As a Partner in a new business I have been networking like crazy, meeting people and finding out how Empiric Partners can help them. In my career in sales leadership, I have built and lead teams at all levels, from small local teams to national head of sales responsible for over a 1000 people. When sharing my leadership background I have been staggered by how many people tell me about problems they have had when bringing in a sales manager or director to help them expand their business.

The story I am told follows a similar line. The business owner has set up a successful business and as growth takes off they find that they can no longer manage everything themselves.

They appoint a sales manager, promoted from within the existing team, or bring in an external sales director, and before too long what was a happy thriving business is thrown into turmoil, staff morale plummets, productivity suffers and turnover starts to rise.

Why? Because the person recruited fails to live up to expectation or the newly promoted manager can’t make the transition from co-worker to leader.

Either of these problems can seriously impact the success of the business but both are also completely avoidable.

Any recruitment process needs to look beyond someone’s “impressive record of achievements” and establish “how” they operate as a leader. Likewise, assuming that your top sales person will make the transition to successful manager without acquiring the necessary leadership skills, is a risk that can easily be avoided.

At its extreme, this problem and the damage it causes will be obvious to any business owner but when the shortcomings are more subtle and remain unaddressed then the long-term impact can be even worse.

If you recognise this problem within your own business then Empiric Partners can help you to;

• Find, interview and appoint the right external candidate who will deliver what you want to help your business grow.
• Identify the right internal candidate with the skills to transition into a management role.
• Provide leadership, development and coaching to support incumbents improve their effectiveness.
• Provide ongoing coaching, development or mentoring to continually raise effectiveness.

A little advice and support that helps you make the right appointment decision will save you money, avoid disruption and ultimately avoid putting your business at risk.

Help might cost a lot less than you think…and will pay off in the long run.