Key point in my life - NEED ADVICE!

[ChopsClub]

Hello everyone,

I am new here and would like to start by saying this place looks great.

First off, I currently work for a major retailer in sales(4 years now - 20 total)

The company I work for is slow to promote and has changed the pay structure cutting everyone's check recently - I am still able to survive, but here is my sticking point:

I have a good relationship with the corporate heads and have given them ideas that have been implemented. (No, I have not been compensated)

Outside of work, own a business. VP of a startup that is trying to get off the ground. No money coming in, although great opportunities await.

Bottom line - Rock and hard place. I want to approach corporate for a position, but I feel as if I've trained them to get everything for free. HOW do I advance myself in this company and get paid what I am worth??

looking forward!

[Skip Anderson]

Originally Posted by ChopsClub

I want to approach corporate for a position, but I feel as if I've trained them to get everything for free. HOW do I advance myself in this company and get paid what I am worth??

Chops, I say you go ahead and approach the appropriate person and declare your interest in a position at the corporate level. In sales, we learn to ask for what we want, and if you've decided you want a job in corporate management, why not just come right out and ask for one?

Most businesses are looking for good people, and if they see value in your skills, abilities, and experience, it's possible that you'll be able to work something out, although it may not happen immediately. Obviously, I don't know enough about the particulars of you or your business, so I'm generalizing here.

Good luck, CC.

[lrobertson0207]

Yes I think that you should go for it. You stated that you respect them...do they respect you? If they value you enough to respect your opinion on other areas then they should believe enough in you to consider your interest in the new position. If they don't I would worry about why I am still there.

Good Luck,
Lisa

[Sales Angel]

I feel for you! It sucks when you don't get rewarded but there is something you should realise.

Firstly, what asset are you truly to the company. How much have your ideas meant in terms of actual profit for the company?
Can they do without you? Think of your true seling points in corporate and think about what your ideas have meant in a pure business perspective.
You need as much amo as you can think of before you approach the big wigs. THey might have a lower perception of you than you realise and this could be teh reason you have not been offered a role in corporate at this point. You may need to change that perception and by showing htem a structured outline of what you can offer in corporate, tehy may be super impressed.

Good luck man and let me know how you go!


Your sales angel

Melissa Meyer

[bredd]

Sounds like your in typical Corp. I tend to agree with the others. You have to at least speak up and inquire about a corp. postion. However, dont be slighted if you dont get it. If you company is like most, everyone gets settled in. Everyone reaches a certain level within a compnay and unless someone dies or gets fired then we are left in that spot.
Most likly you may have to change teams to get the desired postion. This will take you out of your comfort zone. You will have to make some decsions based on Faith.
We gain strength in the valleys not on the Mountain tops.
Good luck.

[Thomo]

Hey Chops,

It's difficult to advise somebody properly on so little information. So take what I say with a pinch of salt.

Firstly, a problem you can have with giving advice to managers is that they feel threatened by you. You were lucky they even implemented them. As they did and the things worked out (I guess) it should give you confidence that you can make some good decisions if you were in the same positions.

Secondly, why should they promote you? Are you the best performer in your field? Are they hinting to you that you should apply for posts when they come up? Is there a position for you to be promoted to? If anything, it sounds as though the company is going backwards and not forwards - why else are they cutting salaries?

I would be approaching this differently. If I was as good as I thought I was and had a proven track record in my current position I would be TELLING them not asking them. "Look I need a greater challenge. You know I want a management position and if you want me to stay here then I want a promotion within 3 months." The directness will probably get a knee-jerk response (this is what you want, not to give them time to give you a considered answer). You need to know where you stand and at least with this approach you'll find out - be prepared for the worst.

If you haven't that confidence in your own position then you need sit it out. Ask them what you have to do to be promoted, what the timescales are etc. Every good salesperson should put pressure on their manager - all the time. If it's not for more commission, it's for a better car, better terms whatever. You have to be good at what you do now.

If you are averagely good at your job now but can illustrate you may perhaps be a good manager - chances are you won't get there. You need to make people need you. You need to have the position of power and you can only get that by being bloody good at what you do - then you dictate to them not the other way around.

Thomo

[ChopsClub]

Well interesting thoughts everyone thank you!

To follow up on one idea:
"..why should they promote me?..."

Well a friend of mine was a executive at a major label. He says that if I am good and dependable at my job they won't promote me because they will have to find someone to fill my shoes.

So, I guess what it comes down to is: Am I a better sales person than I am a manager?

I don't know!

[Thomo]

Hi Chops,

I go by the following rule: If there is something that you don't like about your current job/role then try to change it, if you can't change it then you need to make a decision as to whether to stay or not. If it's never going to change then I would leave.

Good managers promote their best staff because if they don't (and their staff want promotion) then they will lose them to competitors. If you have set your heart on being a manager don't worry whether you will be good or bad just get the position - there are plenty of good and bad managers around - you'll be one more but you'll feel a whole lot happier. You have to push your bosses unfortunately.

It sounds like you have been enquiring but I don't know how much you have been pushing them.

I would follow this strategy (once I'd decided that I MUST have a management role) - Put a date in my head of when I must have a promotion and if I don't get it then decide to look for another job with better prospects. It's that black and white.

With a date in my head (say 6 months for example) I work out a plan of how to pressure my managers. So maybe every four weeks I will ask them about it and each time add more pressure e.g. first meeting "I need a new challenge, all I think about is a management role what can you do for me and when?", next meeting (if got no further) "I need to move this forward, I can't afford to wait forever, I have plans to buy a new house for my family and need more money - if there is no future for me here in management tell me now" to....finally "we have discussed this for several months and we are no further forward, I am letting you know that I will not be in the same position I am now in the next 3-6 months under any circumstances. If you want me to stay here then this is your opportunity to do something, otherwise you give me no alternative but to leave - which is not what I want to do."

If you have already exhausted the 'honourable approach' I'd advise that you sit down with your boss and say that you have been offered a job at a competitor (you don't feel comfortable saying who that is until you have given them your decision). They are offering you a junior / middle management position which is everything you want but not at the company you want. Can you offer me the same?"

These tactics are fairly transparent - that is not important - you are calling their bluff and in doing so will find where you stand. If there is no chance of promotion then every day you stay there is a waste of time.

Let's not get sentimental about this - you work for money to pay the bills and give you a quality of life. Enjoyment/satisfaction is also key - especially a feeling of a challenge. They are preventing you from getting this.

Three years ago I left a company I had worked for, for eight years. I loved the product I sold, loved the staff I worked with but felt frustrated at my managers. Originally, I had a good rapport with managers and was held in high regard as one of their best salespeople. Management changed and my face didn't fit but I kept at it. I want a junior management position and made it very clear what I wanted. They kept saying things to fob me off - get your target this year and we'll promote you. When I did nothing happened. I actually got promoted at one point but then they retracted it after a change of strategy - I didn't know whether I was coming or going.

They then changed the territories around and I got the worst performing area. For three years in a row I was top saleperson in my team and twice they promoted new arrivals who had performed badly at sales. When I was offered my current job I went to my managers and asked them to honour their promotion or give me a senior sales position. They couldn't do it so I left.

Sometimes you have to accept that people don't always see what is good in you, see you as a threat, or just don't think you are ready but haven't the heart to tell you. Tough for them. Don't let that stop you. There's plenty of jobs out there and whilst I believe in loyalty, it is two-way. Go to college get a management qualification if you need it (to prove you are serious) and get yourself the job you want.

Only you can stop yourself.

Good luck