Are all sales managers created equal?

Recently I have recruited for a National Sales Manager position at our company.
I received many, many CVs from a vast range of excellent candidates – most with great track records: young, older, MBA grads and self-study and industries: banking, cars, telesales, pharmaceutical – you name it, but only a small handful from some form of prior digital agency experience and none (okay one or two) from previous online media background.

Now I understand that in general not everyone can be a salesperson – it takes skill.
Although every entrepreneur has had to reach deep within themselves at some point or another and take on this role, there comes a time when even the most skilled entrepreneur has to make way for an expert to take control.

For me what’s the most important feature to see in a potential placement is passion. How can you sell something that you a) Do not Understand and b) You do not believe in?

I am the first person to give a potential placement the benefit of the doubt. If you’re intelligent and enthusiastic then by all means let’s give it a go, but when it comes to online marketing specifically, and the growing competition within South Africa specifically; a great sales person is the difference between company growth or stagnation.
Further to this, with online marketing (and all its subsidiary services) in South Africa, we are still very much driving interest by education. In other words, much education is required on the subject to emphasise the benefits before you can make that sale…

Over the last year, with a lot of aid from conferences, workshops etc I have noticed a change in attitude where although SMB, Corporates and Agencies are increasingly growing awareness to the benefits, are still somewhat skeptical to the potential revenues they could gain for themselves or their clients…

Now the dilemma is, with the lack of pre-experienced sales people, how does one compromise? Or do you have to compromise at all? I guess most other agencies have simply let Account managers become sales people – for some it has worked.

It’s easy to educate the ‘normal arsenal’ of an online team: comprising copywriters, strategists, account managers etc. Their inherent roles are not that dissimilar to their initial training – plus involvement with their ‘training institutes’ are a great start, but how and where do you educate a new up and coming sales force, or spark their interest? There is a gap on the training side for online media sales specifically.

I think it is fantastic that many educational institutes are currently offering additional modules for online marketing / media training and awareness – some have even made them compulsory for 2009 – but it should not only be directed at the marketing / creative types in my opinion.