Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog

Winning over your new (or current) manager

  

  

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I got an email this week from Jacob, a rep that I trained a few years ago, and who has just gotten a great job at a new company. He wanted some tips on winning over his new manager, who has responsibility for both the field and the inside team. This manager has just come on board, and wasn't involved in hiring him, so he wants to start off with the best impression possible. Here's what I told him, and it's deceptively simple and effective. With minor modifications, it can be used to win over your current manager, too.

• Before your meeting, check out his or her profile on LinkedIn, looking for elements in his or her business and personal life that will give you a little background.
  
• At the meeting, tell your manager that you have 2 objectives at your company:

       1) To make the company a lot of money
       2) To make your (the manager's) job easier

• So ensure that within the first 2 or 3 minutes, you ask the following question: "From my desk, what can I do to make your job easier?"

Managers rarely get asked this question, but it's an important one, and sets the stage that you're going to do whatever it takes to meet objectives, be a team player, and have a good disposition at work. Jacob's got a sunny disposition, he's a hard worker, and has always been a high-earning rep. He's already checked out the manager's LinkedIn profile, and found that the manager came from an area of the country where Jacob's got tons of relatives. I suggested he ask the manager about the challenges faced in changing localities, a good example of a question that can be asked to do some initial bonding without getting too personal too soon.

We sometimes make the mistake of thinking managers and execs aren't just like us, but they are. They mowed lawns or had lemonade stands when they were kids, and made sandwiches or delivered pizzas when putting themselves through college. In management, they're caught between trying to do a great job for the company and being liked by the people that report to them. And they can't be "buddies" because being a good manager is about not playing favorites. It's a tough job, and the fact that you care about making his or her job easier is going to be a real plus and will open important dialogue. You can learn a lot from them, too, by watching how the great ones manage people. You might be looking at your own future, too. More than 100 inside reps I've trained have become managers or execs, and what I've put in this post is exactly what I taught them in our inside sales training courses.  Even if you've been in your job for awhile, it's never too late to buttonhole your manager, ask for a quick 5 minute meeting, and ask the question. That question. Add it to your Best Practices playbook.