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Leader or follower?

Sales Managers share what they have done to lead the way and be the best

What makes a good manager?

If you asked Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends
and Influence People, he’d say it’s about respect, honesty
and appreciation.
In the everyday life of a manager at Yell you’ve got to be
that – and more. Friend, mentor, counsellor, whip
cracker and bellwether.
Bell what? Bit of history for you: it’s the name shepherds
gave to the ram in a flock that wears a bell around its
neck; the one that leads the rest through the storm.
That’s not to say the sheep can’t be ewe, ladies. Perhaps
we’ll call you the bellewethers.
I had the privilege of chatting to a few of Yell’s best sales
managers. They were recommended to me by their
managers, for their commitment to their own
development as well as their teams’. Having taken part in
the Yell Leadership Programme, they had some very good
advice to share.

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results

What makes us want to improve?

Growth isn’t comfortable. It takes time, effort and a But self-development isn’t just about keeping up.
few growing pains to really develop yourself. So when Working on our skills gives us a sense of being valuable
there are only 24 hours in a day, why do we do it? and respected for the work we do. People who feel
successful are happy in their jobs and inspire others to
It’s often said that if you’re not moving forward, go after the same feeling.
you’re moving backward. In the digital space in
particular, blink and you’ll miss it. The business keeps John Caldwell, Premise Sales
moving forward and if you’re not moving with it,
you’ll quickly lose your grip. “I wanted to push myself. I wanted to step outside of
my comfort zone and test myself in other areas. If I
Sean Woodard, Premise Sales could do my job and push myself in things I wasn’t so
comfortable with, ultimately I’d develop in both.”
“I’ve been with the business a very long time. I’d
been working harder and harder but my results
weren’t getting better. I thought, ‘I need to wake up
and smell the coffee here – what’s going on?’”

It’s a time of exponential growth: innovation is
picking up speed with every year that passes.
Approaches you held dear 20 years ago (we all know a
treasured Yell lifer like Sean) just can’t work now.
Adapt or cry, people.

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results

Identifying areas for improvement

We tend to be pretty rubbish at identifying where we This is why an unbiased appraisal is exactly what we all need
can improve. It’s like we have weakness-blindness sometimes. A lot of managers have now completed an
because it’s not a nice thing to be honest with assessment day, where they take part in a series of exercises
yourself about. and role plays, then get a review of their strengths and areas
for development.
Sara Feely from Telesales Birmingham told me, “An
assessment is never a comfortable thing that you look
forward to.” It’s all too true: we like to dwell on the
things we’re good at, don’t we? If you know you’re
good with people, it’s tempting to put the business
strategy away in a drawer for ‘later’.

Even worse: we can assume we’re good at the same
things we’ve always felt strong in, even though our
environment has moved on. Being able to honestly
dissect the areas you need to develop is not an easy
task.

Carl Burton Premise

“There’s a bit of a self-awareness problem going
on. If you really think ‘I’m doing great – I don’t
know how I could do better’, you need to ask
yourself if you’re being truly honest. I do look at
myself and if I’m not doing as well at something I
thought I would, the buck stops with me.”

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results

Identifying areas for improvement

Sara Feely, Telesales
“I knew strategic thinking was an area I wanted
development in but I didn’t know how to go about it. I
had a one-to-one with my manager straight after, and we
went through all my feedback and agreed on two or three
things that I would work on.”

All the managers I spoke to had the same worries: how Paddy O’Flaherty, Telesales
would they measure up? What if they were found lacking in
the very thing they thought they were good at? And you “At the development centre, my area manager said that
know what – it could happen. Ignoring that tricky area (or one of my weaker areas was presenting back to crowds.
even an area you hadn’t realised you could really excel in) Over the last year, he’s worked with me on presenting –
means nothing changes for the better and you stay exactly and in the last six months I’ve even started enjoying it.”
where you were.

You might be thinking you’d be OK with that. But is OK
really good enough for you?

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results

The world of Yell is your Oyster

I can make this claim as someone who knows – I It was something I heard a lot over the weeks I was
worked for Yell myself. I started in ‘Basic’ Yellsites talking to these managers. These are all people at the
when that area of the business was still called Yell top of their game, who had been put forward for their
Adworks. By poking my nose into a lot of things that excellent approach to personal development. And they
weren’t any of my business, I worked my way from had something in common: they asked for what they
website production into Marketing, leaving Yell as an needed outside of their everyday environment.
experienced brand copywriter.
Sara Feeley, Telesales
Sara Feely, Telesales
“I started looking at things from a perspective other
“At the development centre, my area manager said that than my own team’s; from a department perspective
one of my weaker areas was presenting back to crowds. and with forward planning in mind.”
Over the last year, he’s worked with me on presenting
– and in the last six months I’ve even started enjoying
it.”

It’s all there for you. In such a big business, there are a
hundred experts you could talk to about any product.
Don’t feel too confident in your SEO knowledge? Talk to
the Display team. Worried about dealing with tricky
customers? Try a week with Cancellations.

John Caldwell, Premise

“In the current environment at Yell, there’s nothing
stopping you. There’s a wealth of online learning, a
wealth of experience in the business that can help you
if you just stick your hand up and ask for it. But you’ve
got to want to do it.”

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results

The final word

In Sales, there seems to be an unspoken rule – however
far out your idea may seem, if you can show it will get
results, go nuts. If you have an idea that may seem a bit
mad but you’re pretty sure will have a positive impact on
the business, run it by your manager. I’m prepared to
bet they’ll say yes.

“Yell has offered me an abundance of learning opportunities.
Test yourself. Pick one topic and throw yourself at it –
But don’t forget the day job” John Caldwell, Premise Sales

Ready to lead the way in your own development? Set yourself a goal today and take the first step

Functional Expertise – Customer & Market Insight - -Collaborating – Strategic Business Planning – Leading Our People – Building Our Capability – Delivering Business Results