Managing Sales People: A Guide for Ops Leaders

Managing Sales People: A Guide for Ops Leaders

Operations people think sales is just another process. That’s how they break their sales teams.

I recently watched a brilliant COO nearly destroy his company’s sales department.

He was amazing at operations — the kind of person who could make supply chains dance and logistics flow like water. But when it came to managing salespeople? Total disaster.

Everything fell to pieces because he assumed that his sales team would be turned on by the same things as ops teams: He expected them to love process documentation, get excited about standardization, and follow rigid protocols. As a result, his top performer quit, two others stopped hitting quota, and the newest hire updated their LinkedIn profile to “looking for work” (yes, while they were still employed!)

So, if you’re an operations leader about to manage sales for the first time, this article is for you.

You’ve likely read a book about how to run a business, and it taught you a lot about process creation and people management. But you’ve been shoved unceremoniously into the deep end of sales, and none if it works. That’s because no matter how many business books you read, managing sellers is nothing like managing finance, operations – or any other part of a business, for that matter.

In fact, it’s like switching from dogs to cats.

Think about it.

If you’ve had dogs your whole life, you understand dog psychology. When a dog misbehaves, you scold it, it feels bad, it changes behavior. Simple. Effective. Golden retriever energy. Then one day you get a cat, try the same approach, and wake up to find it’s peeing in your shoes and staring at you.

In other words, dogs love you on your terms. Cats love you sometimes, if they feel like it.

Welcome to sales management.

First things first: The commission conversation

There’s a massive divide in the philosophy between sales and ops people, and it has to do with money. Specifically, money earned on a commission basis. Ops people think commissions are dumb. Stop me if you’ve heard this song before: “I pay them a salary to do their job, why should I pay them extra to sell?”

This mindset isn’t surprising. Ops people tend to have rules and processes and efficiencies bred into their DNA. They can be black-and-white thinkers. And when that’s the case, they believe that all people should just do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay – and that bribery is for toddlers.

But while rigidity works great with machines and processes, people are not algorithms that just adjust based on new input. Waltzing into a sales department, announcing the end of commissions, and leaving is going to go much worse than you even imagine it will.

Ask Microsoft: When the company tried to eliminate commissions in their early days, they learned a painful lesson. Their top salesperson left for Oracle, taking three major accounts with him. In witnessing the fallout, Bill Gates reportedly said, “I thought we could reinvent sales compensation. Turns out sales people reinvented where they worked instead.”

Even Google, famous for their “we do everything differently” approach, tried to eliminate sales commissions in 2009. They brought them back within six months, though, after watching their best people walk out the door.

Some business lessons are written in scar tissue.

And the lesson here is that you don’t have to like commissions, but fighting against them is like fighting against gravity — you might succeed briefly, but eventually, reality wins.

You have to pay commissions. I don’t care if you think they’re dumb.

PRO TIP: When you post a commission-based job, your job posting needs two numbers: base salary and OTE (on-target earnings). If you’re offering “$75k base with $200k OTE,” you’re telling them they can earn $125k in commission for doing a solid job. Not for being a superstar, not for breaking records — just for being competent. And please, skip the “unlimited earning potential!” nonsense. They’ve heard it before, and they don’t believe it.

(If you need help building a commission that works, we’ve put together a series of articles outlining strategies and tips for success.)

So, you’ve accepted the reality of commissions. Good. Now let’s talk about the next landmines waiting for you.

The three most expensive mistakes ops leaders make managing sales people

1. Making them create systems instead of giving them systemsIn 1995, Oracle decided their sales team should “own their process” and develop their own sales systems. Within three months, their close rate dropped by 40%. Why? Salespeople are brilliant at building relationships and closing deals. They’re terrible at building systems.You’re in ops. That’s your superpower.Here’s how you do it: “Here’s our CRM. Here’s how you enter leads. Here’s how you update information. Here’s how you build quotes.” Don’t ask them to create it — they’ll hate it and you’ll regret it.
2. The “they need to understand operations” trapIntel’s operations team was legendary for their “copy exactly” philosophy, where every factory and every process had to be identical. When they put an ops leader in charge of sales, his first move was to create a 200-page sales process manual and force the entire sales team to spend a month in factory “internships” so they could understand “how the product gets made!”The result? Their sales team was traumatized. Sales plummeted and people fled.Here’s the truth Intel learned: Let sales people observe operations to understand the product. Don’t force them to be operations people.
3. Telling them how to sell instead of what to sellXerox learned this lesson in the ’80s when they tried to standardize their sales training, much like their copier repair training. They created detailed scripts, rigid processes, and step-by-step protocols. Their sales force revolted. Why? Because what works for fixing machines doesn’t work for building relationships.You hired these people to sell. If they can’t sell, (because you have to explain basic concepts to them, like returning calls promptly or showing up presentable) fire them. But if they can sell, your job is teaching them everything they need to know to sell your product, but not how to sell it. Good sellers are intuitive and understand what gets people to buy — what they need from you is to understand the ins and outs of your product. Trust me, they’ll figure out the rest.

That other big battle: The CRM

Every salesperson hates updating the CRM. Every. Single. One. And if you’re not watching them like a hawk, they’ll stop doing it.

This means that when you hire a salesperson, you must physically observe their use of the CRM. It’s trust through verification, and it’s also building the habit from Day One. Every single day, you need to do a 15-minute CRM check. Make them open their screen and show you their work like a fourth grader showing off their art project. “Look boss, here’s what I did today!”

If you think that’s a little dramatic, consider this: I had a sales person who kept perfect CRM records for over a year. I thought “Great, I can switch from weekly meetings to monthly!” But guess what happened? As soon as I stopped the weekly check-ins, he stopped updating the CRM.

It takes extra management time, yes. But that’s the reality of salespeople. If you’re not checking, they’re not doing. They justify it 100 ways to Sunday, too:  “What matters is me selling, not me updating a computer! I know what my deals are!” They never really understand the importance of the data to the company or to performance analysis, and you’ll never get them to understand. Their brains just work differently.

Here’s why you should bother: Once you force sellers to keep their CRM updated, their sales actually go up. Suddenly, they can see their whole pipeline, prioritize their time, and stop dropping balls. They’ll never admit it, and they’ll complain the whole time, but good CRM hygiene makes them more money.

Just don’t expect them to ever notice or admit that this is true.

How to start sellers off on the right foot: Manage through 3 stages of growth

Think of managing a salesperson like teaching someone to drive. First, they watch. Then, they drive while you’re in the car. Finally, they drive alone — but you still check their GPS occasionally. Here’s how that translates to the workforce:

• Phase 1 (the first 30-90 days): Heavy shadowing. Have them watch your best people sell. After each interaction, ask what they noticed. Show them how your product gets delivered, but don’t make them work in operations. The goal is understanding, not experience.
• Phase 2 (60-120 days): Daily oversight. Those 15-minute CRM checks are crucial. Let them start doing quotes, but with supervision. First together, then with your approval, and finally independently after they’ve nailed it 10 times in a row.
• Phase 3 (Ongoing): Weekly check-ins. Trust but verify. And yes, still make them show you the CRM.

The rules that matter to sellers

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember these four rules. They will save your sanity, your sales team, and possibly your job.

Because here’s the thing: Salespeople do not think like operations people. They aren’t motivated by perfect processes, they don’t obsess over efficiency, and they will absolutely test every boundary you set. If you micromanage the wrong things, they’ll tune you out. If you give them too much freedom, they’ll sell things you don’t even offer.

Managing sales is about balancing control and trust — knowing where to be hands-on and where to back off. Get that balance wrong, and you’ll have a full-scale mutiny on your hands.

So, how do you keep them performing without making them miserable? These four rules will keep you on track:

1. Pay commissions exactly right, every time. One penny off and you’ve lost their trust forever.
2. Don’t micromanage how they sell. No “you should tell more jokes” or “try standing instead of sitting.” If they can’t sell, fire them. If they can sell, let them sell their way.
3. Do micromanage what they sell. You’re running a Toyota dealership, not a custom car shop. They can sell any car on your lot, but they can’t promise polka dots and fur trim.
4. Listen to their ideas, but remember that most will be bad. Filter carefully and decline politely.

The bottom line

Remember first: Salespeople are like cats. They aren’t strict rule-abiders, so it takes more work, more oversight, and more patience to wrangle them than managing an operations staff full of golden retriever energy. Sellers will still occasionally knock your drink off the desk while making full eye contact with you, but with the right approach, they’ll also bring in the revenue you need.

Remember second: You’re not trying to turn cats into dogs. You’re trying to get the cats to use the litter box while they do what they do best — bring in the mice.

And remember third: if you’re finding this challenging, you’re probably doing it right.