Most senior living regional directors of sales and marketing (RDSMs) are promoted because of their success as community sales directors. It makes sense to promote high performing, dedicated, driven professionals, yet the rate of turnover and failure in this role remains high.
Senior living sales requires a high level of skill, the ability to manage multiple responsibilities, the ability to stop the whirlwind to listen and empathize with the customer. This is true at all levels of sales: sales counselor, sales director, sales specialist, regional, divisional and VP roles.
Given this, it makes sense to promote a sales director and let them jump into the regional role where they can have similar success. The problem is the skills that make a person successful at the community level do not necessarily translate into managerial roles.
Why sales directors promoted to regional sales leaders often fail
The main reason sales directors promoted to a sales leadership role fail is because training at the regional level often lacks. Often, regional sales directors are thrown into the whirlwind. This is not due to malintent; it’s due to lack of regional director playbook, the urgent need to fill in for open sales positions, and the daily whirlwind everyone experiences. Regional directors feel extreme pressure to perform and without structure and specific expectations and how to lead their business, are in a constant state of disappointment and failure.
The impact of failure in the regional sales leadership position
Failure (thus turnover) in the regional position puts your business in a vulnerable position. Your organization cannot afford the loss of sales momentum. Open sales positions cost millions of dollars in lost revenue annually. This preventable loss must be addressed to stay competitive in a crowded market, where net margins are squeezed.
7 common missteps to avoid and strengthen your company’s revenue-driving engine
Misstep #1: Assuming they have knowledge of the role and its responsibilities, a.k.a. “throwing them into it”.
Regional sales directors are running a business. They need a playbook. What is expected and how to achieve expectations should be clearly communicated. This needs to be in writing and reviewed regularly.
Misstep #2: Assuming sales director success equals regional director success.
Regional positions require skills in structuring a business, leading others, interpreting, and building strategies based on data analysis and sales performance. The selling skills used as a sales director are used in this position, but in an elevated way that requires training and practice.
Misstep #3: Requiring adherence to a strict travel schedule.
Gone are the days of “Tuesdays through Thursdays at the building” travel requirements. If this is required because it’s always been that way, it’s time to reconsider why. Is it necessary to be at the building? What can be accomplished virtually? What can be accomplished in a group setting? How much time does a regional director spend with the team while they are on site? Is it productive for the team?
Travel is time-consuming, stressful, and costly. Require travel only when necessary.
Misstep #4: Redundant reporting.
Why are we requiring multiple report formats that show the same data? Why is the CRM reporting function not used? Some regional directors spend all day Friday doing reports. It’s a waste of their time, as is repeating the same data on three separate calls each week.
Reporting is critical, no doubt, but consider the cost of requiring manual and duplicate reporting. Engaging an outside source for a fresh set of eyes can be beneficial as it’s challenging to pull out of the weeds of what has always been done “this way.”
Communication is important as well. Corporate leaders may ask for their own reporting which is a duplication of another report required by a colleague. Executive Directors feel this pain all too often.
Misstep #5: Not requiring skill building through role play.
Coaching others is a skill not many practice enough. Coaching others is not telling them what to do or how to do it, it’s cultivating others to grow their skills by problem solving and strategic sessions. Coaching sales is a challenge. Coaching others HOW to coach takes things to another level.
Misstep #6: Not giving them autonomy to make decisions based on what is best for their book of business.
Many companies treat regional directors as glorified sales specialists. They are placed onsite to fill empty sales positions. They are given instructions and have little or no say in how to run their region. We fail to support the development of strategic thinking – building a plan based on outcomes and what actions are necessary to achieve goals.
Instead, they’re told what to do, how to report and where to go. They’re blamed for the failures without considering they may not have had the control they need to make different decisions. That said, once the structure and expectations are clear, the coaching of strategy in rhythm, they should own the outcomes and know the whys behind them.
Misstep #7: Blaming regional sales (and sales PERIOD) for OCCUPANCY outcomes.
Occupancy is two-fold, move ins and move outs. Sales is NOT responsible for move outs and should only be evaluated on sales and move in growth.
Learn more
Looking for more ways to keep your senior living regional directors of sales and marketing productive and driving occupancy growth? Grow Your Occupancy is here to help with sales coaching and training for your team, hiring and onboarding support, optimizing your sales funnel, and more. Reach out to us today at [email protected] and let’s take your senior living sales to the next level.
