Three Tips for Transitioning Sales Accounts Between Reps

Michele Warg
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Sales professionals get promoted and make career transitions just like everyone else. Sometimes, they take their sales accounts with them; other times, the company needs to be prepared to transition the sales accounts to another sales professional. When transitioning sales accounts from one sales professional to another, smart managers use these three tips to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The first tip when transitioning sales accounts from one sales professional to another is to perform a thorough account exit interview with the sales professional leaving the position. This exit interview can be performed either with just the sales manager present or with both the manager and the new salesperson taking over the account. During the interview, the exiting sales professional must give the new sales professional important information about the accounts being transferred. This includes information on recent sales, upcoming sales opportunities, ongoing obstacles with specific clients, information on how challenging obstacles were handled in the past and anything else that might help the new sales person achieve success with the accounts.

Sales managers who are transitioning sales accounts also need to ensure that the new sales professional posses the two qualities necessary to be a versatile sales professional. These qualities are flexibility and excellent communication skills. When a manager is transitioning sales accounts from one salesperson to another, it's important to transition the account to a highly skilled and high-performing sales person. It takes a long time for a sales professional to build a relationship with a client, and only a few mistakes can cause the company to lose the account forever. For this reason, a smart sales manager should only transition new accounts to the best sales team members.

The third tip when transitioning sales accounts is to make sure the new salesperson's workload stays balanced. In most sales organizations, the best team members are responsible for multiple important accounts. When a manager is transitioning sales accounts to a star member of the team, it's a good idea to offer the salesperson the opportunity to delegate a smaller account to someone who is qualified to handle the new workload. A good manager also keeps an eye on team members and looks for signs of burnout. They provide support to ensure that the transition does not become too overwhelming.

When transitioning sales accounts from one salesperson to another, a smart sales manager follows three tips. First, the manager collects key information about the account from the departing salesperson. Second, the manager transitions the account to one of the best team members available. Third, the manager provides assistance during the transition to ensure the workload does not become overwhelming. With these tips, account transitions have a better chance of being smooth and seamless.

Photo courtesy of suphakit73 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 

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