Modern Selling: How to Manage a Micromanager

This article originally appeared in the March 2021 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention @SecBusinessMag on Twitter and Security Business magazine on LinkedIn.

One of the most common characteristics of salespeople is that they hate being micromanaged. In fairness, most people hate this style of leadership, but the typical personality type that is attracted to sales absolutely disdains it.

Here are six ideas that will help sales professionals tolerate and excel while working with a micromanager:

1. Empathize with your manager. Sales management is one of the most uncomfortable roles in business. These managers are directly responsible for objective and measurable results of their direct reports’ activity and performance. Their bosses are emotionally connected to these results and often do not understand or budget for the tools necessary for success, often providing responses like: “Just close the business – it is not that hard.”

This position is a pressure cooker full of emotion, anxiety, and impulsiveness. Most sales managers feel like they do not have control of their success – and this was before a pandemic forced a remote workforce! The best thing a salesperson can do to tolerate micromanagement is to appreciate the position of sales managers. Show them empathy and understand why they may not be acting like the ideal leader described in John Maxwell books. Give them a break, and you will notice a ton of weight being removed from your shoulders.

2. Become the one they never worry about. Early in my career as a salesperson, my team was taken over by our president because of a sudden illness that sidelined our sales manager for months. I knew our president was going to be on top of us for every detail, so at the advice of a mentor, I decided to proactively create a weekly summary of my activity for him. Not only did he appreciate it, but he also never asked me for anything again because he knew he would receive my report every Friday. He focused all his tedious micromanaging on the other seven salespeople and left me alone.

3. Keep the minimum CRM expectations updated. Micromanagers love CRM reports….no, they love them! If you stay updated on your CRM expectations, your manager will likely leave you alone. You do not have to create novels for every activity – simply perform the minimum requirements that feed their reports and you will be adored and put on a pedestal. You will also benefit from the value of your CRM and may even learn to like it!

4. Share your calendar. All micromanagers want to feel some control. If they have it, then they will tend to give you a little bit of room. Sharing and updating your calendar will provide a sense of control to your manager. If they know what you are doing and when you are doing it – especially while working remotely – then you will hear from them less often.

5. Invite them on your sales calls. Most people love being in front of customers, but unfortunately, most sales managers have been reduced to spreadsheet managers. Get them out of the office by inviting them to your sales calls and ask them for help. You will be surprised how creative and helpful they can be when they are not trying to keep their bosses happy.

6. Ask yourself: “Is this really micromanagement or just management?” As a sales management consultant, I have a rare perspective of sales management dynamics. One of the things I have noticed is that most behaviors that are labeled as micromanagement are simply the normal duties of management.

The fact is that salespeople do not like to be managed at all, so any type of management is considered extreme. When you feel smothered or pressured and hear that voice inside exclaiming “if you just stopped micromanaging me…”, stop and ask yourself if they are truly micromanaging or just doing their job.

 Chris Peterson is the founder and president of Vector Firm (www.vectorfirm.com), a sales consulting and training company built specifically for the security industry. To request more info about the company, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/12361573.