you with the information and insight required to improve your skills and aptitude in this essential aspect of business. So while you relax and enjoy the finish of the football season, think about dedicating yourself to becoming a more effective sales manager. And consider these thoughts from football's legendary coach, Vince Lombardi:

The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price. Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.

Be committed to sales excellence. Make yours a winning team.

Kwicien is managing partner at Baltimore-based Daymark Advisors. He can be reached at jkwicien@daymarkadvisors.com.