What Is a Manager?

If you are working in a direct sales or a retail environment, more than likely your sales targets for the month are decided upon by someone else in the company. More than likely too, your targets would be emailed to you before the end of the month for the following month. They set the targets and it’s your job to make sure you hit them.

To put it simply, the role of a manager is to analyse the goals that have been set and work out steps on implementing and achieving those goals. It’s not up to you to decide what those goals are, that’s more of a ‘leadership’ role. So, a manager is an individual who manages people. You organize them to get the job done. It’s a progressive and continuos task.

In one of the companies I worked for, it was upper management who told me how many mobile phone connections we had to get for that month. Then it became my job to work out how we were going to get that sometimes seemingly impossible figure. At the beginning of the month I had a meeting with my sales team and told them how many we had to get that month. I broke it down so that each team member had to get a set amount. We would discuss strategies like country sales trips which were very profitable at the time and what tools we would need to achieve the target. I had to make sure we had enough stock, forms, telemarketing leads and databases and many other things. As the month rolled on, it was my job also to track how we were going. I had a huge whiteboard with every ones name on it and how many connections they have done to date. I also had to make sure that morale was good and that everyone was motivated and doing what they were supposed to. One method I used was saying to them that I didn’t care if they slept in till 11am as long as they met their target for the month and a little bit over. I trusted them and they knew that. Obviously if they were sleeping in till 11am but no connections were coming through regularly, then I’d pull them aside and find out why. One of my managers would often come into my office and find me staring at the huge whiteboard. He’d say that no matter how hard I would stare at the board, the figures won’t change by themselves. I’d explain to him that I was thinking of ways to make sure we hit our targets and that I would like him to go away now. ? We had a good working relationship. I was always on the phone to my reps, making sure they were ok, telling them we only need a few more connections so that everyone gets that bonus at the end of the month.

This is what I mean by that managing is a progressive thing. You continuously have to track, monitor, mentor, be a listening ear, a peacemaker, motivator and a strategic thinker to make sure that you hit those targets for the month. There are many people who are in management roles and what’s expected of you does differ, but in any form of management your job is to organize people to get the job done.