The Sales Manager’s Success Manual

Chapter 20. Perception Sticks Like Glue

	Once upon a time a man whose ax was missing suspected his neighbor’s son. The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief. But the man found his ax while digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor’s son, the boy walked, looked and spoke like any other child.
	--LAO-TZU, PHILOSOPHER

I sat beside the VP of sales and marketing observing a regional sales manager’s (RM) team review. The manager and five reps presented their plans enthusiastically. Actual sales were awful, but it was clear the sales reps were well positioned and in the right accounts. The team was doing the right things; it was simply too early to see results.

The region was newly created and the reps ...