Over 40% of field sales professionals feel micromanaged by their managers, according to a recent survey. Catherine Naudé shares why she, despite resisting being micromanaged herself, wants her manager to track her whereabouts.
I’ve always believed that people who are micromanaged will stop using their initiative and act like sheep. No wonder sales managers are sometimes reluctant to nag their team for call reports, fearing they’ll be perceived as doubting their actual whereabouts. But this has always left me with the questions, ‘How does my boss know when I’m doing well in the field or need assistance out there, if they have no visibility of my activities?’
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Long before I joined the Skynamo team, I used to wish that I could give my boss (who was based in another province at the time) a bird’s-eye view of my day, because I was convinced he would promote me or double my pay. I had to pat myself on the back, put my feet up and reward myself with a glass of wine each night all while he was none the wiser of my regular great performances. Frustrating, right?
This is why I was so excited about switching to Skynamo. I knew my manager will see the efforts I put in every day and recognise me for it, and also be able to give me better advice where I struggle. Also, I love seeing my own call report now on days I have back-to-back meetings and am totally owning it! Similarly, when I have slack days, report visuals motivate me to pick up my socks for the next day.
Don’t get me wrong though, I too was slightly paranoid when I started using Skynamo’s field app and had to be totally transparent with all my customer visits. I find people do have this fear. But once you get used to automated call reports and not having to update info after hours you won’t want to go back to manual reporting.
The biggest kickback I get from sales managers not interested in a field sales app like Skynamo, is that their company’s management are well liked and don’t want to come across as micromanagers. But, how do you coach and mentor your team when there’s no transparency? It is no secret that high-performing individuals flourish in a transparent environment. Collaboration between management and staff flows better, while staff get acknowledged for their performance and quickly learn when there is room for improvement. It’s similar to a healthy relationship. When I get home and my partner asks me how my day was or what I did, it’s not him stalking me but really caring about me. It should be the same between me and my boss. If they care, they will want to know, and more importantly, I would want to tell them!
Also read: The simple reason some sales teams fail to benefit from GPS tracking apps