Are you thinking presidentially? Not the Obama, Bush, Lincoln, Washington kind of presidential. More like the thinking of Larry Ellison, Alan Mulally, and Beth Mooney. All are or were chiefs, and, at one time, were also presidents. But prior to that, at some point in their careers, they were managers of something.
One quality that separated them was their sales management mindset of thinking presidentially. They looked at the role of manager through the eyes of a president. In other words, I’m sure they thought, “If this were my company, what would I do?”
At a recent leadership conference, there was a breakout session just for business leaders focused on discussing the challenges they were having with building, growing, or sustaining their businesses. Here is the list of items identified by this group as necessary for growth and sustainability. Reviewing this list with your sales management mindset in place, are you thinking presidentially about your business or sales team?
Thinking Presidentially with a Sales Management Mindset
• Diverse Revenue Generation (products) – Are your people selling only one solution to your clients? Or are they developing multiple financial relationships through multiple solutions?
• Multiple Generations – Are your people talking to the families of those they work with, developing relationships that last for multiple generations? Here's a startling statistic: $84 trillion is expected to transfer from Boomers to Millennials within the next 15 to 20 years. Financial institutions need to deepen and broaden their relationships within their customer bases.
• Diverse Revenue Streams – As a manager, is your success dependent upon the few? If 80% of your business is coming from only 20% of your producers, your performance is at risk if you lose one or two salespeople from the 20% side of the equation.
• Systems and Processes – Think dashboard, not just odometer. Knowing how much has been sold and how much is in the pipeline is a look back. What systems and processes do you have in place to help you predict how many calls to quality prospects your team makes, and how many appointments, proposals, and wins you can count on?
• Reasons to Stay – If you have only two or three people keeping your sales numbers healthy, what are their reasons to stay? Understanding the motivation of individual producers is critical to retaining quality people.
• Management of the Firm – If something were to happen to you, what would happen to the team? If the answer is “nothing changes,” is that because you are having little impact on the outcomes or because you have built a structure that allows for sustainability?
• Financial Predictability – This ties back to systems and processes. If your president asked you what you thought would close in the pipeline in 6 days, 6 weeks, or 6 months from now, what could you tell her?
• Cash Flow – How do the presidential numbers look? The “sales numbers” are just part of the equation. You have business contracted for, realized revenue, and profit. It isn’t just about what is sold or top-line revenue. It is also about how much are we keeping and when the money will be realized.
• Risk Management – Where are you at risk today? Competition, losing key salespeople, pricing, the economy, investment in bad hires? Are you aware of the risks, and what are you doing about them?
Thinking presidentially is a critical sales management mindset for anyone who is leading or managing a sales team.
Now is a great time of year to work on your business. Take a look at the list and do an honest evaluation of where you are and how you stack up. This may not be the end-all list of things to consider when building or managing your sales team, but it’s a great start.
FAQs
1. What does it mean to “think presidentially” in sales management?
Thinking presidentially means managing beyond just sales numbers. It involves considering long-term sustainability, risk management, team structure, cash flow, and financial predictability—much like a president would oversee the entire organization.
2. Why is it risky to rely on only a few top producers for revenue?
If 80% of your business comes from 20% of your team, losing even one top performer can drastically affect your performance. A healthy sales organization diversifies production and builds strength across the team.
3. How can sales managers improve financial predictability and reduce risk?
By implementing systems that track leading indicators like calls, appointments, and proposals—not just past sales—managers can better forecast revenue, manage cash flow, and proactively address risks such as turnover or market shifts.
